Inspiring read

This is one of those books that has been on the shelf a few years.  Do you have any books that you know you will enjoy, but somehow know it isn't the time to pick it up and delve in to it yet?  This was one of those for me.  I was skimming through titles, and thought - why not.  I am glad that I did.  This was a great novel, and I think the lead character, Kimberly, is one that will stay with me for a while. 

How to capture a book like this in a few sentences?  Well worth a read, and for me, I managed to finish it in a day or two.  This Christmas break has been good for me - I have totally avoided thinking big thoughts about work and the board, and it is has been great.  I think I needed to chance to just catch up with me, our life.  Outside of Christmas, our plans were pretty slim and it was nice. 

Back to the book, this is a book about a mother and daughter team that immigrates from Hong Kong to America (NY) just before British rule ends.  They are sponsored by the mom's older sister, whose husband owns a sweatshop factory.  This is a story of courage, survival, focus, young love, and shifting dreams.  Makes you stop to appreciate "stories".  We all have one.  Especially when you consider in Canada/North America most of us were immigrants at some point, strangers in an even stranger land struggling to eke out a living and create a "better" life than the one that was left behind.  Spend a few hours lost in this story, I was glad I did.

Time to read!

Merry Christmas!  The chaos has come and gone.  These are magic years with the kids, because they really truly do believe in the magic of Christmas.  Every now and then B makes comments about the kids at school, and then I ask him, "Isn't it better to believe, just in case?"  I am not entirely sure what he believes about it all, but I can see it in his eyes that it is magic. 

I took a leap and brined the turkey. It was amazing.  Best turkey ever, hands down.  We also had a local ham, and everything came together well for the meal.  A smaller Christmas, only 15 this year! Ken and I both worked on Christmas Eve, and my folks had the boys for the day.  I had a window of time where I wrapped like a fiend... I never got to my cards, and I never did get ANY baking done.  I have grandiose ideas about how to be better organized next year.  Although I think all told, things came together pretty well.

I am also going through my shelves and reading some books that have been kicking around for a while.  You know those books, the ones you buy for one of those days and then other more interesting books come along?  This isn't quite one of those - it was one I borrowed from a coworker after the yearly book sale.  It was good - reminded me a bit of Crightons books.  Big scientific ideas, the lure of big bucks, and some protectionism thrown in to the adventure.  A good vacation read.

Maybe in series would have been a better way to go

Brilliant novel.  Time and time again, Robinson continues to be one of my favourite novelists and I enjoy the mysterious yarns he weaves.  Very rich characterization, the stories have depth, and again, it is a great way to escape the day to day.  Although you don't have to read the Inspector Banks series in order, I almost wish I hadn't skipped around so much in the series just to have appreciated a bit of how the relationships between characters developed.  In a way I have been playing catch up, or plugging gaps in what I knew.  Definitely another great addition to the series.

I prefer my crankypants

I am not sure what I expected, so I can't really say that the book fell short of my expectations, but I think I expected more.  More what, I am not totally sure, but I think more autobiography.  Fey drops some great notes about leadership, however, I thought it would be a little more personal.  Yes, there are stories, but not really all that many personal details.  I think Fey succeeds in creating a somewhat humourous novel, with some real gems, and some really important notes about women in comedy... yet, for me, the cover still sticks in my mind the most.  Those forearms.  The justaposition.  I think I would have liked to have seen more of her story related with more details, to make it feel more personal rather than at an arm's length.  That being said, as a person in the public eye, Fey does a decent job at keeping a certain amount of her privacy intact, so likely a success on a few fronts.

Another odd book coincidence

This was a book I stumbled across a few weeks ago when I was looking for books to recommend for my book club.  It looked intriguing.  If the Fall started out with books with ties to the circus, it is ending with books with ties to WWII and the war in the Pacific.

This is truly a bitter and sweet book, and I read it in less than four days.  It has been months since I have managed to make it through a book that quickly!  I really enjoyed this book.  A completely different coming of age novel set against 1942 and 1986 Seattle.  The time structure works, and coming after a book like Unbroken, was another slice of what life during WWII was like on the west coast.  It is amazing what history can gloss over, and what isn't taught in school, and what is revealed because you love to read.  This is a great story, I was thoroughly caught up in the love story between Henry, a first generation American Chinese, and Keiko, a second generation American Japanese, caught up between several old and new worlds, during wartime.  I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed seeing a different side of Seattle, and I enjoyed the historical lesson.  I certainly look at parts of the Pacific Northwest slightly differently now, and this is another book that will likely make my most memorable reads of the year list.  Dive in!

