More Cloud Atlas

Okay so I am halfway through the book and I am now thinking how the heck did they do the movie. I will finish the book hopefully by this weekend and then my daughter and I are going to watch the movie. I am not sure how it did in the box office, but if the book is any indicator, I am sure the movie was confusing, making me think it did not do well at the theaters. It seems that they are a bunch of little stories but they are all interconnected, hence Cloud Atlas, time travel is not apparent at first but I am not sure I would call it time travel. I love the use of areas that we know, and peoples that we know to ground the story to earth.

The Cloud Atlas by david Mitchell

Okay, so in my last report I said I was reading the CLOUD but it is the CLOUD ATLAS. I think my brain was in the clouds, too much drama in my life to think. So I am on the third section of this book. Wasn't I surprised when the first section ended mid-sentence only to find that the rest of the sentence was at the back of the book along with the last chapter. I had a thought, how do I read this, should I cheat and go all the way to that chapter then go back to section 2 read that next section, which coincidently is the next to the last chapter, or do I go I just read it page to page like any book? I was tempted by the first option, but decided to be boring an read page for page. The first section is called THE PACIFIC JOURNAL OF ADAM EWING, I am not sure when the timing is but I am thinking sometime in the 1800's. The second section is called LETTERS FROM ZEDELGHEM and is set in 1930's, in this section we have a brief mention of the journal of Adam Ewing and Zedelghem is writing to the one of the characters in the next section Sixsmith. Now the third section is called THE HALF-LIVES OF THE FIRST LUISA REY MYSTERY, this is what makes me become interested in the book. She meets Sixsmith when they are stuck in an elevator and he tells her about a problem with a nuclear plant. HE ends up dead but not before he makes an interesting statement, that he has been carrying around Zedelhem's letters for a century. HE also says that he is 66 years old, which makes me curious on how he can have held the letters for a century and what time is this third section set in. Plus also curious, how many Luisa Rey's are there and what is a half-life? See curiosity piqued.

Two books read while I was on vacation

When I go on vacation I usually try to find a book or two based in the area I am traveling to, in this case Chicago. I went to the local library and retrieved three books, one of which I got for my husband but he enjoyed another book of mine so much that he did not get a chance to read the book I had obtained for him. One of the books I picked up had actually been recommended by a friend and at the time I did not know it had anything to do with Chicago, it was a fun surprise to find as I was reading it that the author was from the Lake Shore area. It was not fiction but a memoir of her life in 2012. It is the book that my husband thought was hilarious. In fact, he wondered where she had hid the cameras in our house. I have to say that Jen Lancaster is a bit more put together then I am, it was a fun book to read and while my husband was in his classes I had to read ahead in the book. He would always break out laughing every two to three sentences and read me the passages. The book is called "THE TAO OF MARTHA". If you have not read any of her books please put it on your book list. The second book I read was called "CITY OF ASH" by Megan Chance. This book started in Chicago but ended up in Seattle. The city in ash was Seattle and not as I had earlier surmised the city of Chicago. The book is about a socialite who is not playing her "position" in the correct manner, especially after she becomes a married woman. Her husband and her father conspire against her , she has two choices, move with her husband to Seattle or be committed. There more conspiring occurs which puts Ginny in contact with the theater and two people who will forever be entwined with her: Sebastian and Beatrice. Beatrice is a actress and Sebastian is a playwright. They are both introduced to Ginny through her husband. A good book as it made me get furious with Ginny's husband Nathan and actually a little furious with Ginny herself. This character was supposed to be smart, but she let her fantasy world derail her. She did not stop to think of anyone but herself, she kept forgetting how conniving her husband was. I really would have liked to kick her in the pants and I guess that is what Beatrice did, sort of. Two good books, next 100 book will still be "THE CLOUD" but also "GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN" by James Baldwin.

