December 2012 Books

The Final Storm: A Novel of the War in the Pacific by Jeff Shaara
Published: 2011
Rating: 5
Goodreads

This book focuses on the brave marines who fought in the Pacific Theatre, specifically the Battle of Okinawa.  Lasting over two grueling months, this battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific.

WOW - is what I wrote in my book journal.  In particular, the last chapters were gripping as the reader sees, hears and smells the battle from a marine's point of view.  It was a brutal and bloody fight for a key island only 400 miles from Japan.  Shaara writes vividly of the napalm used in flamethrowers, primarily to kill the Japanese soldiers hiding in caves.

The fight against Japan was different than in Europe as all rules of modern warfare were thrown out the window.  Additionally, the Japanese soldier was unlike any seen before; fanatical where death, either of himself or his enemy was the end game.  In contrast, US Marines saw the war as a duty or job and wanted to go home when it was finished.

There was also a suicidal culture within the Japanese army that went from the highest commander to the lowliest soldier.  They felt death was preferable to being captured.  Thus Japanese snipers were around, not to kill marines, but to kill fellow soldiers who were surrendering.

One gets a real sense of not only the physical challenges of this battle but also the psychological and emotional effect on the marines.

After reading this book, I began watching the HBO series, The Pacific.   I am also reading the book written by Hugh Ambrose, son of Stephen Ambrose who wrote Band of Brothers.  Both series and book are excellent.

Audiocourse: World War II: A Military and Social History by Professor Thomas Childers from The Great Courses
Rating: 5
Great Courses link

I would highly recommend this audio course as Professor Childers delivers the material in a very organized yet interesting and engaging way.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen  (audio book)
Published: 1817 posthumously
Rating: 4
Goodreads

While not my favorite Austen novel, I did enjoy it.  I listened to the audio book while driving in the car and found myself laughing at Austen's witty, sarcastic and ironic scenes.

It was interesting to hear Austen insert herself as the author in the work - giving commentary on fiction writers, on her heroine, Catherine Moreland and on the reader.

I liked seeing how much Catherine was affected by the books she read, in particular, The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, a contemporary author to Austen and founder of the Gothic genre, which Austen parodies in this work.

Clever first and last sentences:

No one who had ever seen Catherine Moreland in her infancy, would have supposed her to be a heroine.

And

...I leave it to be settled by whomsoever it may concern, whether the tendency of this work be altogether to recommend parental tyranny or reward filial disobedience. 

I have now read all of Austen's six main works.  The order of preference is:

• Tied for first: Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion
• Tied of second:  Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility
• Third:  Emma
• Fourth:  Northanger Abbey

This is my least favorite Austen book as at the end of the day,  I was not invested in Catherine's fate - certainly not like other Austen heroines: Elizabeth Bennett, Anne Elliott, Elinor Dashwood or Fanny Price.  Also, I did not find Henry Tilney a likable hero; he seemed superficial, misogynistic and unattractively sarcastic, quite unlike Mr. Darcy, Captain Wentworth, Edward Ferras or Edmund Bertram. 

The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien (Lord of the Rings #2)
Published: 1954
Rating:5
Goodreads

My review of the trilogy is below.

The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings #3)
Published: 1955
Rating: 5
Goodreads

This epic, high-fantasy series was written over a dozen years, during the tumultuous backdrop of WWII and after.  Many have tried to read it as an allegory of the war which Tolkien vehemently denies in the forward of The Fellowship of the Ring as he very much disliked that particular literary device.  Instead, his primary motive was to try his hand "at a really long story that would hold the attention of readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them."   I would say he hit a grand slam.

It is the ultimate heroes quest whose main characters exhibit such honorable traits as courage, sacrifice, perseverance, and faith, even in the darkest hour.  It is a story of an unlikely fellowship, a band, or an alliance on a quest to rescue their world from evil, tyranny and domination (does sound a lot like the fight against Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan).  True victory lay in the hands of two most unusual and improbably heroes - a hobbit by the name of Frodo Baggins and his loyal friend, Samwise Gamgee who is the definition of an unsung hero.

One of my daughter's friends, and avid LOTR fan, suggested The Silmarillion, published posthumously by Tolkien's son, Christopher.  It is an account of the world prior to the LOTR.  I may tackle this book next year.

Heracles by Euripides
Published: 420 BC
Translated by Philip Vellacott/Penguin Classics publ. 1963
Rating: 5
Goodreads

Tragedy of tragedies - another account of Hera's jealousy, her evil meddling and resulting mayham and death.  It is also a surprising story of the value of a loyal and true friend.

Medea by Euripides
Published: 431 BC
Translated by Philip Vellacott/Penguin Classics publ. 1963
Rating: 5
Goodreads

Tragic play in which events are once again, initiated by Hera.  This time, however,  it is  because of favoritism.

