Milestone achieved, 50 books for 2014.

I started this book at the beginning of December, and although it took time to digest, this was a very profound novel.  This is the story of the sea, of the Danish city of Marstal, and of 150 years of history and the lives the sea has claimed in one form or another.

It starts with days of the great sailing ships, and ends with the closing of World War II.  I don't think that I have ever read a book quite like this one before.  It seems to have been a year of finding books such as this.

I turned the last page, and I will admit to a few tears leaking out, likely just because.  This was a surprising novel - truly epic. I am searching for the right word - one that will take it's rightful place among the best of seafaring literature… Several stories are woven together throughout this book, and some are more compelling than others.  It is quite fascinating as one life merges with the next, and how our lives can be interwoven.  A story of courage, and disaster, love, and the depths of the human soul.  Definitely not a summer read, and well worth the time spent meandering through these pages and on the journey.  Makes me wish I knew more about my Swedish ancestors - some of the names seem familiar (like Gunnars, and Eriks, and Einars) and being close to the sea… it also made me appreciate in a different way the silence from our relatives about WWI and WWII and why there was a darkness in their lives they didn't speak of.   Makes me appreciate novels like this even more - to have a lens in to a part of history that is unspeakable.

49... and counting

I am working some time magic to post about this book. 

Time is flying.  I have also been really tired, and I can't really come up with any excuses beyond that it has been a busy, emotionally intense year that has been pretty okay overall.  It has already been almost a month since I finished this book.. but I never dreamed that I would get to 48 books and then completely stall out. 

I started reading "Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrel" and it is a good book, however, it is 1000 pages long. I frankly petered out about page 300 and I have put it to the side.  I think I started it at the beginning of November.

IWhat can you say about a book like this many weeks after you finish it? I would love to have a beer with these two and just talk.  They are both brilliant, and I had a few great laughs reading this.  It reminded me a bit of "Lamb" by Christopher Moore.. really funny, and very intelligent if a bit sacrilegeous. I love that it is almost the end of time, and that the antichrist ends up being able to carve out his own destiny.  Lots of food for thought, and lots of guffaws.  Strangely, it wasn't a quick read.  I am planning to read "American Gods" soon by Gaiman and at some point I would like to read some of Pratchett's discworld books. I am grateful that I love to read and can discover so many different thoughts by being open to different books.

 

I am currently reading "We, the drowned." It is amazing book.. but another book that is well over 600 pages. I am not sure why hitting 50 books has become my Everest this year.  I was at 48 books on November 1st, and I cannot tell you where the last 55 days have gone.  POOF.



 

 

An almost? Replaced by amusement.

I really wanted to like this one... I guess it doesn't help when you are currently reading the Order of the Phoenix to your son, and trying to get in to Rowling's new crime novel under her pseudonym.  The funny thing is, I can't say that I didn't like it.  I only got about 125 pages in to this one before I had to return it to the library.  The jury is out whether or not I would request it again so I could finish the story.  It is well written, and the characters were interesting.  I don't know why I didn't really connect with the story.  I enjoy crime thrillers, but in this current moment of time, I am not all that interested in reading them.  Oddly enough.  I apparently have been in to humour or slightly supernatural reads (when you take a look at the books that have been catching and holding my attention in the last few months).  I am not sure if I just wasn't in the mood, or if there was something there that just wasn't really engaging me.  Perhaps one day I will finish this one.  I don't know.

 Where I found the cuckoo was really hard to turn pages, in this book, the pages were turning themselves.  It is crass.   It is funny.  In weird ways, it made me feel a bit better because I do not always watch my language and have been known to spout off with a few tirades that have been peppered with less than savoury language.  It is even funnier when you consider his dad is a well educated doctor, and he really, truly does come up with some spectacular one-liners.

My pop had a really unique sense of humour as well, which I miss, and I am grateful for him in the sense part of my stiff upper lip is likely from his tough love. This is a great book to get from the library when you need a quick read, or a bathroom book when you only have time for a short story.  I will admit that I did bust a gut with the last story about his dog.  I almost counted this as two books for the yearly total, but I figure that since I didn't really get anywhere with the Cuckoo, and I did get through this one pretty quick (it is really short and not a real novel per say)... this is okay billing.

A much more satisfying trilogy...