Two books: Maid to Match and Brave New World

I have decided to try to read faster and get my book reading the 100 finished by the end of the year. This means that I will do a quick review of the 48 books that I had previously read before starting the 100 list. But in the meantime I will review the current books that I ha read. One which is on the reading the 100 and the other is a book that my book club is reading. Are there similarities in the two, some, but not many. The first book I finished was MAID TO MATCH by Deeanne Gist. This book is set in 1898, on the Biltmore Estate. The author makes note at the back of the book that not all facts are real but do make an interesting story. The Vanderbilt's at this time were newlyweds and they were very nice people who took care of their servants, so that part of the story is true. The orphanage is not true, nor are the names of the servants mentioned in the book. It has a very upstairs downstairs point of view, but central focus is on the servants and their interaction and desires. I found that the mother who groomed our main character, Tilly, to be a Lady's maid has somehow forgotten about love. I really became angry with her for not supporting her daughters decision to marry, but instead wanted her to spend all her days a slave, though treated nicely, to other peoples desires. There was a cast system in play and some biases against people in the mountains of Asheville. I have been to Ashville, several times and find the area fascinating. I do however, find that I do not wish to spend the 50 dollars to go to the estate, I rather like the village. I really enjoyed the book, it was a fast read and I am looking for a good discussion at book club. I guess this falls in the category of a historical romance and is on par with Downtown Abbey. The next book I read was A BRAVE NEW WORLD, by Aldous Huxely, very different for a book written in 1932. We have a Utopian society that I am sure at the time was looked at with incredulity. In this society, everyone is manufactured to be the same, but it is still built on a class system, that goes from Alpha's to Epsilon's. As you guess the Alpha's get all the best from their test-tube lives up to meds that help them to achieve all their goals. The Epsilon's are bred to basically be stupid and for menial jobs. Each are also given medicine that helps in the various areas where they will find work, such as malaria drugs. The children are also conditioned at night while they are sleeping, with songs that are to either keep them in their place, or to look down on the lower castes. The other shocking thing that is introduced is the use of drugs to keep everyone stable and looking young. The other is the sex that is for everyone, within caste. Even the small children are encouraged to engage in sexual acts. I can see why in 1936 it was not a popular book. I dare say it probably would still not be considered a proper book. As you might suspect there are people who just do not fit in this mold, even when conditioned to do so. There are also areas where there are other societies. They are generally called savage areas. When one "savage" is brought back then there is definitely some friction. No mothers or fathers for the utopian society, they are obscene names and acts. The utopian society does have a God who replaces God that they call Ford. There are Ford manuals on how to do things. God was replaced because all the books were old, just like Shakespeare. I enjoyed the book. But I think that in 1932 and then especially around 1942, when we have Hitler trying to make a special type of person the norm, there would be a hard time getting into this book without some sort of reservations. Again the thing that pulls these two boks together is the class sytem., wheteher ist is 1898n or the 2500's.

Next -up CLOUD ATLAS

My next book from the 100 is CLOUD ATLAS I have started it three times and I have not really got into it yet. I keep seeing the ads on the TV for the movie and how wonderful it is, but I am stuck in the middle of the ocean with a stow-away and it just started getting interesting. SO I will keep you posted get some facts about the writer and try to make sense of this book. I refuse to watch the movie until I read the book. I am just going to tell myself that it is going to get better. In the meantime, I have read two books that are not on the list: COASTAL DISTURBANCE by Jessica Speart and THE DOUBLE CROSS by Clare O'Donohue. I started reading books by Jessica Speart after I read her non-fiction book called WINGED OBSESSION, about butterfly smuggling. It was a real eye opener and when I went to see if she wrote anything else, I found a series books called the RACHEL PORTER MYSTERIES. These books are difficult to find as they are out of print, but I have managed to track most of them down. Since I was in Florida I decided to read the book COASTAL DISTURBANCE about manatee abuse and water pollution, with a liberal sprinkling of ghosts and superstitions. DOUBLE CROSS is also a mystery featuring a group of women who quilt and solve mysteries. Love interests with the main character Nell and the Jesse, the police detective. This book dealt with the mountains, not the beach but still a good story, perfect for relaxing.

