Since I have finished the last challenge book I will embark on the second book starting tomorrow, in addtion to that book I have two other books I will be reading, just to make me a little crazy.
The challenge book is Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis, this book was first published in 1920, the book I am reading is a Barnes and Nobles republication in 2003. Any pages I reference will be based on this book. There is an introduction and notes to this book by Brooke Allen, but I will not read them until after I have read the book. I do not like to be told what I am supposed to be reading, it causes a bias. Which makes me writing my opinion about books kind of challenging for the reader. So maybe you want to read this book and then wait patiently for my thoughts so that you can challenge my ideas. That would be fine by me.
The second book I will be reading is my new book club book entitled, The Lifeboat, by Charlotte Rogan, copyright 2012 by Reagan Arthur Books/Little, Brown amd Company.
The third book is The Secret Lives of Dresses, by Erin McKean, copyright 2011 by 5Spot publications.
I hope that there is some overlap between the books as these are all written around female central characters, Carol in Main Street, Grace in The Lifeboat, set in 1914, and Dora in The Secret Lives of Dresses, set in current times. Two from what I can tell are set in small towns, while one starts on a boat.
I am not sure how long it will take me to read these books but I should be finished by the end of March or sooner. Happy reading.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A BIG FAT YEAH
I have finished All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren, I am not sure if you are as glad as I am. SO somewhere during the last few chapters of this book I was reminded of the nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty.As you know Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, All the King's Horses and All the King's Men could not put Humpty together again.
We have the Boss, Willie Stark who comes from humble backgrounds who wants to do good in the world but eventually becomes power hungry. We have his staff willing to do anything to keep the Boss in power. And as with many corrupt politicians we have his downfall. A downfall that does not allow his men to be able to fix things.
Then we have Jack Burden, our storyteller, who is aptly named. We find out thoroughout the story that he is burdened by many things. His work ethic when it comes to doing the Bosses bidding. His love/hate relationship with his mother. His incredulity with his friend Anne Stanton's choices, especially when it come to her relationship with Willie.
There is no great chase scene, unless you look at the driving of Sugar Boy, named because he pops sugar cubes in his mouth. There is a gradual incline to the story and while the Boss is sitting on the wall we learn more about Jack Burden. Then we get back to the Boss and all still seems like it is going okay but then we have the fall. And it is a fast fall, the whole organization falls a apart.
There is a resolution of sorts. Not wrapped up neatly in a prety bow, but some messy resolution, that leaves you thinking is everything going to be okay, will all the suppositions that are made at the end come to fruition or not.
It was a good books and it was made into a movie, so it has some merit. Would I say it is the best book I ever read, maybe not. I could not identify with the character. Also, the pacing was off just a little bit, until we were focused more on Jack Burden and less on the Boss.
We have the Boss, Willie Stark who comes from humble backgrounds who wants to do good in the world but eventually becomes power hungry. We have his staff willing to do anything to keep the Boss in power. And as with many corrupt politicians we have his downfall. A downfall that does not allow his men to be able to fix things.
Then we have Jack Burden, our storyteller, who is aptly named. We find out thoroughout the story that he is burdened by many things. His work ethic when it comes to doing the Bosses bidding. His love/hate relationship with his mother. His incredulity with his friend Anne Stanton's choices, especially when it come to her relationship with Willie.
There is no great chase scene, unless you look at the driving of Sugar Boy, named because he pops sugar cubes in his mouth. There is a gradual incline to the story and while the Boss is sitting on the wall we learn more about Jack Burden. Then we get back to the Boss and all still seems like it is going okay but then we have the fall. And it is a fast fall, the whole organization falls a apart.
There is a resolution of sorts. Not wrapped up neatly in a prety bow, but some messy resolution, that leaves you thinking is everything going to be okay, will all the suppositions that are made at the end come to fruition or not.