Surprising tale

 I picked this one up at Costco a few years ago because it was the right price and the cover intrigued me.  Not that I have read Seabiscuit, or seen the movie, but something about this book caught my eye.  Then it sat on the shelf, waiting for the right time.  Funny how some books are like that - some you can't wait to dive right in to, and others, well, you almost have to wait for that right time to take a go at it.

This is one that will stick with me, and I have already recommended to a few people.  This wasn't what I expected - it is more like non fiction, since it is based on the life of Louis Zamperinelli.  What a story of survival - I always say life comes down to attitude, and that is exactly what this book is about - courage in the face of absolute disaster.  This is a side of WWII I don't know as much about - the war in the pacific.  Louis is many things, and this book mainly tells of how WWII experiences as a gunner in a Liberator, his experiences getting shot down, surviving being adrift in the endless Pacific Ocean, surviving Japanese POW camps, a return to normalcy, and failure, and then forgiveness and moving forward.  Well worth picking up this book.  It is one that will stick with you and makes you wish you could sit down and just listen to this fellow tell stories, if he was so willing.

And now, something different

If I blazed a path through books at the beginning of the year, I certainly have not done so this fall.  To say that I have been busy, feeling overwhelmed at times, learned a lot, is an understatement to say the least.

I wish I would have read more of this book in fewer settings.  I was able to read the last 75 pages over the weekend, but it was weeks of reading a few pages here and there.  This is one I will want to read again when I have a  little more energy and less on my plate.  A totally "novel" concept.  A mystery that delves a bit in to the paranormal, and a real escape from the same old, same old.  Some of the characters were frustrating at times, but they were crafted that way.  If you are looking for something different, this is a good choice!

Hard luck story with Heart

The magic of looking over your shoulder and updating at least the books you have been reading with the touch of a few numbers in the date setting feature.

This was our book club book for the month of October.  Ironically enough, we are still somewhat on the circus theme, albeit on a different page.  I found that the first part of this book was harder to get through - it is a down-on-your-luck story to begin with, and a darker portrait of North America.  The story shifts and turns, and although it doesn't resolve in to a completely happy ending, this was a good book.

A Shakespearean something

This book took me weeks to finish.  When I searched for a picture to import, I cruised through a few reviews of this book that do a far better job of deconstructing the whys this book missed the mark than I will aim to do in the next few paragraphs.

As someone that read quite a bit of Shakespeare in my undergrad, I found myself drawn in to this novel.  However, I found that it was trying to hard to be the Da Vinci Code for Shakespeare.  There was a wake of bodies that Kate leaves behind her, and there were so many competing threads, past and present, that I really found this book hard to get through.  Some history, some theatre, some plot twists... parts are interesting, partly I stopped caring about some of the characters, now that I am done, I am quite relieved to be moving on to the next book.  It felt like I  had 100 pages left for a long, long time. I was so tired at night most of last week I was lucky to get through 5 pages before I had to put it down and close my eyes!  I asked my dear friend that passed this book to me if she had read the second one, and she answered no.  I suspect I know why now! LOL

On a total aside, I think I will officially have to retire my black flats after today.  Nothing worse than when a favourite pairs of shoes cracks along the bottom and then the pieces start to pull apart.  I have also been using "notes" on my iphone to make daily lists this week.  It is helping me feel  like I am at least making progress with my things I want/need to get done, but it just seems like that list is getting longer rather than shorter.  I am not quite sure why everything seems to be so busy this fall, but it is.  I have a week off in November, and I cannot wait.  This has been a SLOG.

Underlying this has been almost an overwhelming feeling - of expectations, of things to do, of battles to fight.  I had a meeting at B's school yesterday and I must admit that I left feeling emotionally manipulated.  I was told by the principle they wanted me to leave mad so I would advocate and move towards action, but I could have already told them that I was more than prepared to do so and didn't need the game to be played out at my expense. To say the least.  I am almost at a loss for words to describe how I feel.  Needless to say, in a nutshell, B is not getting the services he should have at this point, and I will have to fight for them through the local school board.  It is so brutal.  These are not the battles I expected to fight along the way.  Once I left the meeting, I just wanted to run and hide and cry.  I wish I could cry easier - it would make moments like that easier to have that release.  I then had to pull it all together and head back to work.  Working full-time and trying to balance everything is such an art.  An art I don't always feel like I have.  Hence, I am grateful this week for the notes function, so I can start listing all the bits of things that I need to get done so I can actually keep track of it all.

a different story

I bought this book a few years ago and it has been sitting on my shelf.  I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and I think I bought it on a lark because it was Canadian literature.  I can't really say what drew me to pick up the book (sale, perhaps?), or why I have held on to it for years without reading it, but I finally took the plunge and picked it up.

