Synopsis:
Kristin Lavransdatter is a girl in 14th Century Norway, betrothed to one man but desperately in love with another. Continue reading
The Wreath (Kristin Lavransdatter 1) by Sigrid Undset
6
Monthly Archives: November 2006
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
Synopsis:
The setting is the Napoleonic wars, in a world where dragons exist and are part of military operations. An English naval captain captures a French vessel, and on board is a particularly valuable treasure: a dragon’s egg, and joins the Aerial Corps with Temeraire, a very rare Celestial breed, and together they join the fight.
Review:
I loved this idea the minute I read about it in one of Entertainment Weekly’s capsule reviews. The book reads more like an adventure tale than a fantasy–lots of military proceedings and maneuvers and protocol. I’ve never read the Horatio Hornblower books or anything by Patrick O’Brien, but I imagine that this book is cut from the same sailcloth as those. Continue reading
Listening to Reading
Tonight I had a work read. I am really enjoying the book I’m reading for pleasure right now, and can’t wait to blog about it. Hopefully later this week. So this is an On Reading post–for more on what that means, visit my about page.
I used to love “record books” when I was a kid. James Mason reading Journey to the Center of the Earth had me dreaming of Iceland, and I nearly wore out an LP of Jean Craighead George’s Julie of the Wolves. My dad has always been into audiobooks. He does a lot of driving for work, and is a slow reader himself. Whenever we took long car rides he’d always stock up on books for us to listen to, to keep my brother and I from getting bored and killing each other. Sometimes the books were great; I have vivid memories of listening to Stephen King’s The Mist on tape on a ski trip. Other times, well… I remember my senior year in high school he took me up to visit a college in Massachusetts, a fur piece from our home in Maryland. And the book on tape he chose to bring was Richard Nixon’s autobiography. Continue reading
Running and Reading
This morning’s work read was depressing, but well-plotted. No blogging on work books–read here to find out why.
You can’t run and read at the same time. Believe me, if somebody told me how, I’d be all over that action like unsupervised kids at my local YMCA. Ever since I started running, I realized that most of the time I’m in pursuit of distraction. Reading is a noble pursuit, but there are many times when I’ve chosen to read because I don’t want to just sit still and think. My brain is always buzzing with so many thoughts and anxieties and ideas that it gets to be too much, and I need an escape. With running, I can’t escape (oh, the irony!). I just have to be. At first I thought I’d never survive a run without an iPod, but then I joined a running class where iPods were verboten. I was nervous, but the first time was okay and then I stopped worrying about it. I like how running puts my brain into subconscious percolation mode. At the end of a run, more often than not I have some realization about something I’ve been trying to figure out. Even with the iPod on I find myself drifting away into my thoughts, but not in my usual neurotic way. I go zen. If you know me, you know how extraordinary that is. Continue reading
Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
Synopsis:
When a dead baby is discovered in an Amish barn, a Plain girl finds herself on trial for murder. She says she can’t remember… then all she wants to do is confess. But is she actually guilty–and of what?
Review:
This is the book I was referring to yesterday when I said I was reading a salty book with no umami. The main reason I don’t like courtroom books is that they’re so formulaic. No matter how intriguing the setup or tantalizing the scenario, Act 3 is always going to play out in just the same way, with surprise revelations, dramatics on the witness stand, and the attorney at the center forever changed for the better. And, of course, the truth will out in the end, if only in private. This book was no exception. I read My Sister’s Keeper by Picoult and really enjoyed it, and I’ve got another of hers in my stack, which I will read, but if it’s more Plain Truth than Sister’s Keeper, that’ll be it for me ‘n’ Jodi. Continue reading
Books should be Anchovies, Olives, and Miso
Read a book tonight for work, actually a novella, and for discretion’s sake I won’t blog about it. Instead you get some thoughts on reading, and the next on my bookshelf. Click the “On Reading” tag in the sidebar if you want to see what else is on my shelf.
I like old books. I’m not talking about the publication date, but about when the copy in my hands was printed, and how many hands have held it before mine. I like the idea that a book has had a life before it came to me. I also like to give books away, send them off into the world like Noah’s doves to find a home, or maybe not. I love the heaviness of older paper, and the peculiar sizes you sometimes find. Continue reading
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brendan Manning
Synopsis:
A Christian how-to book focused on understanding God’s grace & freeing yourself from the tyranny of legalism. Continue reading
Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
Synopsis:
A woman flees from her abusive husband, building a new life while constantly looking over her shoulder. Gee, I wonder what’s going to happen?
Review:
This book was an Oprah book AND the movie (with Mary Stuart Masterson) was just on Lifetime the other night. I read this while on jury duty this morning. It passed the time. Stephen King’s Rose Madder was better. Continue reading
Adam and Eve and Pinch Me by Ruth Rendell
Synopsis:
A con man, an obsessive-compulsive, and a closeted Member of Parliament become locked together by circumstance and lies. Continue reading
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Synopsis:
Bored with her marriage to a dull country doctor, Emma Bovary spins fantasy into adultery and rampant overspending.
Review:
Ooh-la-la! What a great read! I must say I was surprised at how contemporary this novel felt. Written in 1857, Madame Bovary is a psychological tour-de-force. Emma’s story is about much more than adultery, and it’s far more than just a cautionary tale. When Flaubert said, “Who is Emma Bovary? I am Emma Bovary,” he was speaking for all of us. The book shows how simple it is to compromise yourself–whatever your particular vice happens to be–and justify and excuse and eventually spiral out of control. It’s almost like a crime novel, the way Flaubert details Emma’s transgressions and trickery, or like the first half of an episode of “Intervention,” only no one really loves Emma. I found myself feeling sorry for her, and relating to her, and wishing for her to find a way out. This is definitely a new favorite.