I have a read a few trilogies in the past few years, and this one is by far the best.  Hunger Games, kind of peaked, the Divergent series tanked, and the Dark Materials were ok.  A year later and I can't say that much stuck with me from that one. Now this series, on the other hand, got better as the books progressed.  I remember being far more irritated with Matthew, as a possessive vampire in the first book than the more self-aware version that we see in this book.  Diana, as a witch in denial evolved from being slightly irritating to a fully rounded character.

This was a great book to read entering in to October, and the month of All Hallow's Eve.  Nothing like reading about witches, daemons, and vampires to get you in the mood.

I thoroughly enjoyed this series, and this book in particular.  Well written, and well researched.  I was a bit sad when I turned the last page.  There were many elements here that I would say that I look for in a good book. I have also noticed that I have been drifting a bit more to these types of books lately... I hope that Harkness bring this cast of characters back for a new series, or even a continuation if only because I enjoyed the story so much.

What happened????

Okay.  What happened, too much popularity, too fast?

I really enjoyed Divergent and then Insurgent... and then along comes this book.  I came so close to laying it down and running away and picking up one of the other books that started to beckon to me.  This book really came apart at the seams for me.  If the story and characters moved and were entertaining in the first two books, the shift to a dual narrative (without truly distinctive voices) and a plot that crumbles made this not quite the story that the first two installments were.  About 250 pages in, I started making mental comparisons to reading 50 shades of gray (not a good thing) and how I felt reading that... at a certain point you just start to skim read... Now I just kind of feel relieved that I finished the book and I can move on.  I was disappointed by how this one was written, how the story collapsed, and about the ending - given how it started, it just didn't satisfy.

Next.

A fantastic tale...

This was an excellent book.  Almost 500 pages, and I found the story to be compelling from start to finish.  This was a very unique, well written, mystical novel about a golem (jewish creature made from clay) and a fire jinni (a supernatural spirit below the level of angels and devils in Arabia) that meet in New York, somewhere around the turn of the century.  It was hard to  put down this book, and it was also a pleasure beacuse of how it was written and it wasn't a book that I devoured all in one sitting.  In a sense, this novel caught me a bit off guard, and it also reminded me of the kind of books that I do like to read - ones with a bit a magic, or other-worldliness about them.  I enjoyed reading about the Jinni's past, and how the lives of the golem and the jinni intertwine, and then come together, and apart.  If you are looking for an intellectual, almost romantic, supernatural novel, this one is a sure bet.

Books, books, and more books (not just mine!)

There is a new meme travelling through Facebook, and I would admit I have been stewing over titles for a few days before I post my own list of 10 books that have had a lasting impact on my life.  Of course I have been over thinking this one… it is also an interesting exercise when I troll my memory through all the books that immediately jump and demand attention.

The 100 Books that Facebook Users love… is a great summary of the list of the top 100 books that people identified in their meme, and it is interesting.  Even checking out how the books are related and mapped out, is also an interesting exercise to check out folk's literary tastes.

In no particular order, I will list my work in progress and call it done for now:

Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling
Lamb, Christopher Moore
Skinny Legs and All, Tom Robbins
The Power of One, Bryce Courtney
Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell
Man's Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl
Works of William Shakespeare
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
No Great Mischief, Alistair MacLeod

I don't do well in limiting myself to a list of just 10 books.  I have a hard time not weighing and assessing and fretting over a list like this. I have missed some, ones I would not expect, like The Bees, The Gargoyle, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, My Name is Memory, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and Unbroken to name but a few.  I also think about other books that impacted me as a youth - The Outsiders, Charlotte's Web, A Wrinkle in Time, The Chronicles of Narnia, Bill Peet books, The House with a Clock in it's Walls, and of course, Are you there God, it is me, Margaret?. What I can tell you with feeling is that my life would not as rich as it is without books. It feels like each year I have been making better and better choices in what I have been reading - in my own geeky way, this has been really exciting.  My next reads are the Golem and the Jinni, then Jonathon Norrel and Mr. Strange, and then the latest Harkness and Gabaldon books.  I have at least 4-6 weeks of amazing reads to go! That doesn't even count the books I have ordered through the library that I hope don't come in any time soon...

Entertaining series... again, far better than Twilight...

Since it has been a few weeks since I read the first book it took me a while to pick up the threads again in this second book in the trilogy. Is it a guilty pleasure to admit I am really enjoying these books?

