The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

I am not planning on reviewing these books, mostly because I believe most people have read them and have loved them. These books, to me, are like that old pair of comfy jeans - so familiar and comfortable and so enjoyable. The books open a whole new world to me, one that I always enjoy and one that I can't get enough of. Most of the experiences (in some way) I can identify with, the adolescence, the drama, the awkwardness, the family, the friendships - all are so universal. I love books that I can get so wrapped up in, that I can almost think I am taking part in the scenes, the action, the experiences. And when I read these books, these chapters before bed at night, I have these great dreams about running the halls of the Hogwarts castle with Harry and Ron and Hermione. I know, a little childish, but honestly, something that is really missing from my life of science and real world bills and responsibilities? Imagination. So, I can't exactly knock it. It's like directing my own movie in my head.
Alex and I were talking about whether Rowling would write more Harry Potter books, and I have to believe that she will. Alex thinks a prequel, dealing with Harry's family before he was born and their time at Hogwarts, or even a focus on Dumbledore might be fun. I was thinking that even a book just focusing on the normal, everyday life of kids at Hogwarts might be fun, especially for littler kids - simpler, schooltime adventures or some such thing. Alex firmly believes that anything taking place after Harry has killed Voldemort would be boring and wouldn't have much interest or excitement, but I beg to differ. I think the world that Rowling created is so imaginative, and the characters so identifiable, deep and memorable, that even simpler, shorter stories would hold interest for the fans.
I think one of my favorite things about the books is Hermione and Ginny (in the later books). They are both true modern feminists, portrayed as both brave and intelligent, able to complete any of the tasks the boys can, and never held back by traditional gender roles. These girls are wonderful role models for both girls and boys, helping to remind us all that we are all capable to doing what we put our minds to, no matter our background, our gender, or our families.
I think the most disappointing part of the books is the ending of the seventh book. While I like the ending, it is just a little too far out of my reach in terms of understanding and believability. I guess I don't understand why Harry couldn't be killed by Voldemort, but everyone else could be. And I understand that Rowling had to somehow explain all the things about Dumbledore, but I don't really love the scene that takes place when Harry is in "limbo" (I'm assuming that's what it is). And I think, for a romantic like me, I wanted more closure. I know that Voldemort is eliminated, and his Death Eaters go on the run, but some of the most enjoyable part of the books (for me) were Harry's experiences with his "family", the Weasleys, Hermione, the Order of the Phoenix, etc. I think I would have liked another chapter about his life, where he ends up, how he ends up there. And (while this is really complex, and likely not appropriate for a children's book) how the magical world recovers from such a thing as Voldemort. How do you first ask people to prove their "blood status" and then, relatively soon thereafter say "just kidding, go about your business". How do you go about reunification? I know that Germany struggled with this after WWII, and the US is certainly struggling with it 150 years after the Civil War. I realize these things are difficult to deal with, and perhaps I am reading too far into things....
The truth is that I love these books and I know I will read them to my future children - they have brought me joy and I have thoroughly enjoyed re-reading them again and again. I am looking forward to the last movie in the series, although I am sure to be disappointed as the books are always better!

Book Review Wednesday: The Millenium Trilogy by Steig Larsson

Alex's mom gave me The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when we went to visit her in CO in late July. Honestly, the cover of the book turned me off (I know, I know, don't judge a book by it's cover!) so I put it aside and didn't pick it up for a while. When I finally did pick it up, I found it a little hard to get into. The introduction seemed a little slow, the Swedish names and some references were hard to get. The author refers to the same characters by different names, which was confusing, and the descriptions of places, neighborhoods, etc, were hard to understand. I'm sure if I was Swedish, I none of these things would have troubled me. However, the book did contain a wonderfully delightful and interesting mystery. A couple, actually, that kept me interested, slogging through the slow introduction, getting to know the characters, and then I just fell in love with the book. It might have taken 150 pages or so, but after than I was fully committed. I couldn't put the book down, and I began to love the ridiculously long names of places and the character's penchant for sandwiches, no matter the time of day, their incessant drinking of coffee at all hours of the night, and their interesting and novel lives. None of the women in the novels were stereotypical. All were powerful (in one way or another) and none were yearning for a man in their lives (very little romance, but a lot of interesting relationships, which was refreshing). The protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist is an odd duck too. The books in the trilogy were stunningly good. Action packed adventure, mysterious happenings, interesting and novel plotlines. I just ate them up. I bought the second book in Jackson and I ordered the third not too long ago. I think I liked the first one the best, and the third one the least. But mostly, I just couldn't put them down. Intelligent and well written, involving government and corporate conspiracies as well as deep, dark secrets, I highly recommend these books.

