I have decided my next line up of books:
SONS AND LOVERS, by D.H. Lawrence- I realized that though I have read excerpts, I have not read the whole book. This is one of the 100 books.
CALLING INVISIBLE WOMEN, by Jeanne Ray-It is my turn to pick a book for book club, so this is how I felt and since it is in time for Halloween, who would not like an invisible woman.
I am in a toss-up for one of the sixteen books before they come out as a movie, it is either: DARK PLACES by Gillian Flynn, WILD by Cheryl Strayed, or UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand. It is up to which is in the library when I go. I may have to download a book if I cannot find one of the 16.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Midnight's Children-review
MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie, a wonderful tale bringing together India/Pakistan history, gods, and wonderful characters. I like a variety of books, but my favorites are ones that make me think and ones that bring alive a place that I have never been before. This book does both of these things. I was only 6 years old in 1965, what did I know about strife between countries, I was two worried about going to school for the first time. This book makes me want to look up the history and the wars (or not wars) that occurred during the 1960's. I remember some of the things that were going on in the 70's but once again vaguely, as I was too worried about surviving high school and the endless array of bullies. Did my history teachers talk about India/Pakistan? I do not remember them mentioning at all. I do remember Ghandi and Indira Ghandi because I remember thinking are they related. I remember the name Nehru. I remember the gods names because I took a religion class and I read Siddartha. So now I must go and look up history, this is the thinking part.
As for the places, the descriptions like that of his characters are fantastic. I read the Life of Pi, and that made me have a fear of mangroves appearing or disappearing. But this book took it to another level. You wanted the three men and the man-dog to get out of there as soon as possible. I kept waiting for teeth to appear in the trees, but instead we got insects, snakes and scorpions. Just recently, I read an article about mangroves, moving north. All I could think is, how are they moving north. I now have to look up mangroves. Are these really places our author is telling us about or just works of fiction?
I truly like this book. I may have to read it again, just to pick up things I may have missed while my eyes were heavy with reading so late into the night.
As for the places, the descriptions like that of his characters are fantastic. I read the Life of Pi, and that made me have a fear of mangroves appearing or disappearing. But this book took it to another level. You wanted the three men and the man-dog to get out of there as soon as possible. I kept waiting for teeth to appear in the trees, but instead we got insects, snakes and scorpions. Just recently, I read an article about mangroves, moving north. All I could think is, how are they moving north. I now have to look up mangroves. Are these really places our author is telling us about or just works of fiction?
I truly like this book. I may have to read it again, just to pick up things I may have missed while my eyes were heavy with reading so late into the night.
Friday, September 26, 2014
In the middle
I am now squarely in the center of MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN. I thought I would be further but I will finish it by the end of the weekend. I find it interesting that he introduces the Midnight Children and their gifts exactly in the center of the book. Our author is 31 and talking about his tenth birthday and then goes into the description of the how his gift has given him the ability to find the others. I find it interesting that it is on middle ground in the book.
Well back to reading and thinking.
Well back to reading and thinking.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Midnight's Children-still reading
MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie, published by Alfred A. Knopf, INC., a Borzoi Book. My copy was published in 1981.
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I am in love with this book. I love the quirkiness of the characters, especially our storytellers wife Padma. My favorite part is her bugging him to hurry up and tell the story. Close to the end of book one we have a fast .synopsis of what we have been told so far, and Padma makes the best statement, 'At last,' Padma says with satisfaction, 'you've learned how to tell things really fast.' (page 108)
There have been many books I have read where you just want them to get on with the story, there are sometimes in this book that happens for me, but not too often. I love the descriptions and the mannerisms of the people, it builds a richness of character. I am in the middle of Book Two and hope to finish by this weekend or sooner. So far a great read.
In the back of the book it is compared to One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Marquez, I can see the connection and the richness of the both cultures from the development of characters in both stories.