I am.  I am looking forward to reading the third, and even to read Four, which is from Tobias/Four's perspective.. which I wasn't all that sure I would want to read. 

These are enjoyable books, there with the Catching Fire series, way better than Twilight, and for me, better than The Giver.  Given the stack of books I have waiting to read, I would assume I won't be reading the next book until closer to Christmas. 

On a related side note, I finally have read more than 41 books in a year! It was a quiet goal to read more than 50 books in a year, and this year, it feels achievable. It has been great to have such a long stretch of great reads, and from all different genres. I have not been bored reading a book for quite a while.

Pretty much one a week...

There is more to life than just reading, but blogging the books that I have been reading makes it easy to track where my headspace was.  This was an entertaining and humourous book, but not as funny as a few of the others that I have read by Moore.

The South Pacific is an interesting plcae, and I have enjoyed my literary forays in to the region since I had just thought all the islands were little slices of paradise.  Moore has a great sense of humour, and is very intelligent.  I enjoy how his books are a departure from the every day, and how they can challenge your perceptions.  Worth a read, but not the best one to choose if this is your first time reading him.

A seafarin' yarn of worth

This was a really powerful book.  It appears that I have been on a bit of a nonfiction kick lately, and this is a really great addition to that list if you enjoy a good yarn about the ocean and it's travellers.

This is a book that caught my attention in a magazine a while ago, a blurb, and it appealed so I added it to my "to read" list.  I really had no idea what it was about, except that the cover looked neat, and it was well received.  Ironically enough, our book club made a point of reading novels this year that are being made in to movies - and this book falls in to this category (which surprised me, somewhat). 

I learned a lot from this book, and it does help that I read Unbroken  last year, so this isn't my first book reading about unlikely survival at sea.  Comparisons are also drawn to Alive, the book and movie that chronicalled the story of a Uruguayan rugby team who were involved in the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed into the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972. 

I really didn't know a lot about whaling, about Nantucket, or about the whaleship Essex.  I have heard about Moby Dick, and it is on the "to read" list, and I have heard about the mutiny on the Bounty (which I also thought was a fictional event but have now learned it to be based on real events).  This novel describes what happened to the Essex and her inhabitants.  What happened out in the Pacific Ocean, the sperm whale the stoves the ship, and the three whaleboats with the crew that seek salvation.  Previously there was only accounts from the first mate, and recently a second first hand account has been discovered from another crew member.

There are so many layers to appreciate about this story, the history of whaling, racism (crew members were local from Nantucket, the mainland, or of African American heritage), survival and what happens and what people are willing to do to survive, human psyche, the push to the west and our naval explorations. It is also interesting to note how the author compares the differences between the stories, and what the locals choose to remember and talk about when it came to the Essex.  It is also interesting to learn that this event was taught to America school children for years.

Very well told.  There were parts that I almost dreaded reading, and I was relieved when the rescue came for the surviving crew members.

Fascinating.  I will need to read Moby Dick (Melville was also a whaler and developed this story based on the Captain of the Essex) one day, and I definitely want to visit some of the San Juan islands again soon and check out the whaling museum there.

A Walk in the Woods

I have wanted to read this one for a few years, and more so after finishing Wild earlier this year.  Talk about two very difference experiences, and two very different individuals relating their own personal experiences on their respective trails.

Wild takes place on the Pacific Crest Trail (west coast) and The Walk takes place on the Appalchian trail (east coast).  As far as folks go, I think I would prefer to kick back and have beers with Bill - and hear about his travel experiences and overall life philosophy than Cheryls'...

Bryson is known for his sense of humor, and I read one of his other books a few years ago (In a Sunburnt Country).  My impressions of Australia are definitely coloured by his words.  In the Walk, Bryson relates his attempt at covering a good portion of the AT with his friend Stephen, and at times solo.  Bryson includes a lot of historical information to supplement his impressions.  Bryson also has one helluva sense of humor, so you can appreciate a few laughs along the way. 

This is a good read.  I did appreciate the history, and the scant personal details that Bryson includes.  It made me appreciate being from the west more - from being from a pretty "wild" place that hasn't been domesticated and tamed for hundreds of years already. 

