Monday, March 31, 2008

A Thousand Splendid Suns

On Saturday I finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. Wow. This one made me cry. It was so sad but so good. Now I know why everyone has recommended this book. I do, too. It's set in Afghanistan and the two main female characters both have the misfortune to be married to the same brute of a man. It's one of the best stories about friendship, male or female, that I've ever read. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, because I really think anyone who enjoys a good story should read this one. Suffice it to say, it had a lot of touching moments.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Duma Key

I finished reading Stephen King's "Duma Key" on Wednesday. Now, Stephen King was my number one guy, my book god, for years. I never thought I would ever read anything as brilliant as his books. Then I discovered there are other (and better, in some ways) authors out there. King's books are somewhat sketchy: when they're good they're amazing, but when they're not so good they're really, really awful. "Duma Key" was of the first variety, which was a pleasant surprise. I would say this is his best book since finishing up the Dark Tower series a few years ago. It reminded me of "IT" and "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" (which was a short-ish story in a longer book of collected works called "Different Seasons"). I liked the interaction between the two main characters. The story was a little thin in the beginning, which, at least in my eyes, makes the wife out to be very cold hearted for divorcing this poor crippled man. The only thing it was missing (and maybe he's gotten cynical in his old age) is the little touch of a happy ending that keeps a story from being too depressing. In books like these you really need that. "Rita Hayworth..." had it. Even "IT" had it (Audra wakes up...yeah!). But "Duma Key" didn't. It deliberately ended on a sad note, which is unfortunate. Otherwise, it was a great book.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Mary, Queen of France

Rather than trying to follow Faulkner up with something brilliant, I read something new that I knew would be fun in it's own way, Jean Plaidy's "Mary, Queen of France", the story of King Henry VIII's youngest sister, who marries Louis XII of France. Before marrying the aging monarch, Mary extracts a promise from her powerful brother that when Louis dies, she can choose her next husband. Louis dies not long after their marriage, and Mary marries Henry's longtime friend, Charles Brandon, who she's been in love with for many years. In the book, Plaidy has Henry forgiving Mary and Charles rather quickly, but I think most historians paint a different picture. Still, it was a fun little quick read, kind of like rinsing the brain out with water after soaking it in wine.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Anne's House of Dreams; Killer Heat; The Sound and the Fury

First, another reread by L.M. Montgomery, the fifth in the Anne of Green Gables series, "Anne's House of Dreams". Anne and Gilbert are married and move to Four Winds so Gilbert can establish his medical practice. Anne meets the sad neighbor who is beautiful but troubled by her marriage to an amnesiac, Leslie Moore. Anne and Gilbert's first child, a girl, dies shortly after birth. With the help of Captain Jim, Miss Cornelia, and Owen Ford, this is an interesting if not sad book, like all the rest. I don't think I want to reread any of the others just now.
Moving on. The latest by Linda Fairstein, "Killer Heat". Set in the dog days of August in New York City, it looks like Cooper, Mercer, and Chapman have a serial killer on their hands when three girls turn up dead, all at deserted military related locations, all women who looked like they were in some sort of uniform. Hmmm...it was interesting, and made some good points about rehabilitating sex offenders.
And another reread, one I've probably read more than any other book, one of my all time favorites...William Faulkner's absolutely brilliant "The Sound and the Fury". Every year at Easter I think about rereading it, and this year I made it. What a haunting, beautiful, misunderstood story! Every time I read it I feel more sympathy for Jason, sorrier for Benjy, more disgusted with Quentin (both of them) and Caroline Compson. Some articles and books I've read about Faulkner try to make Jason out to be a villain, but I couldn't disagree more. Caroline Compson is the real villain, with her long suffering woe is me attitude that could drive a saint to drink. I understand completely why her husband was so eager to part from the world, why her daughter behaved the way she did, and why her eldest son committed suicide. What a great book! Now, for awhile at least, everything else I read will seem dull and flat. Mr. Faulkner is an extremely tough act to follow.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Anne of Ingleside

Another reread, by L.M. Montgomery. In this one, Anne's children are all very young and get into little scrapes that are adorable and sad all at the same time. Why do children's books have to be so damn sad? I really didn't notice this as a youngster reading these, how sad they are. Anyway, for instance, little Jem adopts a dog named Bruno from an orphan boy who is going to live with his aunt, who won't take a dog. Little Bruno is so sad for his old owner that he stops eating and everyone fears he will die. Dr. Blythe goes and fetches Roddy (the old owner) and brings him to Ingleside to cheer Bruno up. Boy, is Bruno a changed dog! Then Roddy tells Jem that his aunt wouldn't mind him having a dog, only he didn't want to ask Jem if he could have him back. Well, of course, Jem, being the perfect little child he is, insists Roddy take Bruno home. Now, how sad is this? Seriously. I'm beginning to question my sanity by rereading these books.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

On the Bright Side I'm now the Girlfrind of a Sex God; Rilla of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley

All rereads. Finished up the Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison with #2, "On the Bright Side..." (I had quite a chore digging it out, but I found it!). In this one Georgia used Dave the Laugh to make Robbie jealous, but then she feels very badly about how she's hurt him. In the end Robbie decides they should date anyway, despite her age, and Dave gets back at Georgia by dating her dim friend Ellen.
Now I'm rereading L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series. I started with the last one, "Rilla of Ingleside", which takes place during World War I. It was very sad. Her brother Walter is killed in France, many of her friends are injured, her older brother is captured by the Germans but escapes, her sweetheart goes off to war, she adopts and cares for a baby whose mother dies and whose father is off fighting. Dog Monday is the saddest thing: the faithful family dog goes off to the train station to see the oldest boy (and first to go) Jem off, and refuses to leave the station. Four and a half years go by before Jem steps off the train and into the station, and there is faithful Dog Monday waiting for him, and refuses to leave his side after that, even going with him to church. It made me cry.
So did "Rainbow Valley". I used to laugh at the antics of the Blythe and Meredith kids when I was younger, but now it just seems to make me sad. I don't know why.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers; Away Laughing on a Fast Camel; Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging; and Knocked Out By My Nunga Nungas