Extreme and brutal violence, at the hands of a woman, Medea, is peppered throughout the play.  Gifted in magic, emotions (love and hate) drive her actions and no one is spared.  She is the epitome of the "woman spurned." I cannot think of another woman in literature that is driven so mad with jealousy, hatred and grief that she becomes abhorrent, inhuman and truly evil in her revenge.  Dumb Jason.

June 2012 Books

June has started a fascinating journey into the world of published diaries; a close cousin to the memoir, which has been a very important genre on my grief journey.  I expect diaries will be as well since the bibliographies of the books below have significantly added to my wish list and TBR pile.

Revelations - Diaries of Women edited by Mary Jane Moffat and Charlotte Painter
Published: 1974
Rating: 4
Goodreads

I ordered this book from Amazon after reading this post on A Work in Progress.  Revelations contains excerpts from 32 female diarists.  Some are well known such as Virginia Woolf,  Anne Frank and Anais Nin.  Many others were not, at least to me.  It was interesting to read thoughts from the wives/sisters of famous authors: Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, William Wordsworth and Henry James.

I have become an avid diarist since my beloved son's death and it has literally saved me.  The blank pages of my journals have taken raw and uncensored thoughts, feelings and emotions day or night, without complaint or comment.  Many of my posts on his blog have their genesis in my journal.

Here are my favorite quotes:

"When I am excited or sad nothing soothes me like my diary.  If I am very happy my joy calms down, subsides whilst I write.  My diary has become indispensable to me."  Nelly Ptaschkina, Feb 23, 1918 (15 years old).

"I shall at least have my own way and it may bring relief as an outlet to that geyser of emotions, sensations, speculations and reflections which ferments perpetually within my poor carcass for its sins; so here goes, my first Journal!"  Alice James, May 31, 1889 (41 years old).

"I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart."  Anne Frank

"I had to find one place of truth, one dialogue without falsity.  This is the role of the diary." Anais Nin

After reading this book, I have added a number of books to my wish list.

First batch of books ordered from Amazon on 6/11/12:

• The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Vol 1, 1889 - 1910 because I loved the Anne of Green Gable series
• A Brief History of Diaries: From Pepys to Blogs by Alexandra Johnson
• Leaving a Trace: On Keeping A Journal by Alexandra Johnson
• The Hidden Writer: Diaries and the Creative Life by Alexandra Johnson
• Writers and Their Notebooks by Diana Raab
• The Writer's Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft and the Writing Life by Priscilla Long
• Introspections: American Poets on One of Their Own Poems edited by Robert Pack and Jay Parini

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Published: 2011
Rating: 5
Winner of 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction
Author's web site

I was recently re-reading the section of The Iliad where Homer's describes Achilles' despair upon hearing of Patroklos' death, and his subsequent merciless and blood-thirsty revenge upon the Trojans and Hektor in particular.  Once again, as at the time of the initial reading, I wished that Homer told us why Achilles behaved in such an extreme manner.  After all, they were in a war and Patroklos went out to battle in Achilles' armor...surely he knew that Patroklos could die.

Then I remembered reading a favorable Washington Post review of The Song of Achilles that made me think at the time, I should read this.  Maybe it will shed some light on Achilles' profound grief.

I downloaded a sample on my iPad and was hooked.  A couple clicks later, I bought the e-book and couldn't put it down.  It definitely helped that I was familiar with The Iliad.  I loved seeing familiar characters such as the wily and manipulative Odysseus in the scene where he tricks Achilles into revealing himself.

Miller's book charts the evolution of Achilles' and Patroklos' relationship from boyhood friends to soul mates and lovers. And how Achilles' love was "all in" - he loved Patroklos with all his heart, soul, mind and body.  So much so, there was no room for anyone else.

So Achilles' grief at the death of his one true love made perfect sense for it reflects the truism that I have experienced:  Grief is proportionate to love.  In other words: extreme love means extreme grief.  See post on Josh's blog.

Miller's writing is so descriptive.  Told from the point of view of Patroklos, I could see, hear, feel, smell and taste everything that he did - see quotes below.

I had not realized how intimate supplication was, how closely we would be pressed. His ribs were sharp beneath my cheek; the skin of his legs was soft and thin with age. 

Achilles returns to the tent, where my body waits. He is red and red and rust-red, up to his elbows, his knees, his neck, as if he has swum in the vast dark chambers of a heart and emerged, just now, still dripping.

Leaving A Trace: On Keeping A Journal by Alexandra Johnson
Published: 2001
Rating: 4
Goodreads

In this small, compact book, Johnson strives to answer two questions: how to keep a journal and what can be done with all the material within them.

She encourages newbies to have the goal of writing a couple of times a week, varying where and when one writes.  She provides a number of exercises and prompts to help jump-start any diarist with the reminder that "journals allow one to reflect, to step outside oneself.  They create a third space, an invaluable pause between the conscious and unconscious self."  She believes that a journal is "how memory and meaning finally meet" to give the writer a perspective on his/her life.