The Lone Wolf and Winter GArden

Thoughts on the Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult: The whole kit and caboodle were Lone Wolves. They each left the family unit and the whole thing fell apart. Cara was like the baby wolf who has to deal with a dysfunctional unit. To die or be accepted by a new pack or try to stick with the old pack. The son Edward runs away to hide from his troubles with the pack leader, and would not have come back if it were not for the father being in the car accident. Georgie leaves because she has a broken heart but finds and makes a new pack. Luke is the wolf, and also the main lone wolf, away from both packs that he loves and should be apart of, out on his own, dying to spare the rest of the pack. What a decision to have to make. Knowing that you have guilty feelings associated with your father, feeling that you are thrust into an uncomfortable situation. I would not like to be any of them. I liked the way you hear Luke’s thoughts even though he was not conscious. I also liked the ending with Barney, who was probably a recipient of Luke’s kidneys. Really chilling and sad. Cara-daughter Georgie- exwife Luke-wolf/father Joe-new husband and lawyer Edward-son These are my thoughts before heading to book club. This was our pick for June and I have to say that I loved the twists but thought that it would be highly unlikely for the step-father to represent his step-son when they were going against the step-daughter. I think that he should have asked a partner or another lawyer to help, as this would have affected the family dynamic and it was already dysfunctional. This leads us to the story I just finished for this months book club at the end of July. Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah. Another dysfunctional family, a mother haunted by her past in Russia. Two girls who are alienated from their mother because she refuses to love again. The father the only one handling everyone and keeping all healthy and happy, until he dies. A fairy tale that Anya the mother is telling which we later know to be her story. A happy and very sad story. Again with twists some expected, some not. I just wanted "Anya" the mother to warm to her daughters and talk to them but she cannot, she is more afraid to face lost love then to let herself love, and then when she does love them, more fates step into play. What would you do if you had loved someone with your whole heart and you thought they had died a brutal death, would you seal up your heart or would you try to love again? It is hard to say, and even harder to do, I think. I thank God that I have not had to deal with the atrocities of war. I have never had to worry about bombs falling on my head as a country fighting different regimes. WE have had different kinds of atrocities happen in the US, and wars fought in country that I was not apart of, so I do not know the grief that surrounds a parent with this type of loss. I do not know how to work so hard to keep someone alive when there is not food to be found. What I do know is that we hear of heroism in the face of danger and pray that we never have to make a decision that would mean life for one of our children and death for another. I wish no one had to face that ordeal as it is a life changer. I am hoping that my next book will be a little lighter in concepts, I think I have a few lined up.

Alice in Wonderland

It seems that I have slid back to not writing as frequently as I should for thus blog. But I finished Alice in Wonderland and for the fun of it Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Being an adult I am thinking what stimulus was he on to create such characters and scenarios. But according to his biographies there is no mention of drugs though he may have suffered from migrains and he stuttered. His real name was Charles L. Dodgson. He wrote several books but none as popular as the Alice books. He died shortly before his 66th birthday from pneumonia. What little girl would not like to be involved in such an adventure. I used to traipse through the woods and look for all sorts of fun things, creating stories as I went. TO fall into a rabbit hole and alternately becoming large and small, would be a grand adventure, or to walk through a mirror to an alternate universe. Surely, a very imaginative and curious mind did our Mr. Dodgson have when stretching our conscious reality. Through the Looking Glass is concept that has been used in many a horror show or in current TV shows such as Fringe. TO walk into another universe, but even to walk into on where all the books you read are backwards, reminds me of Manga. Fun fantasy. Lots of poems especially in Through the Looking Glass. In the back of that story is another poem in which the letters spell out a child's name Alice Liddell, the girl who got Charles started by sharing the story he had written with another author, who then talked him into publishing the book. So next time you are looking for something adventurous you might want to look into Lewis Carrols work. I am going to try to find "Hunting Snarks." But I will finish Gatsby next and also discuss with you a book I read for my book club called LONE WOLF by Jodi Picoult.