Book Review Tuesday

As you probably know by now, I am unable to physically walk by a Used Book Store without stopping to peruse the books. When we were in Jackson, we took a walk with my Mom and ended up at a store that was really lovely. Piled from floor to ceiling with books, books, and more books, Mom and I were in heaven. I picked up a couple books by David Sedaris, while Alex picked up Abraham Lincoln Vampire Killer. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim was the first of Sedaris' books that I read. It's basically a collection of short stories and essays that are great for anyone with very little time on their hands to read. I have read a few other of Sedaris' books and have thoroughly enjoyed them, at some points laughing out loud at the stories he tells. This book was not nearly as funny and I wonder if it's because his weirdo family and all the characters he's described before are making another appearance. This book is much more about his adult life, as opposed to the childhood memories that mostly composed Me Talk Pretty One Day. I did still laugh out loud at some of his stories, but I also felt that he wasn't trying to be funny in some of them. He was just trying to describe his life. For example, he writes a story about his husband (boyfriend? not sure) and how they get into fights in front of their guests all the time. He talks about how they had made a New Years Resolution not to do that anymore, but they still fight (more of a nitpicky fight, not really a fight - fight) in front of the guests. He describes how they will both go about cleaning up after the party without talking and how the first one to talk "loses" the argument, and the "fight game". This story so rings true on so many aspects of relationships and life. And mostly, it's funny because it's true, but it's not really that funny, know what I mean? His crazy neuroses also come to light, even more so than in his other books, which at times, drove me a little crazy. But a few pages later, the story would be over and it would resolve itself. Altogether, this book was neither phenomenal, but it wasn't bad. I think it was likely more honest that his previous books, as he's beginning to look a little bit more inward, instead of describing his crazy family and friends. There are some sweet and touching stories, some that make you laugh out loud and some that might make you cringe, but it was a pretty good read. The stories are short, you can put it down and walk away from it for a while and not lose your place, and it was pretty entertaining. A great read before bedtime.

Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh

I have to admit, I've given up on Book Club. It was great for a while, but just not cohesive enough for me. I may, however, continue to check out the books they are reading, since most of them have been really good. The title of this book is super lame (it's the name of one of the chapters in the book) so that kinda put me off it for a while. But once I picked it up, I loved it. Sudhir is a sociology graduate student at the Univ. of Chicago, living in the "nice" part of the city. He decides that he wants to study gangs and gang life (and essentially urban poverty), but not from the sterile, isolated environment of academics. He decides to somewhat infiltrate a gang to see how they work from the inside. He literally walks into the projects, asks who's in charge, and is lucky enough to meet up with s sympathetic gang leader who takes him under his wings. His narrative is written in this naive voice, as in "I had no idea these people carry guns", but he ends up being somewhat non-judgmental, which works well. To a certain extent, there were a lot of things that surprised me about gang life. For example, the gang is run like a corporation. The guys selling stuff on the streets are the lowly worker bees, while the actual gang leaders live in luxury, usually somewhere in the suburbs (ironic, isn't it?). So all those arrests for possession of drugs with intent to distribute essentially do nothing to stop drug dealing, since some kid will come along and do that job again. Another interesting thing is that there are areas were the police are not in charge. I guess I kinda knew this, but once I saw it written down, I thought about it more. When I'm in trouble, or I need help, I call the police and they will come help me. But apparently, there are some place where they won't respond, or they have too few patrols to actually do anything. I remember being somewhat shocked when Kanye West said "George Bush hates black people" on the Katrina Help program. But now, I kinda believe it. And, really, it's pretty sad. This book gave me a new perspective on gangs, poverty, urban life, and black people (is that OK?). Read it, it's phenomenal.

Walking the Perfect Square by Reed Farrel Coleman

I got this book for my mom for Christmas this past year. She is really into murder mysteries, and I had heard a review of this book / author on NPR several months earlier, so I decided to check it out. This is the first book in a series by Coleman, following ex-cop Moe Prager on some mysterious situations. This first book finds Prager, recently retired due to injury, looking for a missing college student, Patrick Maloney. The book is set in the late 70s Manhattan (and some surrounding areas) as well as modern day (well, at least 1998) and the chapters jump back and forth between the two times. Prager is a great character. The novel is written in first person, following Moe as he searches for the lost kid, getting involved in political corruption, solving unexplained situations, and making friends along the way. This was a great detective novel. It was well written, Prager is interesting and realistic, but he also has some faults. But he seems like a genuinely moral person, acting, a lot of the time, as the moral compass of the book. He's a hard drinker, but he's also a family man, keeping in touch with his brother and sister throughout the book, and making it a point to call his daughter on her birthday. He seems to genuinely like people, and "makes friends" with quite a few of the more bizarre characters. And he seems non-judgmental, which is hard to believe for an ex-NYPD! I thought this book was really excellent, for a number of reasons. The writing was believable and gritty, and almost written with a NY accent (can you do that?). The scenarios were not so out there that they were unbelievable: political corruption, friends selling you out, a lot of money changing hands, tragic consequences, etc. The majority of the story was wrapped up very nicely, and the narrator gives the reader a nice "what happened to whom" at the end of the book, making a tidy story. There were some aspects of the story that seemed a little bit more cheesy, or over-the-top, but that really didn't bother me. I couldn't put the book down and I was drawn into the novel almost as soon as I picked up the book. Plus, it's a book published by a small, independent press, which I love to support. If you're a fan of detective novels, give Coleman's work a try. I'm already into the second in this series and it looks just as good as the first!