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I am in love with this book. I love the quirkiness of the characters, especially our storytellers wife Padma. My favorite part is her bugging him to hurry up and tell the story. Close to the end of book one we have a fast .synopsis of what we have been told so far, and Padma makes the best statement, 'At last,' Padma says with satisfaction, 'you've learned how to tell things really fast.' (page 108)
There have been many books I have read where you just want them to get on with the story, there are sometimes in this book that happens for me, but not too often. I love the descriptions and the mannerisms of the people, it builds a richness of character. I am in the middle of Book Two and hope to finish by this weekend or sooner. So far a great read.
In the back of the book it is compared to One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Marquez, I can see the connection and the richness of the both cultures from the development of characters in both stories.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Trailer for Maze Runner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwwbhhjQ9Xk
So I watched the trailer for The Maze Runner on TV and on the above youtube video and the maze and it's components are not what I imagined after reading the book. I am pretty sure the box Tom came up in was completely dark and the walls in the maze were thick with vines. In the TV trailer you get your first look of the Grievers, but again my imagination and the movie producer's imagination saw things a little differently. I am sure it is going to be a good movie, but I will have to reimagine the Glade, the Maze and the Grievers.
So I watched the trailer for The Maze Runner on TV and on the above youtube video and the maze and it's components are not what I imagined after reading the book. I am pretty sure the box Tom came up in was completely dark and the walls in the maze were thick with vines. In the TV trailer you get your first look of the Grievers, but again my imagination and the movie producer's imagination saw things a little differently. I am sure it is going to be a good movie, but I will have to reimagine the Glade, the Maze and the Grievers.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Kite Runner
KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini, my copy was printed by Riverhead Books at the Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2005. Copyright 2003.
I went into this book with an open attitude, I thought. But as I read and realized the time line and what is going on in that country today I had to readjust my thoughts. My heart wanted this to be set in an ancient timeline with everything in the end super rosy, but even in todays paper we see groups calling the Shites mules. The book is set in Afghanistan in a period of time fraught with tension, Russian takeover, Taliban takeover and none of them in anyway bringing light and helpfulness to the region.
This books shows that like the US, their are divisions of cultures. Even when we worship the same God. This book helped me see the divisions and the blindness that comes in the culture. I am not trying to be mean. Clearly our central character loved his Hazari, but not when he felt his father paid more attention to the Hazari then he did to himself. He clearly felt some animosity towards his friend. The underlying current that the Shi'a are just animals who are not smart, that they only can be the servants of the Sunni. Where have I seen that in American history?
So politics aside. I finished this book fairly quickly. I could not put it down. I wanted Amir to stand up for his friend. I wanted Baba to accept Amir, for who he was. If those things happened the story would maybe change. I felt the story line was built really well. This book made me have sympathy, empathy and just made me mad at the characters. The thing is that these are fictional characters, but these are things that really happen in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and the mid-east. On group constantly fighting another all because of how they are perceived.
The concept of eye for an eye is also played out in the book. In the beginning with Amir and Hassan against Assef, Wali and Kamal after the Assef vows to get them back. Then in the assault and the paybacks. It made me want to go after Assef myself. I was also very upset with Amir on many levels throughout the book. Even when he was trying to do good, he makes a mess of things.
I was told it was a good book and it is. It made me think, made me feel many emotions and made me want to understand that bit of country just a little bit more. Like the Irish in the 1840's there is a migration to the United States to escape tyranny, this is still happening in Mexico with people coming to the States. Do we really represent freedom? People who come here do not always find that, as in this book Amir and Baba come here to live a life not of wealth but poverty. I think we are misrepresented as a land of plenty, it is only a land of plenty if there are not as many people. Too many people without jobs causes a land of emptiness not plenty.
Okay I am going to stop rambling. As I said before this book made me think. Now I get to think some more as I start MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdi.
I went into this book with an open attitude, I thought. But as I read and realized the time line and what is going on in that country today I had to readjust my thoughts. My heart wanted this to be set in an ancient timeline with everything in the end super rosy, but even in todays paper we see groups calling the Shites mules. The book is set in Afghanistan in a period of time fraught with tension, Russian takeover, Taliban takeover and none of them in anyway bringing light and helpfulness to the region.