It was a good books and it was made into a movie, so it has some merit. Would I say it is the best book I ever read, maybe not. I could not identify with the character. Also, the pacing was off just a little bit, until we were focused more on Jack Burden and less on the Boss.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
House at Tyneford
Yesterday, I had a wonderful day with it ending at my book club meeting at Olive Garden to discuss the book The House at Tyneford, by Natasha Solomon. This story is based on the happenings in WWII.The writer gathers inspiration for this novel from the history of her great aunt and her grandmother who had escaped from Europe to England to become a "mother's helper" and from a manor house that used to sit in Tyneham, England on the Dorset coast.
We are introduced to Elise as she is about to embark by herself to England from Vienna to become a maid at Tyneford House. She leaves behind her married sister who is heading to America and Anna and Julian (mother and father) who are patiently waiting Visa's to leave Vienna. Plus probably the only one who understands her the maid at her house, Hildegarde.
She leaves all that she knows and travels by herself to a country that she does not know to a job she does not care to do. But with all that she accepts her fate and works hard. She also comes to the attention of two men in the household, Kit and his father. The story goes on with an ending that you may or may not like, with deaths that you may or may not suspect.
It is a book that will attract several groups, WWII buffs who study the in and outs of war coming to England and the cicumstances of the Jewish population. Also, people who enjoy British writing, and those who enjoy watching shows based on British lifestyle, such as Downton Abbey.
I liked the book because I think that it is amazing to me that during the time of WWII, everyone thought that the war would last only a few months, no on realized or turned a blind eye to the happenings during that war. I always think of the thousands of people who walked past citizens in a variety of countries and no one thought anything was going on or were afraid to say anything because they knew what was actually happening. But that brings us to people who actually did help and offer some solution to the problems happening in Europe. And the people who lost loved ones because they could not escape fast enough.
I also liked the main character Elise, she is terrified but also spunky. Who else throws stones at an enemy plane? She is a young adult but there are times she acts like a child and other times as someone who is wise beyond her years. A good book
We are introduced to Elise as she is about to embark by herself to England from Vienna to become a maid at Tyneford House. She leaves behind her married sister who is heading to America and Anna and Julian (mother and father) who are patiently waiting Visa's to leave Vienna. Plus probably the only one who understands her the maid at her house, Hildegarde.
She leaves all that she knows and travels by herself to a country that she does not know to a job she does not care to do. But with all that she accepts her fate and works hard. She also comes to the attention of two men in the household, Kit and his father. The story goes on with an ending that you may or may not like, with deaths that you may or may not suspect.
It is a book that will attract several groups, WWII buffs who study the in and outs of war coming to England and the cicumstances of the Jewish population. Also, people who enjoy British writing, and those who enjoy watching shows based on British lifestyle, such as Downton Abbey.
I liked the book because I think that it is amazing to me that during the time of WWII, everyone thought that the war would last only a few months, no on realized or turned a blind eye to the happenings during that war. I always think of the thousands of people who walked past citizens in a variety of countries and no one thought anything was going on or were afraid to say anything because they knew what was actually happening. But that brings us to people who actually did help and offer some solution to the problems happening in Europe. And the people who lost loved ones because they could not escape fast enough.
I also liked the main character Elise, she is terrified but also spunky. Who else throws stones at an enemy plane? She is a young adult but there are times she acts like a child and other times as someone who is wise beyond her years. A good book
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Over Booked
It seems I have underestimated the number of books I can read at a given time. I have at least 10 books piled up to read, okay it is more than that. I am trying to do All the King's Men justice by taking my time but now I have runout of library borrowing time and must delivery it back amoung the stacks. Do not fret dear reader because I do have an Ipad and a kindle and will download the book and start from where I left off.
But to give you a brief synopsis: We are not looking at the Boss but the reflections of the narrator who started off as a history major, hence the looking back quite frequently in his musings. He shows us the things he used to do and how that reflects his work with Boss Stark, but that in itself is also a history, as we get glimpses of the present every once and awhile. Which is why I am having some difficulty, he has gotten better about denoting his reflections or I have just gotten better at discerning when we are about to travel to the first past instead of the second past. We have also started getting some religious philosophy so that is interesting.