The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti

This book was honestly the first piece of feminist literature I have read. It didn't really tell me anything I didn't know, per se, but it did emphasize and coalesce thoughts and ideas in my mind.
The hypothesis of this book is that people (the book points at men, but realistically women are involved, too), for a myriad number of reasons, mostly religious, are obsessed with female virginity. Girls are seen as having this magical thing called virginity, which the author argues is technically undefinable, which must be "saved" for their husband. This idea creates a number of problems. Firstly, girls (and women) do not have ownership of their bodies, creating a situation where women will not become educated about health care, family planning choices or prevention of STDs. Secondly, girls who no longer have this magical virginity are seen as "damaged goods" or less worthy of pretty much everything (family, relationships, etc.). These rules generally only apply to "innocent looking white girls" as opposed to any "women of color". These ideas also create an odd relationship between women's value in society and their sexuality, which, when you think about it, is really strange. Why would what you do in the bedroom have anything to do with your job, or your life outside the bedroom? For some reason, however, sexuality is tied to morality. This book makes a lot of valid points, has sufficient footnotes (although not extensive) and is written to a younger generation. I wasn't totally thrilled with the way the book was written. Being an academic, I tend to like books that are well written and well cited. I am also a bit snobbish and like to read books by authors who should be an expert in their field. Valenti writes like a blogger, and I found the whole book to be written like one long blog post. Not bad, just different from my academic reading. I did, however, really like this subject matter. In case you are wondering, here is my opinion on the whole thing:


I grew up attending private school all the way through high school. I know where a lot of these ideas in this book are coming from. I saw them firsthand, saw them developing over time into something that is now marketed and paid for by our tax dollars. I started high school at this really tiny Conservative Christian high school in a town near to where I grew up. There were literally less than 30 kids in my freshman class. The people were nice enough and I quickly made friends with a girl called J. J was a little different, wore "grunge" clothes and has pierced ears and a streak of blonde in her dark hair. Although people liked her, she didn't really have many friends, definitely no girlfriends. She told me one afternoon that one of the teachers had molested her the year before, when she was in 8th grade. I'm not sure what exactly had happened, but when I got there, the teacher had been relieved of teaching duties and was transferred to the "administration office". As far as I know, he was never punished. Even then, I remember a attitude of "she wears weird clothes and does her hair weird so she must have deserved the molestation somehow". I don't remember being bothered by this attitude at the time, but I certainly am now.
At this same school, we had PE last period. All the girls changed in the bathroom and headed out to the soccer field. I remember some girls coming in late to change, having just met their boyfriends behind the dumpster for a quickie bj. This was shortly after signing the "purity contract" with their pastor and parents, swearing before Christ to stay a virgin until marriage. Needless to say, I did not sign said contract, and there was no pressure from my parents to sign it.
After I left the school, the married Algebra teacher got a 16 year old student pregnant. The last I heard, he had left his wife and had gotten an apartment for him and the 16 year old and the baby. I wonder how they are doing now?
After we all graduated (I switched to a new school in my sophomore year), I returned to a friend's house for a big graduation party, including all the people I had started high school with and some others who were a class above or a class below us. The girl's parents were out of town, so we all spent the night at her house and drank wine coolers and hung out. At some point in time, the girl who gave the party, G, was looking for her boyfriend, F. F was nowhere to be found, although he did turn up sometime later. He had taken another girl, A, back into the bushes behind the house for a little hanky-panky and had left her there. It turned out to be my job to help A on with her panties, as she was too drunk to get them on properly.
In high school health class, we were blatantly lied to about the effectiveness of birth control methods and how the pill works. And the teacher was supposedly a nurse!
I've also been on the receiving end of quite a bit of the virgin/whore dichotomy. I have a pretty outgoing personality, and I like to meet new people. I've been accused of being too flirtatious, of being slutty because I want to go dance on the dance floor, or being a whore because a lot of my friends are guys.
Most of these stories are harmless, silly things that happen in high school (and, arguably, beyond). The thing that concerns me the most is the hypocrisy. The telling people one thing and doing/living another. Hypocrisy is the number one reason I highly dislike organized religion, and would never subject my children to any of it's bs. I would rather be up front with my children about sex. About birth control, condoms, STDs, the whole thing. Be up front, educate yourself and then at some point, when your kid grows up, they have to take responsibility for themselves. And you have to trust that you gave them a good enough education that they will insist on using a condom, or getting yearly checkups, or advocating for women's health. I'd hope to raise responsible, socially aware kids than kids that are so ignorant they don't know if a blow job can get them pregnant (trust me, I've had this conversation....).
As a biologist, the thing that concerns me the most is the lack of education. The dirty lollipop or the dirty piece of tape, the idea that a girl (or woman) is "used" - the whole thing is ridiculous and disturbing. Along with the paternal ownership of a girl's body - the whole idea is just inane. And, call me silly, but I'd want my kids (or anyone else's kids, for that matter) to be equipped with as much education on subjects as possible, before they are faced with the decision to have sex or not have sex.
The upside? I've started reading more about this whole "feminism" thing. Turns out? I guess I am one :)
Commentary an reviews can be found here.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know what a huge fan of used book stores I am. While visiting Colorado last summer, Alex dropped me off at this great book store called Poor Richard's in downtown Colorado Springs. (As an aside, I'm not really sure why I feel the need to describe where / when I obtained this book, but, for some reason, in my mind, the book and the experience of vacation are inextricably linked). It was my perfect idea of a store, with a used book store, a coffee shop that sold delectable confections and also wine and beer. I loved that place and could have stayed there for much longer! Anyways, I picked up The Awakening by Kate Chopin while there. I'm not sure where I first heard of this book, but I do remember it was a controversial book at the time it was published (late 1800s). I'm a big fan of controversial books - anything that gets people riled up is usually a really good book, right? And this book was a really good book. The Awakening is about Mrs. Pontellier, an upper class housewife in New Orleans society. The book opens upon Mrs. Pontellier summering on an island with her two children and her husband. Her husband periodically returns to New Orleans to continue working, while Mrs. Pontellier stays at the resort with the children (and their "nanny" - Chopin actually calls the childrens' nanny a "quadroon" which was acceptable terminology at the time, but I feel is somewhat unacceptable terminology now - there are many examples of this throughout the book, which I suppose is a risk one takes when reading historical literature). At the resort, there are many families vacationing, and the reader is introduced to many social niceties and interesting dialogue, especially a lot of sayings in French or French Creole. The story is of the "awakening" of Mrs. Pontellier - that is, she discovers she is her own person, that she has her own feelings and her own self worth and that no one owns her or can tell her what to do, not even her husband. The awakening occurs gradually, over a several month period, and Mrs. Pontellier ends up shunning different societal traditions, realizing that she is in love with a man who is not her husband, and discovering that she is able to do things on her own, which is very much appealing. She somewhat abandons her children, abandons her household, leaves her husband to his trips across the country and lives her life for herself for a very brief period of time. I thought this book was brilliant, and I thought it illustrated well a struggle that women still have to this day. The idea of societal pressures, the pressure to "look good" (in whatever way you want to take that, physically, financially, job-wise, etc) and the pressure to have the perfect household, the perfect kids, the perfect marriage, etc. contrasted with what you, the individual wants, where you want to go, what you want to do with your life and how you want to portray yourself. These are all very pertinent issues that I struggle with on a daily basis. The Awakening is brilliantly written, if a bit old fashioned. It gave me a glimpse into what life might have been like over 100 years ago - and it illustrated the struggle we all still continue with. I identified with Mrs. Pontellier on many levels, and I nearly wanted to pull her out of the book and make her real so I could have a conversation with her. Chopin was a wonderful writer who received absolutely no credit for her controversial novel - I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