This books shows that like the US, their are divisions of cultures. Even when we worship the same God. This book helped me see the divisions and the blindness that comes in the culture. I am not trying to be mean. Clearly our central character loved his Hazari, but not when he felt his father paid more attention to the Hazari then he did to himself. He clearly felt some animosity towards his friend. The underlying current that the Shi'a are just animals who are not smart, that they only can be the servants of the Sunni. Where have I seen that in American history?
So politics aside. I finished this book fairly quickly. I could not put it down. I wanted Amir to stand up for his friend. I wanted Baba to accept Amir, for who he was. If those things happened the story would maybe change. I felt the story line was built really well. This book made me have sympathy, empathy and just made me mad at the characters. The thing is that these are fictional characters, but these are things that really happen in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and the mid-east. On group constantly fighting another all because of how they are perceived.
The concept of eye for an eye is also played out in the book. In the beginning with Amir and Hassan against Assef, Wali and Kamal after the Assef vows to get them back. Then in the assault and the paybacks. It made me want to go after Assef myself. I was also very upset with Amir on many levels throughout the book. Even when he was trying to do good, he makes a mess of things.
I was told it was a good book and it is. It made me think, made me feel many emotions and made me want to understand that bit of country just a little bit more. Like the Irish in the 1840's there is a migration to the United States to escape tyranny, this is still happening in Mexico with people coming to the States. Do we really represent freedom? People who come here do not always find that, as in this book Amir and Baba come here to live a life not of wealth but poverty. I think we are misrepresented as a land of plenty, it is only a land of plenty if there are not as many people. Too many people without jobs causes a land of emptiness not plenty.
Okay I am going to stop rambling. As I said before this book made me think. Now I get to think some more as I start MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdi.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
THE MAZE RUNNER- finished
THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner is the first book in a four book series. It was published in 2009 by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
What happens when you wake up in a dark box with no memories of how you got there or who you are, except you have the name Thomas? Well, you get scared, confused and really terrified when you see faces and hear voices coming from above you. You are pulled out, no one answers your questions and you eventually find that you are in a maze.
There are monsters, moving walls, antagonists and people who befriend you. What do you do with your day? Try to find the end of the maze so you can escape from the area called the Glade and get back to your previous lives, if only you could remember what they were.
I thought the book started off a little disjointed but then we were getting Thomas's reaction to his new surroundings. The Glade is the safe zone at night, to stay away from the Grievers, monster creations of blubber, metal spikes and clanking noises, that will rip you apart or sting you so that you go through a Changing. The only protection from death is a serum to keep you from changing.
The book picks up pace and draws you in so that you want to find out what happens next. It is a science fiction book made for teens. It was a pretty fast read, it took about 2 days or about 8 hours max to finish. Some of the scenes still feel a little far fetched, but it is coming out in the movies, so I will see how it plays on the big screen. It ends in a cliff hanger, so I guess I am somewhat hooked, but will not read the rest until I have finished all the other books that I am reading.
What happens when you wake up in a dark box with no memories of how you got there or who you are, except you have the name Thomas? Well, you get scared, confused and really terrified when you see faces and hear voices coming from above you. You are pulled out, no one answers your questions and you eventually find that you are in a maze.
There are monsters, moving walls, antagonists and people who befriend you. What do you do with your day? Try to find the end of the maze so you can escape from the area called the Glade and get back to your previous lives, if only you could remember what they were.
I thought the book started off a little disjointed but then we were getting Thomas's reaction to his new surroundings. The Glade is the safe zone at night, to stay away from the Grievers, monster creations of blubber, metal spikes and clanking noises, that will rip you apart or sting you so that you go through a Changing. The only protection from death is a serum to keep you from changing.
The book picks up pace and draws you in so that you want to find out what happens next. It is a science fiction book made for teens. It was a pretty fast read, it took about 2 days or about 8 hours max to finish. Some of the scenes still feel a little far fetched, but it is coming out in the movies, so I will see how it plays on the big screen. It ends in a cliff hanger, so I guess I am somewhat hooked, but will not read the rest until I have finished all the other books that I am reading.
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