I have done a distance canoe circuit, and I would one day like to do the West Coast hiking trail along Vancouver Island.  Of course, each of these is just over 100km, where these trails are literally thousands of kilometers long and will take months to complete.  Very different scale.  I would also love to drive across Canada and come back through the United States - just to see.  Reading books like this makes me want to travel, and also appreciate that I am from the West, for so many different reasons. I am glad it is a little more wild, and a little less tame.  I am glad for our wild spaces, and different attitudes.

Grateful.

Every now and then a book comes along that rattles you a little bit.  Especially when you know it is grounded in true experiences.  I have a handful of pages left of the book, but for intents and purposes I am done, and I have a moment to throw down a few thoughts.

Wow.  What a life experience Amanda Lindhout and her friend Nigel Brennan went through.  I applaud their courage to write their stories, and to open themselves up to public opinion by offering up their stories.

I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it out.  I knew the cover was appealing (yes, choices can be that base), and that it was a recommended book that made a few top reads lists.

I am not sure where to begin about a book such as this.  This is the autobiography (of sorts) of Amanda, starting with some experiences previous to her capture by Somali teenage militants whom were looking for ransom money from Amanda's and Nigel's family in Canada and Australia. As I started to read this book, I realized that I could remember hearing about their story in the news a few years ago (2008) but really didn't dwell on it.  I remember images of them when they were free, but really, did not even grasp a glimmer of what they had survived.  In many ways, this is much like how you can't really appreciate the experiences of someone else until you have a few of your own, or have the luck (??) to be able to read or experience a slice of what happened to them through whatever form the story journey takes us on.

This is a beautiful and bleak novel.  Reading parts of it I could feel my insides clench with something, and feel my opinions shifting.  If reading 419 was one thing about Nigeria, this was a whole other thing reading about a personal experience in Somalia.  I am glad that I live in a culture that values life, and women.  I am glad that I am married to a good man, who loves me for who and what I am. After reading this book I am grateful for many things, including my freedom and the culture and land that I call home.  This is not the same around the world and the price of a life here is not the same as other places in this amazing world.  This is an important book to read.  It is very well written, and as I said in the beginning, I appreciate the courage and honesty it takes to make yourself vulnerable by telling this story.  I also appreciate Lindhout's honesty, and humble acknowledge of her naive mistakes and the costs so many people paid.  The grace she found within terrible circumstances, it reminded me of reading the "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl.  Compassion and forgiveness, and consciously choosing to be positive in a world that can be a far cry from this is something that can set any of us apart.

The ever changing ocean, down at the end of the lane

I would have to admit, this book caught me by surprise.  As I sit and reflect about my response to it, I think this is the kind of book that I would love to pick up again in a few years, and see how my perceptions and reactions to it have changed. 

This is one of true spinoffs to having a library card, a book club, and friends that read.  Being exposed to new and different books, ideas, dreams, poetry, and thoughts. I have always read a lot, and there have been times in my life where I have been far happier with the books that I have chosen to be reading, and this is one of those times in my life that I feel like there have been many, many good books crossing my desk and it is has been a pleasure to spend time between their covers.  I could not imagine a life without books.  I am so happy to see B totally immersed in the world of Harry Potter, and I can't wait for the next year to happen and to watch the gift of literacy truly take shape in C.

Back to the book at hand, this is well worth a read.  It is very short, like a long short story (175 pages).  It is poetic, whimsical, a little dark, exporatory, wonderfully vague, magical... I am sure I have missed a few adjectives that I could throw in to the mix.  There are website that summarize novels such as this better, but this is one that I think will stick with me for a while... it is profound, and poetic, and in some ways, it does defy description.

Novels like this explore our fears, and what it is like to be a child, growing up, and what we lose in reaching adulthood, that is not always accessible.

This was a pleasure to read, and I would recommend it as an intriguing and thought-provoking novel.

Back to a familiar series...

Definitely a summer read.

I have been spoiled by the last few books that I have been reading. I found a bit of the dialogue a bit stilted, and the content not nearly as inspiring (or as interesting) as the last few books that I have been reading.

Again, a quick read, and it was good to discover some of Reacher's backstory.  In a way, I wish that I had read these books in series, although you do not have to.  I can't say much profound about this book, except that it was a decent, quick read with some character development and plot twists, not neccessarily grounded in reality, but an escapist read. I do enjoy this for a bit of a break from the more literary books that I have been favouring as of late.  I must also note, that this book pushes me past how many I read for 2011.  Is this a result of going to the library and requesting books or because my kids are getting older and I have a little more breathing space?  Likely both, LOL.