I guess I'm just going to finish rereading the series by Louise Rennison before I move on to anything else! Now I just have to find the rest of them; they are buried in my mountain of books somewhere. "Boy Entrancers" is book 6, when Georgia starts dating Masimo and learns that Robbie is missing her in New Zealand and Dave the Laugh thinks they should be together (smart lad!). "Fast Camel" is book 5, where Georgia first meets Masimo. One of my favorite scenes in the whole series is in this book, after Mark Big Gob insults Georgia, she tells Dave, who goes and beats Mark up and makes him apologize to her! I love it! "Angus" is the first book in the series, when she meets Robbie (Sex God) and he falls for her, but tells her they can't date because she's too young. "Knocked out" is book 3 (I can't find book 2, I know it's there somewhere...) where Robbie and Georgia are officially dating but never see each other because Robbie's band, the Stiff Dylans, just got signed to a record label and he's always with the band, so Georgia starts thinking more and more about Dave the Laugh.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Queen of Subtleties and Lurve is a Many Trousered Thing



Suzannah Dunn's "Queen of Subtleties" had an interesting take on Anne Boleyn. Most fiction books go one of two ways: either they make Anne out to be a saint who was taken advantage of by her scheming father and uncle, or she was a manipulative bitch. This one was somewhere in between. Anne seemed very human. She was frustrated by the delays over her wedding to Henry, who she really did love, and she was angry with Queen Catherine for not realizing Henry didn't want her anymore. The story of Anne was intertwined with the fictional person of Lucy Cornwallis, confectioner to the king. Lucy actually was in love with Mark Smeaton, the one man accused of adultery with Queen Anne who actually confused (many historians believe he was subjected to heavy torture). So we see Anne's story not only through her eyes, but Lucy's as well.

"Lurve is a Many Trousered Thing" by Louise Rennison is book 8 in the series, and I about damn near died laughing, rereading it. The camping trip at the end is absolutely priceless. I hear they are making a movie based on the first book. I wonder if Hollywood will be able to catch the utter hilarity of these books. We'll see.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Startled By His Furry Shorts




I was in the mood for a good laugh, so I reread "Startled by his Furry Shorts" by Louise Rennison this morning. This is book 7 of 8, 9 is due out in July. I can't believe I have to wait that long! Anyway, these books are hilariously, laugh out loud funny. They star Georgia Nicholson, a British girl with problems I would love to have: in this one she has 3 different gorgeous guys on the string, and she can't decide which one is the right one for her. Boy, some people have all the luck ;-) Still, they're very funny and full of great British slang which is just entertaining. I wish I had been that kind of teenager. (BTW Georgia: go with Dave the Laugh already!!).

Sunday, March 9, 2008

The Assassination of Julius Caesar and Not the Girl Next Door

"The Assassination of Julius Caesar" by Michael Parenti was quite good. I liked the point he kept reiterating that we cannot judge historical characters on today's standards and morals. I like that in a history book. I like the facts told, plain and simple. I can interpret for myself, thank you. I am always leery of judging people from eras long ago (except Henry VIII. The man was a tyrant). Who knows? In a hundred years, blogging about the books you enjoy reading might be socially unacceptable behavior. :-0
"Not the Girl Next Door" by Charlotte Chandler examined the life of Joan Crawford. It wasn't as good as I'd hoped. Chandler used a strange, first person style to tell Crawford's story, and didn't really flesh it out. Apparently she interviewed Crawford before she died (over 30 years ago--Jesus, what took you so long?) as well as people who knew her, and just slapped the interviews together verbatim without exercising any editing control. As you know, older people (as most of the people she interviewed were) tend to ramble off topic, and Chandler saw no need to correct this. Too bad, because it could have been an interesting book.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

California: a History

Today I finished "California: a History" by Kevin Starr. (He used to be the state librarian--what a cool job). Anyway, it was a good, quick, bare bones type history of the state (he has a whole series which is much more comprehensive that I swear someday I will get around to reading). It's pretty obvious he loves California, or at least finds it fascinating. I, on the other hand, can't wait to get out of here. It's overpriced, overcrowded, and just plain tiring to try to get anything done. Long waits, long lines, traffic jams...ugh. The weather is nice, and the views are gorgeous, and I understand why people flock here. So does Starr. It was pretty good.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

The Coming of the Book and Becky

"The Coming of the Book" by Lucien Febrve and Henri Jean Martin was a book for school, talking in minute detail about the history of the printed book in Europe during the 16 and 17th centuries. The print in this book was minuscule, and it was very difficult to get through. It was technical, and detailed beyond belief. Frankly, I was bored stiff reading it and don't remember a whole lot about it.
"Becky" by Lenore Hart was much more fun. Hart imagines that the characters in Mark Twain's "Adventures of Tom Sawyer" were real people that Samuel Clemens grew up with, and after his book is published, "Becky" wants to set the record straight. She tells the real story of Tom Sawyer and his buddies, and what happened to them (and Sam Clemens) once they became adults. It was easily readable and lots of fun, even though I never really cared for Twain's books. I had to read "Huck Finn" as an undergraduate, and didn't really like it, but this book made me want to reread "Tom Sawyer". Maybe I'll appreciate it more as an adult (I think I was 13 or 14 when I read it last).