Book Club: The Commitment by Dan Savage

I loved this book. As someone considering heading into the realm of marriage, I think this book does justice to the idea of "commitment" and "marriage" and what they mean to modern couples today. I'm not sure this is an actual "gay manifesto" as it is made out to be. I think it's more of a person's struggle with the idea of marriage and the whole idea of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I think it's hard to understand how different marriage is now as compared to it in our grandparents (or even parents) age. I have multiple friends who cohabitate and have made a "commitment". I have friends who are married, yet engage in "swinging" or partner exchange, or whatever you might want to call it. I know people who have had kids and THEN decided to get married. As for myself, my boyfriend and I have lived together for years, yet something (societal or familial or maybe something more) pushes us to "validate" our relationship by getting married. I think Savage lends an honest glimpse into what his relationship with Terry is like, and concludes that it might not be what your relationship is like with your partner. I think the nice thing about marriage now is that we can define it how we want to define it - as open, closed, common law, multiple partner, etc. I think that gay people should have the right to do the same thing (to perhaps screw it up as much as us straight folks have?). Savage's writing is easy, entertaining, and funny. I laughed out loud more often than not and am very glad to have read this prior to making a decision on getting married. Savage humanizes the debate, putting his family at the middle of it (I would love to see what Dobson et al think of Terry, the stay-at-home-dad, or the kid who opposes gay marriage). It comes down to the idea that life isn't perfect, you can't plan everything and live and let live. I loved, loved, loved this book and highly recommend it.

I posted this in the comments section of the book club discussion as well. Comments here are disabled, to comment, head here.

Book Club Book Review: What is Marriage For?

Before first delving into my review of this book, I must admit, I am both a liberal academic and a scientist, which may bias my review of this book just a bit. Altogether, I would give this book a positive review. Graff is a lesbian and lays out her reasoning for a allowing gay marriage, arguing that all of the things heterosexual marriage is for (money, sex, children, kin, order, heart - her chapters) are the same things homosexual marriage is for. She also argues that, as society has changed, so has marriage, reflecting our views as society. I found this book to be interesting in it's historical tidbits, but honestly, pretty hard to get through. The author, while understandably passionate about the subject, tends to ramble on about historical situations or studies which hammer home her point, but at a certain cost. The reader must slog through brief explanations of such studies, attempting to pull out the relevant information. For example, while I found it interesting that gender of a parent did not seem to have an effect on children, as long as the parent is loving, the studies she cited were so small as to cause me to wonder why she cited them at all. I am mostly curious how the studies would look today, with ten years time in between.
I found the language to be a bit insulting - using the term "preggers" more than once, or the term "babies" for children (that may be my elitist academic in me) and I'm still not sure to whom the book was written. As the political situation had played out, it seems to be mostly right wing conservative Christians who have the biggest problem with gay marriage. I understand it's hard to address issues of religion with reason, and I assume this book was not written for them. It seems to be written for logical, reasonable individuals who have an interest in human rights and equality, but are on the fence about allowing gay marriage, for whatever reason. At this point in time, I think most of those people have been convinced that legalization of homosexual marriage is the next logical step, perhaps making this book a little dated.
However, I do understand this book set a precedent and has been quoted and used in arguments and discussions of same sex marriage over the last few years. I also understand that this was the first book to look at same sex marriage from the woman's perspective, which is indeed intriguing. I commend the author for her work in this field, and being brave enough to be the first one to logically lay out the reasoning for legalization of gay marriage.
On the personal front, I was appalled and outraged at the blatant discrimination carried out by voters when Prop 8 passed in California last year. I grew up with an unrelated gay uncle whom I will always fiercely defend. I really feel this is a constitutional issue for the Federal Government, one that must be interpreted by both the right for equality (separate is not equal) and the separation of Church & State (in that, the government cannot force a church to marry people it does not want to marry). I am hopeful this political nightmare will play out in a rational and justified way (and am astonished that Iowa is leading the way!). Ultimately, I think Graff's book should be read by anyone interested in marriage itself (whether gay or straight) as well as people interested in the arguments for gay marriage.
If you'd like to join the discussion, head over here.
If you are interested in book club and would like to join, check it out here.