Now I am kicking myself I didn't pick it up years ago.  Hodgins is a wonderful writer, and his prose is a delight.  Broken Ground is a story about a returning soldier's settlement on Vancouver Island shortly after the close of WWI.  This isn't your average tale of the great war, and I found it very profound at times how the "broken ground" reflected the broken lives of the soldiers as they came from all over Canada to this community on the wild west coast and tried to carve out a new life.  Through this novel is the thread of hope, of creating a new life, of the ghosts of the past.  Lives are perfect, and the characters are quite compelling.  At times I found the narrative a bit hard to follow in terms of characters (the narrative voice shifts chapter to chapter between residents of the settlement), but once I caught on, it was fine.  I found that the end wrapped up almost too quickly, however, this is a great read - however, not really a quick read.  I will most certainly read more of Hogkins writing.  I feel a bit naive - here I am trying to read more local literature and here is a very accomplished BC writer that I was totally oblivious too. 

Light and very fluffy.



 I am going to make my life easy, and lump this series in one.  I just finished reading all three books in this series, Charmed and Dangerous, Charmed and Deadly, and Charmed and Ready.  I will not post all three book covers because blogger just isn't formatting it nicely for me.

If you are looking for a total, different kind of escape, this is the series for you.  I read all three in a week (can't remember the last time I did that) and they were fun.  They were light, amusing, and nothing really all that intellectually stimulating.  For semester start up when my life is totally crazy and I have to answer way too many questions all the time.... perfect. 

I would recommend this series if you are looking for a light and funny escape.

Welcome back, Inspector Banks!

Well, this time around I am not all that keen on massaging my timeline so my recent reads appear more or less about the time that I completed them.  If I get my way, I will complete a whole bunch of posts today and get more or less caught up.  This of course is a lofty goal because it is September, and life is busy.

I got to meet PR at a recent Writer's Festival.  What a lovely man, and a great writer.  I loved that he was signing his books with a dram of whiskey on the table beside him!  Although I am now spoiled for lesser writers in this genre.  Yesterday I tried a Reichs that I hoped I hadn't already read, and I got about three pages in and I couldn't do it.  I really loved her writing when I first got in to the crime novels, but they just don't do it for me anymore.  The story lines just don't seem to be going forward enough for me, and seem a bit something (lacking, perhaps?).  That being said, I almost wish PRs story lines didn't have Inspector Banks aging through the cases because eventually he will end up "retiring", so to speak!

This was another great addition to the series, and it was a treat to hear PR tell some of his stories around the writing of this book.  The location was also a bonus (Sunshine Coast), as was the company I was keeping at the time.  All in a all a satisfying read.  The only drawback is that again I must wait while PR gets busy and writes more books! (although there are a few in the series I haven't read, but I am trying to space them out)

Adventure time

A month has blasted past and I have a stockpile of books that are backlogged to make comments about.  This is where I tell you, my devoted reader, that I have crafted some prolific posts in my head.  Unfortunately, with semester start up and both kids transitioning in care and school, those posts have evaporated.

Alas! Alack! Here we go anyways.  This was a surprisingly good read.  If you want a swashbuckling adventure story that pretty much started the genre out 140 odd years ago, this is your story.  I would say many an action movie, or lost world movie/book owes a few nods in this books direction.  I wasn't all too sure of it when I started out, but this was a good read.  For it's time, I couldn't help but compare it to Agatha Christie's, And then they were none.    AC's is a book that has been sterilized over time because of the controversial word choices and how certain peoples were described.  In this book, the author chooses to tell us, the reader, that he will refuse to use the term (use your imagination here) because it is not respectful and does not denote the wonderful people that he has met.  Interesting comparison considering this book was written in the 1890s and AC was more turn of the century.  Attitudes have never been uniform.  KSM also includes a biracial love story, which I feel is pretty ballsy considering the time.  That this relationship is not able to be truly consummated, it is painted in very respectful terms. 