In addition I have started reading the book The House at Tyneford, by Natasha Solomons, which I have to have read by Feb 25th, actually before then as I have promised to share the book. Where does the time go? This is for bookclub so I will not talk about the book until I have finished with the book and heard some other thoughts on the book.
So here I sit trying to keep you up to date, but I must have lunch and then run this book back to the library so I do not get charged anymore late fees. Once I finish All the King's Men, I will be looking at two books from the 100 that seem to be interesting, Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis (457 pages) and The Golden Notebook, by Doris Lessing (565 pages.) I need to find some smaller books to read on the 100 books challenge.
Happy Valentine's day.
But to give you a brief synopsis: We are not looking at the Boss but the reflections of the narrator who started off as a history major, hence the looking back quite frequently in his musings. He shows us the things he used to do and how that reflects his work with Boss Stark, but that in itself is also a history, as we get glimpses of the present every once and awhile. Which is why I am having some difficulty, he has gotten better about denoting his reflections or I have just gotten better at discerning when we are about to travel to the first past instead of the second past. We have also started getting some religious philosophy so that is interesting.
In addition I have started reading the book The House at Tyneford, by Natasha Solomons, which I have to have read by Feb 25th, actually before then as I have promised to share the book. Where does the time go? This is for bookclub so I will not talk about the book until I have finished with the book and heard some other thoughts on the book.
So here I sit trying to keep you up to date, but I must have lunch and then run this book back to the library so I do not get charged anymore late fees. Once I finish All the King's Men, I will be looking at two books from the 100 that seem to be interesting, Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis (457 pages) and The Golden Notebook, by Doris Lessing (565 pages.) I need to find some smaller books to read on the 100 books challenge.
Happy Valentine's day.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Sorry
It seems that though I am enjoying All the King's Men, construction on my house has got in the way of reading. I promise that I will finsih this book and move onto my next book read for the 100, by the end of next week. The next book to be reviewed as part of the 100, is Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. I am trying to get all the older books read first.
One thing I love about All the King's Men, are the very southern sayings, for example: "His chances looked about as good as the chances of a flea making a living on a carved marble lion on a monument."(page 62) This is referring to Willie Stark getting elected as Governor.
Another saying was "He had galloping political anemia.", this also refers to Willlie Stark's campaign and his inability to deliver a speech that moved the masses.
On page 78, Sadie, Willie Stark's campaign manager, is talking to our narrator, Jack Burden, about who she prefers to date. Her response to him when he asks if she thinks he is good looking is "I never did go for anybody that reminded me of a box of spilled spaghetti. All elbows and dry rattle."
My next book I will review, from the book club I attend, will be The House of Tynford, by Natasha Solomon.
If you are over 50 and looking for a dog, then read The 50+Dog Owner by Mary Jane Checchi. This is a very informative book, that makes you really think about the type of dog you should get or if you really can handle a dog. It made me realize that if I got a young dog and it lived 10 years would I be able to lift it if I had to take it to the vet or if it got hurt.
One thing I love about All the King's Men, are the very southern sayings, for example: "His chances looked about as good as the chances of a flea making a living on a carved marble lion on a monument."(page 62) This is referring to Willie Stark getting elected as Governor.
Another saying was "He had galloping political anemia.", this also refers to Willlie Stark's campaign and his inability to deliver a speech that moved the masses.
On page 78, Sadie, Willie Stark's campaign manager, is talking to our narrator, Jack Burden, about who she prefers to date. Her response to him when he asks if she thinks he is good looking is "I never did go for anybody that reminded me of a box of spilled spaghetti. All elbows and dry rattle."
My next book I will review, from the book club I attend, will be The House of Tynford, by Natasha Solomon.
If you are over 50 and looking for a dog, then read The 50+Dog Owner by Mary Jane Checchi. This is a very informative book, that makes you really think about the type of dog you should get or if you really can handle a dog. It made me realize that if I got a young dog and it lived 10 years would I be able to lift it if I had to take it to the vet or if it got hurt.
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