Book Report Thursday

My mom lent me The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. She had just finished reading it and sent me home with it the last time I was in CA. I've just finished the book and I am absolutely in love with it. It takes place on a British island between England and France shortly after the end of WWII. The entire book is written in letters, which, at first, are somewhat cumbersome, but eventually come to represent the characters quite well. Our heroine is Juliet, a writer living in London who receives a somewhat random letter from a man named Dawsey, who is residing on the island of Guernsey. He has come across a book Juliet used to own and begins writing to her about the book (and can she send him some more?). The correspondence is lovely and well written, and brings you into a world you never thought existed. It turns out that Guernsey was occupied by the Germans during WWII, and they are now starting to recover from said occupation. Juliet becomes fascinated by this subject, thinking nobody knew about these plucky islanders and their multiple year occupation. Looking for a subject to write a book on, Juliet embarks on a journey looking for tales of the occupation and how the islanders, particularly a group called the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and how they dealt with the occupation. As she begins to get to know the characters on the island, she begins to make plans to visit and meet the friends she's made quite by chance. This novel is lovely, brave and endearing, written in a manner I thought long dead (actual letters) and it describes (sometimes in horrifying detail) the trials and tribulations of war and all of its consequences. At the end, I could not put the book down and actually carried it with me to work to finish during my lunch break. It's a great book, with wonderful characters, a great story line and a nice, although somewhat sad ending. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, as the characters are still in my head, the humor is dry and entertaining, and the plotline seems original and creative.

Book Report Thursday

On my most recent trip home, I happened across A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve in my Mom's library. I have read other books by Shreve and have found them to be entertaining and fairly good, so I thought I'd check this one out. The story is broken up into a weekend, with sections for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The novel takes place in a small inn in the Bershires run by a woman named Nora. The wedding is for Bridget and Bill, high school sweethearts who met again after many years apart and decided to get married. The people invited to the wedding are all old high school classmates who knew the couple "way back when" - surprisingly, there are few family members invited to the wedding (that wouldn't make a good story, right?). The novel follows several characters, including Bridget, Agnes, now a teacher at the high school they all attended, Harrison, a publicist, married with two kids, and Nora, the owner of the inn. All of the characters have some sort of unrequited angst or unfinished business from high school. We catch up to these people as they are in their late 40s, seeing what they've done with their lives and where their lives are headed. All of the characters experienced a tragedy during high school, and many have not seen one another since graduation (again, bizarre group of people to invite to your wedding, right?). And many of the scenarios described in the book are overly dramatic or exaggerated. Por ejemplo, I understand having had a crush in high school, but let me tell you, I am way over that by now (and I am not in my late 40s). Seeing my crush might bring back pleasant memories, but it certainly would not lead me to sleep with the person and consequently cheat on my spouse. All of the characters have flashbacks to the days of their youth, attempting to illustrate how far they have come or how many obstacles they have overcome. But, realistically, since the book is not about them in high school, it's hard to match the teenaged character with the characters in the book. And, ultimately, it's really sad. A teenager with lots of potential stuck in a dead end job, never married and unhappy (and, realistically, such a boring character that the author has her write a "short story" as part of her character sketch). I liked this book, and I found the writing pleasant, descriptive and interesting. I guess I just have a problem with people who complain about their situations or their lives without doing anything about it. They just kind of sit in their sorrow and sadness and just live in it instead of trying to do something to change it. I hate that. It drives me bananas. It also bothered me that the female character fighting off cancer had to always wear her wig and just kind of accepted that she would die from this disease, instead of doing everthing possible to fight it. Shreve's characters are definitely flawed, as we all are, and perhaps that's what I didn't like about the book. However, it obviously made me think (and, realistically, I had no idea this post would turn out so negative!). And I found myself drawn to the book, wanting to know what happen to the characters. Even now, some of the scenery comes to mind, pleasant and interesting. I guess, overall, I would say this book is like watching a movie where you're not entirely invested in the characters, but it's interesting to watch it play out. Oh, and some of the most interesting characters are merely supporting cast or characters that die off, unfortunatley. Perfect summer reading for me.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

After reading The Kite Runner several years ago, I absolutely was waiting and waiting for this book to come into the library at Penn. Fortunately, from all my bitching, my mom bought the book through her book club and lent it to me. I was not disappointed. I was trying to figure out what it was that I liked so much about this book. Is it that it takes place in a land far away, yet I still identify with the characters? Is it that is deals with cultural identifications I know little about? Is it that it describes a country which I have only heard in the news as being "bad" as a wonderful place full of interesting people, places and things? Perhaps it's all of these things and more that drew me into this book. For two days, I could not put it down, did not want to leave the story line, could not get the pictures the book created out of my head. The story is of two women, Miriam and Laila and their relationship with each other. The story starts by describing the girls' upbringings (very different), but it leads them to the same place eventually. At the same time, the author has incorporated Afghan history and culture into the story, talking about the ongoing wars, the changes in government, power and overall culture, and the effects these have on the main characters. It's also a powerful testament to the treatment of women in some of these states which practice extreme Islamic law. The story is sad, yes. The characters endure things I could not imagine. There are many hardships, heartbreaking situations, awful circumstances. Yet, I don't doubt this story is true in so many aspects. I was humbled by the storyline and almost ashamed of all I have and all that I will have in my future. It's hard to be reminded that we are very lucky people which very little to want for. This book was beautiful, endearing, touching, heartfelt and phenomenal. I am sure there are people like Laila and Miriam all over the world today. And we should celebrate these women, and fight for more equal treatment of women all over the world.

