Friday, May 22, 2015
Beginning: ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE
I have just started reading ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE, by Robert M. Pirsig, and I think from what I read so far that I am going to like this book. I wonder if I would have liked it when I was younger or now that I am an adult trying to impart wisdom to my children that makes me connect to the book. My husband said that he tried to read it when he was younger and he could not relate to the book, I think that now he may change his mind. Still too early to tell if I will be maintaining this opinion, as I am only on page 40 of a 380 page book.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Review: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
HEART DARKNESS, by Joseph Conrad published by Everyman's Library in 1967, my copy was from 1993. It was originally published as a series in 1899 and then later published as a book in 1902 (page:xxvi) in the Chronology section of the book. An introduction was written in 1993 by Verlyn Klinkenborg. In the introduction which I always read after I read the book, it was noted that 'it is hard to remember what a short book HEART OF DARKNESS really is' (page ix). I concur, I found the book extremely lengthy even though it is only 38000 words. I think it is because he uses descriptions and what I like to call 50 cent words, to give the book depth and flavor.
However saying that, I still miss things that could have been added. We come in to the book with 5 people on a yacht, the Director, the Lawyer, the Accountant, our original narrator and Marlow, who is really telling the story. ( I believe in my midway review I called him Malone, sorry about that bit of confusion.) Marlow is telling the story of his going to Africa to pilot a steamship to get a man named Kurtz, his ivory and his notes about the natives and the area. We get descriptions of how Marlow ended up going to Africa, his time waiting for the wrecked steamer to get fixed and then his voyage down the river to meet the man named Kurtz who everyone seems to think is brilliant. We finally meet the man at almost the end of the book and only really for a few pages. We feel this man's pain, craziness or sickness in the last words he says "The horror, the horror."
We get the title of the book in several forms in the telling of this story. It refers to the darkness of Africa's interior, the darkness of the hearts of the men exploiting Africa, the darkness Marlow feels in relation to his brief relation with Kurtz, the darkness that becomes Kurtz soul and finally on the last page when we are back on the yacht, the original narrator describes 'the black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky-seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.'
I am told that this book was the basis for APOCALYPSE NOW the movie, I probably should watch it and see if it helps explain the book.
However saying that, I still miss things that could have been added. We come in to the book with 5 people on a yacht, the Director, the Lawyer, the Accountant, our original narrator and Marlow, who is really telling the story. ( I believe in my midway review I called him Malone, sorry about that bit of confusion.) Marlow is telling the story of his going to Africa to pilot a steamship to get a man named Kurtz, his ivory and his notes about the natives and the area. We get descriptions of how Marlow ended up going to Africa, his time waiting for the wrecked steamer to get fixed and then his voyage down the river to meet the man named Kurtz who everyone seems to think is brilliant. We finally meet the man at almost the end of the book and only really for a few pages. We feel this man's pain, craziness or sickness in the last words he says "The horror, the horror."
We get the title of the book in several forms in the telling of this story. It refers to the darkness of Africa's interior, the darkness of the hearts of the men exploiting Africa, the darkness Marlow feels in relation to his brief relation with Kurtz, the darkness that becomes Kurtz soul and finally on the last page when we are back on the yacht, the original narrator describes 'the black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky-seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.'
I am told that this book was the basis for APOCALYPSE NOW the movie, I probably should watch it and see if it helps explain the book.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Book: Review Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?
DOES THIS CHURCH MAKE ME LOOK FAT? by Rhoda Janzen, published by Grand Central Publishing, October 2012.
This is a book not only about religion, but also relationships with each other, God, and cancer. As a cancer survivor and finding my strength through prayer, God and the people around me I loved this book. The humor is spot on, I remember my days of chemo, surgeries and radiation and feeling the warmth of God descending on my shoulders in those troublesome times. My family, friends and church family rallied around me, and through it all there were definitely humor. You have to laugh, or you cry.
Back to the book and enough about me. I loved the descriptions of the people, especially her boyfriend/husband and his family. The recalling of why she moved away from faith and the embracing of faith with the right person. I think it makes all the difference in the world if you have someone to share your questions and thoughts with, without fear of rejection. The world is full of God instances, you just have to be open to them, for instance, as I was reading this book I was also preparing a Sunday School lesson for adults. I had put down my lesson, and picked up my copy of this book and started reading, my lesson was about the Gifts of the Spirit and chapter 7 in DOES THIS CHURCH MAKE ME LOOK FAT? is about Mitch and Rhoda doing a questionnaire called "Know Your Spiritual Gifts". I thought it worked perfectly with my lesson, so I talked about the book during my lesson.
A good eye-opening book about the fact that you can go back to church, you can survive cancer and you can change your life with just a little faith.
This is a book not only about religion, but also relationships with each other, God, and cancer. As a cancer survivor and finding my strength through prayer, God and the people around me I loved this book. The humor is spot on, I remember my days of chemo, surgeries and radiation and feeling the warmth of God descending on my shoulders in those troublesome times. My family, friends and church family rallied around me, and through it all there were definitely humor. You have to laugh, or you cry.
Back to the book and enough about me. I loved the descriptions of the people, especially her boyfriend/husband and his family. The recalling of why she moved away from faith and the embracing of faith with the right person. I think it makes all the difference in the world if you have someone to share your questions and thoughts with, without fear of rejection. The world is full of God instances, you just have to be open to them, for instance, as I was reading this book I was also preparing a Sunday School lesson for adults. I had put down my lesson, and picked up my copy of this book and started reading, my lesson was about the Gifts of the Spirit and chapter 7 in DOES THIS CHURCH MAKE ME LOOK FAT? is about Mitch and Rhoda doing a questionnaire called "Know Your Spiritual Gifts". I thought it worked perfectly with my lesson, so I talked about the book during my lesson.