I like that this was an adventure story, looking for that lost city of gold in the middle of nowhere.  In an era of gold rushes, and the world shrinking, this would have been a timely novel.  I like that some social conventions are bucked, and that all ends well enough. One of these days I will have to search out some of the classic movies inspired by this tale and see if they measure up.  Either that, or time to watch Indiana again.

The Missing Gospel

A few months ago we read a travelogue (The sex lives of cannibals) and in a way, I kind of expected it to be like this book.  Not in terms of content, but I was expecting something that could be laugh out loud funny, with researched undertones.  I found the former to be bit of a let down, and this book was a really pleasant surprise.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  In some ways, it ended too soon for my liking, and even the epilogue wrapped up too quickly.  I am familiar with the bible, and have read a wide range of topics.  I am no expert, but I know what rings true for me.  In some ways this book is heretical, and other ways, so grounded and such an unique take on such an important religious idea/topic/person that it is not one to be taken lightly.

This is the story of Levi, also known as Biff, that is the best friend of Joshua, son of Mary and Joseph whom would be later known as Jesus Christ.  Much has been made of Christ's life after he turns 30, but not a lot has been made of his life up until that point.  Remove the religious aspect of this novel, and this is a coming of age novel of two young boys.  How Biff and Joshua bond, the bonds of their friendship, and how they grow and mature together.  At this times, this is laugh out loud funny.  At times, I really had to pause and to reflect upon what I was learning.  Who knows what parts could be accurate (and this book is not trying to be accurate), but there are some ideas buried in here that make a lot of sense.

Regardless of whether or not you are religious, Joshua as a person is very likeable in this book.  This novel brings the person behind the name and the religion to life as a person that made mistakes and wanted to learn, and reminds you of the basic and simple values that he preached (compassion, humility, love for your fellow humans, etc). I have some ideas about religion, and that there is no one true path, rather the path that is unique to yourself as you discover the god/love/divine spark within and this book nicely fits in there, somewhere.  I will keep this one on my bookshelf for a future look and it is well worth the time between its covers.  You WILL laugh, and you will hopefully get something out of this as well.

Alone, in a classroom

This is the second novel that I have read by Hay, and I have enjoyed both.  This isn't a quick read that sweeps you off of your feet until you turn the last page, rather it is a story that unfolds and pull you along by it's current.  There are poetic passages that are a joy to read - thoughts that I want to earmark in my library copy, or jot down as a future reference.  There are some truths that Hay quietly nails. 

The one criticism I have of this novel is that it can be really disjointed at times.  I had to wonder whom the story was about at certain points, and whether or not we were in Saskatchewan, and back in the Ottawa Valley.  Some parts of this novel I enjoyed more, and some parts I thought were a bit odd.  All in all, a very satisfying read that I suspect will stay with me.

I read a comment that likened Hay to Margaret Laurence or Alice Munro, in which their novels elevate ordinary lives in to extraordinary stories.  I would agree with this - this isn't a novel of sweeping events, this is a novel of interwoven lives and families.  Some details are sparse, and others are richly described. 

Aside from reading and trying to capture an opinion, I am finally on a bit of a break.  Holidays are somewhat disjointed this year, and this officially a "staycation".  I am thrilled about it - I am happy to explore our local parks and beaches, and see these things through my kids eyes.  It is strange moving back to a place you knew as a kid, sprouted wings from, flew away from, only to come back to roost.  I have grown, as has our new home town.  Today we are going to head out to a spray park out in the valley.  One close to a place I lived 25 years ago.  I hope that that mozzies are not too terrible, since I know it is near the river and in the woods.  I am enjoying the first moments of the day - the quiet before everyone is going and wants to move.  My coffee is warm, and the morning is perfectly cool.  I love the fleeting moments during the heat of summer when the weather is amazing, but the mornings start off with a bit of a chill and you know it is a matter of time before everything is almost oppressively hot.

My youngest has taken the concept of the "nature pee" (as we now call taking a whiz outdoors) to a new extreme.  The big guy has been pretty good about this.  At our old house, he favoured our apple tree, but since we have moved and have more than one bathroom the only nature pees he takes are when he forgets to go to the bathroom before leaving daycare (along the trail in the woods or in between two open car doors where I wave my finger and tell him not to hit the car).