Good Morning, Monday

I finally finished a book entitled Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer (the author of Into Thin Air). This is another one of my inherited books and I started this book prior to my many weddings and travels last month. It's not such a good travel book, I'd say, but it was interesting. It begins with the story of a murder carried out in a small town in Utah. A woman and her infant daughter were murdered by her husband's brothers who had received a message from God saying that they were to murder her and her daughter. The book then goes on to explore the culture of the Mormon religion, delving into Mormon history, looking at the formation of fundamentalist sects and the eventual convening of the "School of the Prophets", where men receive prophecies directly from God himself. This book was fascinating for a number of different reasons, namely that it talked about Mormonism, which has always been something I am interested in, though know little about. It talked about the founding of the religion by Joseph Smith as well as about some of the historical occurrences the Church itself has tried to "sweep under the carpet". Because of my experiences in Christian and Catholic schools, I am always fascinated by the hypocrises and aberrations in religions (meaning, they aren't all as perfect as they want you to think they are). Krakauer is a thorough and detailed author, but he tends to jump around subjects, not staying with one particular subject long enough for the reader to fully appreciate the points he is trying to get across. His basic thesis, that from the beginning of the Mormon Church, there lies within a tendency towards fundamentalism and fanaticism which ultimately has led to several horrible incidences throughout it's short history, is supported quite well with his arguments and illustrations, but I don't know that this is anything new or particularly unique. The story is bizarre, right down to the murderer believing he is the prophet Elijah, who will herald in the second coming of Christ (from his jail cell???) and reads somewhat like In Cold Blood, although it does show some bias and is not nearly as "journalistic"-for lack of a better word. I'm not sure this book is one I would recommend. It's not really a "true crime" book, and it's not really a history book, it's a combo of both genres that might not necessarily be done very well. It is disturbing and fascinating to think people are so ridiculously religious as to think God would order them to commit murder, but perhaps it sheds some light on the religious fanaticism we see all over the world.

Eat Pray Love

We were fortunate enough to receive a box of books no longer wanted from Alex's Mom a while ago. I have been slowly working my way through said books, and Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert was my second endeavor. I have to say, I have seen this book everywhere. In every bookstore, on every shelf, as "recommended reading" by staff, the Book Reviews in magazines and all over the place. Often, that kind of turns me off. I don't love to read books that are just "popular". Especially since I once read a book by James Patterson and it was (quite possibly) the worst book I've ever read. So, I've avoided this one too. Partially because the tagline: "One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" didn't really speak to me. Also because it's described as a spiritual journey, which I also don't really identify with.
All these things stacked against this book, and I actually loved it. It's another memoir, so you have to be comfortable with this woman's inner dialogue. Which I was not, at first. There are some things she declines to discuss, for somewhat reasonable reasons, but at some times becomes ridiculous. There are also things I could never do, things I cannot at all identify with (such as taking a year off to travel the world and write a book). However, there were a lot of things I did identify with, such as having a painful break-up, relying so totally on another person that you lose sight of who you are, searching for peace and forgiveness of yourself, traveling to India or Italy, doing yoga, etc. Basically, Elizabeth takes a year "off", moves out of NYC and moves to Italy for four months. She has the desire to learn to speak Italian, and thus moves to Rome, enrolls in classes and explores the country. Along the way, she makes many different types of friends and learns what it's like to actually live somewhere, as opposed to just visiting. In Italy, she indulges: she eats everything in sight, takes in all the sights and sounds and just slows her life down. She is recovering from a somewhat bitter divorce and wants to heal. Italy begins the journey to healing by allowing her to, literally and figuratively, eat. Without remorse. Which is a kinda cool idea, right?
She then moves on to an Ashram in India. An Ashram is another word for a community formed in hopes of creating and promoting peace among its citizens. The particular Ashram she lives in is related to "her Guru", her "spiritual guide", so to speak (for lack of a better term). While I am not necessarily a believer in either God or religion, I do appreciate the search for peace, tranquility and a "higher power", whatever that might be. She meditates daily, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together: to ultimately forgive herself for her past wrongs, for her insufficiencies, and to move on with her life, filled with a peace and a love for herself that she did not have when she began. She then moves on to Bali, an island of Indonesia, and, as she's coming out of her haze, she lands in paradise. She spends four months there, renting a house, meditating, and meeting the locals. It sounds like such a rad trip.
Not only was this book entertaining, funny, and reflective, it was also touching. There were so many things in her book I could empathize with. So many situations, so many perceptions. She definitely captured aspects of modern American life and put it into such a different perspective. She colorfully and logically explains many different ideas that are hard to explain (spirituality, anyone?) and perhaps she doesn't do this perfectly, but she does it in her own manner, in a beautifully realistic and interesting way. It makes me itch to travel, makes me itch to learn meditation. It also makes me realize that sometimes, life moves too fast, with too many things going on. Sometimes you just need to slow down and appreciate things around you, simple things, like how your elbow moves, or how the sun reflects off the budding leaves of the tree. I'm not sure I would have ever read this book if it didn't literally fall in my lap. I'm very glad it did.