A good eye-opening book about the fact that you can go back to church, you can survive cancer and you can change your life with just a little faith.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Heart of Darkness-midbook
I thought that I would pick up the HEART OF DARKNESS and just zip through it, but I have had to reread several passages. This story is started by the narrator and then is relinquished to Malone, who sits on deck of the boat and starts to tell his story about traveling to Africa. The problem I have is that I was trying to read this book to my husband on a trip and kept losing who was actually talking. There are places within the reminiscence that it jumps back to the narrator. So I was finding that I had to stop and figure it out. It reads better if you do not read out loud. The story does not really start until we actually arrive in Africa. I will be finished soon, I am halfway through the book that is only 107 pages long. So unless you have not guessed it the literal heart of darkness is the interior of Africa, but there is a psychological heart of darkness as well.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Next Book Pick
So I go online to find what books I need to read to finish off my list and then to the library web-site to see what books are available. I only have about 22 books to go and 1/2 of them are either checked out or at another library. I picked three that were available, plus the book club selection. They are as follows:
THE HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad- very short, so this maybe a weekend read.
THE ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE by Robert M. Pirsig- nonfiction and according to the paperback cover ELECTRIFYING
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexander Dumas-Very long, may take all my renewals to finish this one.
The book club selection: DOES THIS CHURCH MAKE ME LOOK FAT? by Rhoda Janzen- This will be read by May 18th.
I think that at least three of them will be finished by the end of May, Dumas probably heading into June.
Happy Reading
THE HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad- very short, so this maybe a weekend read.
THE ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE by Robert M. Pirsig- nonfiction and according to the paperback cover ELECTRIFYING
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexander Dumas-Very long, may take all my renewals to finish this one.
The book club selection: DOES THIS CHURCH MAKE ME LOOK FAT? by Rhoda Janzen- This will be read by May 18th.
I think that at least three of them will be finished by the end of May, Dumas probably heading into June.
Happy Reading
Monday, May 4, 2015
Book Review: SISTER CARRIE
SISTER CARRIE by Theodore Dreiser, my copy published by Barnes and Nobles Publishing in 2005. SISTER CARRIE was first published in 1900, with a 1000 copies. I was republished in 1907. Let's cut to the chase, this book hit all the triggers that caused it to be banned for a bit. A lone woman traveling to Chicago, meets a man on the train and several chapters latter is living unmarried to said man on the train. She is essentially the kept woman. Her goal is not to meet Mr. Right, but to have things that she has not had before in her life, a job, money and importance. How does she succeed?
Well first she leaves her home, her sister's home, her life with Mr. Drouet and her fake life with Mr. Hurstwood. The whole time she is moving up the chain of luxury. We do not know much about her life in Columbia, but we do know she was not happy as she wanted to be in a big city. She hates the first job she gets for she feels that she is better then these girls who work in the factory. She has no skills, including finding work. As I mentioned before Mr. Drouet comes to her rescue. He makes the mistake of introducing her to Mr. Hurstwood, who sneaks in to woo Carrie while Drouet is way on business. Hurstwood does something that causes him to lose his job and he is on the run with Carrie. Carrie is clueless.
So what other things is this book about, what is the undertone? We definitely see a class struggle, especially in the streets of New York. The homeless looking for work, being denied, finding lodgings and soup kitchens to eat in, while the elite go to the theater and dinner at the Waldorf. Mr. Dreiser our author, based on this book, does not like the elite. He does not like that this woman character throws people out of her life to climb the ladder of success. Carrie is made to be awful shallow, and the men seem to like to prey on the innocent. In the end ideals, place and circumstances change considerably, leaving you to think is it all worth the trouble, this need for money at the cost of others.
This is a good historical novel, it shows us what the times were actually in the late 1800/1900's. We especially see the conditions is the major cities. I liked the book, but was not sure who to root for in this novel, all the characters lacked likability. I should find the movie and see how it is portrayed.
Well first she leaves her home, her sister's home, her life with Mr. Drouet and her fake life with Mr. Hurstwood. The whole time she is moving up the chain of luxury. We do not know much about her life in Columbia, but we do know she was not happy as she wanted to be in a big city. She hates the first job she gets for she feels that she is better then these girls who work in the factory. She has no skills, including finding work. As I mentioned before Mr. Drouet comes to her rescue. He makes the mistake of introducing her to Mr. Hurstwood, who sneaks in to woo Carrie while Drouet is way on business. Hurstwood does something that causes him to lose his job and he is on the run with Carrie. Carrie is clueless.
So what other things is this book about, what is the undertone? We definitely see a class struggle, especially in the streets of New York. The homeless looking for work, being denied, finding lodgings and soup kitchens to eat in, while the elite go to the theater and dinner at the Waldorf. Mr. Dreiser our author, based on this book, does not like the elite. He does not like that this woman character throws people out of her life to climb the ladder of success. Carrie is made to be awful shallow, and the men seem to like to prey on the innocent. In the end ideals, place and circumstances change considerably, leaving you to think is it all worth the trouble, this need for money at the cost of others.
This is a good historical novel, it shows us what the times were actually in the late 1800/1900's. We especially see the conditions is the major cities. I liked the book, but was not sure who to root for in this novel, all the characters lacked likability. I should find the movie and see how it is portrayed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)