Caught by the cover, a nice surprise

At the library the other night, the cover of this book caught me.  It was a 7 day express read, so I really hesitated whether or not I should grab it, since I had already started a different book, and well, I saw it was only 250 pages so I thought - what the hell.  Worst case scenario, I take it back - no foul.

It was a lovely book.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I would categorize it under "chick lit". Or belonging to what I would widely label as such.  I have never heard of this author before, and this is one of the things that I am loving about my library card - new books, different authors. I will admit to more than one geeky moment because of my library card.  Only drawback is remembering when books need to go back and avoiding late fines.

It really feels like what I have been able to read lately has really taken off.  It does help having the card, and I enjoy being able to request books and have them magically appear on the hold shelf, it is a bit gratifying.  Much like how I really enjoy having my car insurance delivered rather than trying to figure out where to get it done and making sure it happens on the right day.  That it is my BFF's mom, makes it even sweeter.

Back to the book - maybe one of these days I need to come up with my own rating system rather than a few scribbled thoughts.  I really don't want to craft long winded reviews of books, but it is nice to track how I responded to the books that I am reading since I have discovered that I really do like being able to look back in to this window of "where my head was at" and what was I in to reading at the time.

Once again, back to the book at hand.  This is a partly a love story, and partly a feminine journey of rediscovery at age 60.  I like that the female lead was strong, and was likeable, and did make mistakes.  There are some very poetic passages, and I feel like Quindlen captured something in their story that left me with a nice, warm fuzzy.  Every now and then, books like this are lovely to pick up and enjoy without having to delve in and solve life's mysteries.  A satisfying read - quick, and perfect for summer.

No snappy title coming to mind. I blame the time.

Between this series, and the Hunger Games trilogy, the quality of the Twilight series really pales beyond comparison.

This is the beginning of another trilogy in a distopian, futuristic world in which society has broken down, and the solution is to divide people in to one of five factions based on your personality type.  This book focuses upon a 16 year old girl (Tris) that chooses a different faction than the one she is born in to when offered a choice.  By the end of the book, fractures are beginning to show, and war/a rebellion of sorts by one/two factions breaks out.

Books like this do raise the question of freedom, justice, and happiness and with it, they carry their own political warnings.  I do find it interesting the current young adult novels that are popular dealing with this theme - the aforementioned Hunger Games trilogy, the Giver, and now this series.  All three have also been made in to movies.  Hollywood cashing in perhaps to huge trends?

This was an entertaining book in the way that a summer blockbuster movie is - definitely science fiction adventure and I will read the next books in the series - it was a quick read.  I am happy that Tris connected with Four/Tobias, and their shared history adds an interesting twist to the book.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I can't say that I planned on reading a lot on my vacation, but it seems that this has been a goal that is definitely being accomplished.

I picked up the book based on a text from my BFF as we exchanged random notes about what we were reading one morning.  In her typical, dramatic fashion, I was pretty much told to "read this".  Which translates loosely to "this is an amazing book and you really need to read it".

Well, she was right.  I will never look at Bees the same again.  I even think I leaked out a tear at the very end! Who was that?? What a total surprise this book was.  I was caught a bit off guard, and it really wasn't a book I expected to enjoy as much as I did.  Yup.  Once again, a good call about this book.  It will stay with me  for a while, I am sure.  Today (okay, not really the posted date but today, the day I am working some date magic again to get caught up since the last time I did a bunch of posts) when I was mowing the lawn I watched for bees as I mowed through the clover.  I didn't want to send a forager bee to the jaws of doom!  It was a quick read, and as I said, once you read this book you will never look at bees the same again.

And how is the weather today?

Hay's writing and story telling sneak up on you.

I really enjoy her books.

I wish I would have been able to read more authors/stories like this when I was doing my undergrad.

What - a book that wasn't about the pants?

Downside of library books.

Too many good books! Not enough time…

Well, I almost made it through this book before I had to return it.  Alas and alack. I didn't make it.  I got about halfway through when my turn was up.  Since I had to wait months to get it, and the list after me was pretty long… I decided a buck a day wasn't worth keeping this book until I finished the last page.

It was good though - and eye opening about how Pixar got started and what came together to create our current golden age of animation.

Well worth a read, hopefully I will think about this again in a few months and try again and finish it off.