Three Cups of Tea

I had the good fortune to be gifted an armload of books by Alex's mom a few weeks ago. I have been slowly working my way through them. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin was a fascinating journey into the life of a man who has dedicated his life to educating poor children in some of the most dangerous areas of the world. The subtitle on this book is "One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time" and they really mean it. Mortenson is a mountaineer, and, reeling from the untimely death of his sister, Christa, set out to climb K2, one of the world's highest peaks (and arguably one of the most dangerous). K2 lies on the border between Pakistan, China and Afghanistan, in a most inhospitable area. Mortenson ultimately failed to climb K2 (by little fault of his own) and reeling from starvation, altitude and dehydration, he stumbled into a little village called Korphe. There are villages like this dotted all over the mountains in this region. Many are not loyal to any country and tend to not receive aid from any country (even though this particular one was within the Pakistan border. The people of Korphe took Mortenson in and took care of him, nursing him back to health. When Mortenson realized the children of Korphe were being educated outdoors on a large rock and had no classrooms, schoolbooks or school to speak of, he began planning how to build a school for this tiny village. This book is the story of his journey throughout the Pakistan/Afghanistan region (a region that is hotly contested and at the center of many US airstrikes now) building schools and community centers for regions of countries long ignored by their respective capitals. Somehow, Mortenson is able to build schools to ultimately educate girls within these villages. This educations includes moderate Islam (not the fundamentalist Islam taught in madrassas funded by extremist groups) and ultimately builds up villages in a highly volatile region. Mortenson is able to describe these regions, describe the traditions and beliefs of Islam and tries to explain where we've gone wrong in our "War on Terror". For example, Islamic law requires the "winner" of a war to care for the widows and orphans left in a defeated village. How well have we done that? Not well at all, for sure. This book was a great read, mostly for the adventures Mortenson finds himself in, as well as describing the region and the traditions in the area. This book opened my eyes to the possiblity of education being the best asset for us over there. Some areas only have extremist madrassas for educating their children. Hopefully, we can change this by building schools teaching more moderate Islam and supporting the education of girls. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in current events. It's a great read.

Spook-y

I must admit, I love this author. Although I tend to find errors in her writing and her scientific explanations, I just love her tone and her sense of humor. It helps to have humor when you are dealing with science. And I must admit, I kinda want her job. Just a little bit. Anyways, Spook is a book dedicated to exploring scientific evidence for ghosts, spirits, boogey-men, etc. She begins by describing ways to "measure the soul". If you've ever seen the movie 21 grams, you will recall that at the time of death, people lose 21 grams of weight that cannot be explained, and thus, is concluded to be the weight of the soul. She talks about the experiments that led to this conclusion, as well as many more experiments trying to test this hypothesis. In classic science form, Roach never makes any finite conclusions, leaving the "afterlife" open for interpretation. She does, however, explore current findings in "ghost hunting" and she does so with a wit that makes me crack up out loud. I am not sure if I love this book because I am a scientist and her interpretations of findings (and of scientists themselves) are so dead on (no pun intended) that I can't help but love the irony. Or if I love the books because she is generally entertaining and taking a subject most of us are uncomfortable with and making it a little lighter, and a little easier to deal with. She tackles a lot of different subjects, like "measuring the soul", whether electomagnetic fields or sound below the level of detection can contribute to either "seeing ghosts" or hallucinating things. She also talks a fair bit about near death experiences and whether they are real or not. Once again, Roach has made me giggle out loud about the absurd, has unearthed lovely, forgotten works (and worlds) and will hopefully continue to do so for a long while. If you are interested in science, the scientific method, and ghosts (or, if you have ever seen a ghost!) this book is for you. Read it.

Thursday Book Report

When I read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, I was so moved and enthralled about a book told from the point of view of a dead little girl. I loved that it was set in the Philly suburbs and I loved the characters, how richly they were developed. Even though the subject matter dealt with violent and scary situations, I still felt like the book was akin to a dense piece of chocolate cake - so good, I wanted to savor every moment. I received this book for Christmas (thanks, Mom!) and I literally could not put it down. Lucky is a memoir of Sebold's own rape her freshman year at Syracuse University. I must admit, this book is not what I would term an "easy" read. The book opens with violence and ends almost sadly, with this woman being forever altered from events that she had no control over. It was hard to read about her violent rape and the alienation perhaps most victims feel. She describes events in her life in an almost poetic manner. And quite like a train wreck, it's hard to look away. I have never (knock wood) experienced violence or crime like she has and I hope I never will. She writes in an almost detached manner, very journalistic to describe the rape. I would imagine that's the only way you can describe it since allowing emotions to enter into the act would somehow cloud it. Sebold clearly has a strength that most other characters in her book do not, and I admire her for it. However, she is not writing for sympathy or for people to identify with her. She is writing from her heart about events she had little to no control over. And the story is not summed up in the end in a miraculous ending that erases the rape from her mind. She will always be a rape victim. After struggling to put everything behind her, she realizes, years later, that she is still affected by the rape and it will always be a part of her. This book is a miraculous story told by a brave and open woman. I am so grateful to have experienced this memoir; it has put a clarity in my head on how different experiences can shape our lives. But they don't have to rule them.