Now, C-man dropped his drawers in downtown Barkerville.  He has tried to go in the garage.  He has gone on the patio.  He has streaked through the neighborhood on his jeep.. and yesterday, I really had to restrain myself.  We were at the spray park, and once I said we had to go, both boys went in different directions.  Ergo, I get one under control, and I look over to see this perfect arc of whiz, coming off of the playground.

I love you C-man.  At least most parents in close vicinity weren't too horrified, and since most people didn't hear my gasp of dismay, I think this incident went relatively unnoticed.  Lovely lecture on the way home about nature pees and when to do them.  This is the stuff your mom doesn't really give you advance warning about.  Then again, I suspect my kids are a wee bit different than we were (wink wink).

Aside from nature pees, I am taking a break from cleaning up the family room.  We are going to entertain family on Saturday so it was time (again) to attack our carpet with a rug doctor. We have the nicest looking horrible carpet out there.  You give our carpet a sideways glance and brush some dust off of your pants, and viola! Instant stain.  *SIGH*  I am taking this opportunity to move some furniture around.  I haven't done this for months and I forgot how gratifying it can be.  One of my dark secrets.  I like to move furniture around late at night.  I blame this weird urge on moving too many times when I was a kid.

A quick but satisfying read

Finally.  A book that was more thoughtful than how many of the last books that I have been reading?  This had an interesting premise.  This starts with the protagonist (Grace Winter) heading to court for the murder of a shipmate on a lifeboat that has been lost at sea.  The story takes place shortly after the sinking of the Titanic, just as World War I breaks out.  The first 2/3s of the novel deal with the first two weeks the survivors in the lifeboat are at sea, and the final third deals with Grace's trial and fills in bit and pieces of her life.

This is an intriguing novel, and I got more out of the first parts of the novel more so than the later parts.  Reading about the survivors and how they faced difficult choices was much like a literary version of the movie Open Water.  This story delves in to the question, what would you do if your lifeboat had too many passengers?  Some very thoughtful passages, and I think this is a book that will stick with me a bit.  As the main character, Grace is likeable - strong, and very much a survivor.  It is interesting how she relates to the other women, and to the fewer men in the boat.  Well worth a read.

I am slowly catching up with all the books I have been reading over the last few weeks.  Between the few that I jetissoned, and these more recent books.. I have been feeling like I have been going through a reading rut.  I got in to work on Monday and I started whinging about the books I have been reading lately... and I got a new one handed to me yesterday.  It will be another quick read, but I am already much happier with this new book than the last several I have been reading. 

This was a very idealist book about a young Iranian woman that is sent to America to find a husband so she doesn't have to return home. I would admit that some of my perceptions are coloured because of the many student stories I have heard over the years, so I found this book to be too superficial in many ways.  Things happened so quickly, and as I said, so idealistically... I found it wasn't that satisfying because it truly wasn't that deep of a novel.  Perhaps right now I am in need of some literary fibre.  Any suggestions? 

Overall this is a decent read, it is quick, and decently written... but for me, not that satisfying.  Compare this book to something like the Prisoner of Tehran and for me there is no comparison.  If you are looking for a quick, sweet story with a happy ending, this is a good choice.

Another book that I blitzed through that didn't leave much of an impression.  I guess I am glad that I bought it used? Books like this are good for yearly stats, and perhaps a bit of escapism and not much else.  I got to read it in a night - all my boys were asleep early and I had time on my hands so I decided to read... at least it wasn't a long book!  This one was average.  There were some well crafted scences, and decent writing.. the beginning took a while for me to warm up to, and the end almost wrapped up too quickly for my liking.  It was an almost good book for me.

A world of Pooh

 In a month full of books that have not been all that satisfying.. this was a great read.  It was really quick, and very profound all at the same time.  There are many simple,elegant truths in this book, and I think one day it is one I will reread and reflect upon.  I will also follow it up and read the Te of Piglet when I have a moment and am so inclined.  It has already been a few weeks since I read it, so I don't have a lot of profound statements to make, except that this was a satisfying read, and one that will stay with me.

There is truly something to be said about letting go of our constructs, and going with the flow, and not being so caught up in things.  Our relationships matter.  Clarity, clear speaking and thought are goals to work towards. 

Worth checking out the author's website, and their comments on how they have been treated by their publisher.  This is equally eye-opening when you realize just how popular this book has been in the last 30 years.