Book Report Thursday

I finished reading Robert Bausch's A Hole in the Earth a few weeks ago and never posted anything interesting about it (as far as I can remember). Upon Cod's recommendation a while ago, I checked out this book from the Penn library, hoping to enjoy some light reading. What I found was not necessarily "light" reading and I am still not sure what my opinion is of this book. We follow Henry Porter, a middle aged, single man whose life is turned upside down one summer. His daughter from a previous marriage turns up (having just graduated high school and turned 18) and his girlfriend of several years tells him she's pregnant. Henry is a school teacher with very little money, so he supplements his income with gambling at the racetrack, which is one of the reasons his first wife left him. I am not sure if this novel is an accurate representation of a middle aged man not wanting to take responsibility for his life or if its the representation of a whiny, immature little boy who never grew up. I so disliked the main character during the first few chapters that I could barely get myself to read the book. Thankfully, the chapters are short and quick so that made it easier to get through. As we grow older, our focus tends to be more on those around us than ourselves and our lives. Narcicissm and insularity are reserved for our adolesence and college years and then we have to grow up and take responsiblity for our lives. I think this book is about this man's journey to that point (at 40!) but to be honest with you, I could not identify with any of the characters, save for maybe the 18 year old daughter. Henry hems and haws over his girlfriend's pregnancy, worrying about telling his family (you're 40 for crissake!) and his daughter and how he will be perceived. He fixates on how much his father hates him and how much of a disappointment he's been to his entire family. And yet, he does nothing to change his life of make improvements of things. He does nothing to take responsiblity for the family he has and the family that is just beginning. He leaves his girlfriend hanging and eventually helps her to see the light that he is not the greatest guy and she should just raise the kid on her own. I think I disliked Henry so much because he was lazy and he was not proactive. He just let things happen to him without taking part in his own life. He never fully took control of his predicament, allowing people to come and go in and out of his life without the slightest inclination towards trying to keep them in (or out of) his life. He complained and made up ridiculous excuses for why things were the way they were without really doing anything about it, which really pisses me off in general. And then he disappears. Without a trace. At the time when people need him the most, he leaves. Granted, he does come back in the end. But his behavior throughout the book set the tone. No matter what he did at the end, I was convinced he would always be the guy that lets stuff happen instead of getting things done. And, unfortunately, this is just not someone I can identify with.
As for the book itself, I must admit after the first several chapters I really got into it. I guess just because I didn't like the character, I was somehow invested in their lives and wanted to know how things turned out. I did wake up super early one morning and read the last 150 pages because I couldn't put the book down or get it out of my mind. I think once I accepted that I did not like the title character and that I don't always have to identify with characters, the book became easier to read. Bausch is an excellent writer, forming images in my head that persist weeks later. Altogether, it was a difficult book to get through, but I think it was well worth it. It has made me think aboutmy own life and why I've had such a visceral dislike of the title character. And it's kept me thinking about it for several weeks. That, to me, is the sign of a good book.

Book Review Monday

I've recently been somewhat "memoir-ed out". That is, it seems anyone with any kind of story has come out with a memoir lately and they just seem to be trying to out-do one another. And then some authors have come clean about lying in their memoirs, which makes me want to avoid the entire genre altogether. However, my boyfriend's mom sent this book to me and I could not put it down for one minute! This is the story of Jeannette Walls growing up in a somewhat non-traditional family. Her parents are together, but they have a hard time finding and keeping work. Jeannette and her siblings are forced to mostly fend for themselves in the world, on occasion starving, digging trash out of the garbage or stealing food from various locations. Her parents are not very concerned with raising kids, and do so in a most unusual way. Parts of the book were outrageous, like when the kids find a diamond ring in some junk and take it home to their mom, thinking they can pawn it for some food and supplies, but their mom just keeps the ring, saying it makes up for the ring their father made her pawn years before. My descriptions of this book fall short of truly describing how wonderful this work really is. The story is told in short, sometimes ironic fashion. Most of the stories are unbelievable, yet somehow believable, if that makes any sense. The author asks for no sympathy, but allows the reader to empathize with her plight in growing up. There are many situations with which I identified, even though my upbringing was quite traditional. Altogether, I highly recommend this book - you will not be able to put it down!

Book Report Monday

RE: Oranges are not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. I finished reading this book a while ago and have not quite been able to figure out what to say about it. It's another book I ran across in the used bookstore. I recognized the author's name because Coodence has recommended her to me before. I knew nothing of this book nor its contents upon opening it, and I immediately fell in love with it. It's the story of a young girl growing up in a super-religious family and coming to terms with her differences with the "rest of the world" so to speak. I loved so much about this book. It was quirky, not predictable, non-judgmental, funny, sad, loving, and very very real. If that means anything at all. The way this book is written is absolutely phenomenal. The author somehow writes in a way that reflects how a pre-teen, teenager, young adult would perhaps talk to themselves or in a diary. I was absolutely blown away by how the dialogue progresses from the daughter absolutely accepting everything her mother does and says as truth to realizing her mother has faults, which are destroying her as a person. The main character is extremely perceptive, pointing out reasons for her mother's behavior, but not trying to make excuses. And, surprisingly, the book is not a study on why religions reject certain "types" of people. It is a study on how one character is isolated and ostracized for a trait she cannot control. I found this book touching and reality based, although none of the events that occur in the book have actually happened to me. I think we can all identify with not getting along with loved ones, discovering things about yourself you never realized, and forging a path on our own without the support of our families. My only complaint is that the book was too short. I would have liked to know more about the character's life after. My advice? Read it. You won't be disappointed.