It is important to be honest and truthful in the journal.  For Joyce Carol Oates, the "journal is the ideal place of refuge for the inner self because it constitutes a counterworld: a world to balance the other."  Elizabeth Berg says "it's very important that no one read my journal but me.  You need a mirror where you can stick your stomach out all the way."  Joan Didion writes "entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means."

Johnson shares how some diarists have come up with creative ways to index their journals in order to find material quickly.  For example, a retired lawyer's index was critical to the writing a memoir of his WWII experiences.

The second half of the book focuses on how to take the raw material in journals and revise them into a creative work - be it a sketch, personal essay or memoir.   She defines "creative nonfiction" as the genre in which the writer will use "the facts of a life, the techniques of fiction, and the resonant imagery of poetry" to "move from notes to narrative, from private to public voice."

I have added more books to my wish list.  Ones that I am very interested in purchasing right away are:

• An Interrupted Life by Etty Hillesum
• The Art of the Personal Essay by Philip Lopate
• Memory Slips by Linda Cutting

Writers and Their Notebooks edited by Diana Raab
Published: 2010
Rating: 4
Goodreads
Author's web site

A easy-to-read collection of essays by writers who "use their notebooks to inspire, record, and document anything and everything which may nurture or spark their creative energy."

Two quotes from Ilan Stavan's "Using My Notebook" have gone into my journal: "Truth is what literature is about: the conviction that through words, not just any words but the right words, and whatever else accompanies them, I might reach the essence of things" and "I don't intend for my notebooks ever to be published.  I feel naked in them - comfortably naked, yes, but naked nonetheless."

Zan Bockes uses her journal to assist in the ongoing battle with her bipolar disorder.  "My journal remains my closest and most consistent companion....it has seen me through tumultuous times, enhance my honesty with myself and my understanding of pain.  Basically, I survive to write because I write to survive."

I related the most to Kathleen Gerard's essay called "Clearing the Decks".  At fourteen, she began writing in a journal to cope with her father's sudden death. "My journal became a safe place where my voice and my feelings could finally be heard, and my perceptions counted....it transforms into a combination of trusted friend, therapist, and spiritual advisor....my journal becomes a form of written meditation - where I let go of all inhibition until what's important is sifted from what is not.  In essence, I purge some of the emotional clutter piling up inside of me until I finally clear the decks enough to illuminate my soul."

I like how Rebecca McClanahan compares her journal to a confessional booth that "never yawns...it just listens...it will never betray our confidence....the journal is our punching bag, our padded cell.  It absorbs the blows.   Sometimes we confess. We enter the booth, and the journal lifts the partition.  No matter if it's been three weeks since our last confession, or three years. the journal welcomes us home."

Eventually, I might like to read the published journals of the following writers:

• Louisa May Alcott
• John Cheever
• Emerson and Thoreau
• John Fowles
• Andre Gide
• Joyce Carol Oates
• Sylvia Plath
• Ayn Rand
• George Sand
• May Sarton
• Sei Shonagon
• Virginia Woolf

The memoir I want to purchase now is Los Angeles Diaries by James Brown.

A Brief History of Diaries: From Pepys to Blogs by Alexandra Johnson
Published: 2010
Rating: 3
Goodreads

I was hoping for more in this short book, especially about blogs.  Having read her other two books this month, I could've given this one a pass.

The Hidden Writer: Diaries and the Creative Life by Alexandra Johnson
Published: 2010
Rating: 4
Goodreads

Johnson offers seven well-written sketches that delve deeper into the lives, motives, practices and impact of the following diarists:

• Child prodigy Marjory Fleming's diary written inspired Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson. 
•  Sonya and Leo Tolstoy who read each other's diaries - a practice that did not bode well for a happy union.
• Alice James - sickly and frail sister of famous novelist Henry James
• Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf - two friends and rivals; so different and yet so similar
• Anais Nin - one of the most famous diarist of all time
• May Sarton - most known for Journal of Solitude which was written later in life and explored such themes as solitude, aging and illness. 

Favorite quotes: 

"The false persona I had created for the enjoyment of my friends, the gaiety, the buoyant, the receptive, the healing person, always on call, always ready with sympathy, had to have its other existence elsewhere.  In the diary I would reestablish the balance....I could let out my demons" (Anais Nin).

"Pain is the great teacher.  I woke before dawn with this thought.  Joy, happiness, are what we take and do not question.  They are beyond question, maybe.  A matter of being.  But pain forces us to think, and to make connections, to sort out what is what, to discover what has been happening to cause it.  And, curiously enough, pain draws us to other human beings in a significant way, whereas joy or happiness to some extent, isolates" (May Sarton).

"The writer, at his desk alone, must create his own momentum, draw enthusiasm up out of his own substance, not just once, when he may feel inspired, but day after day when he does not" (May Sarton).

Second batch of books ordered from Amazon on 6/20/2012:

• A Book of One's Own by Thomas Mallon
• The Assassin's Cloak: An Anthology of the World's Greatest Diarist edited by Alan and Irene Taylor
• The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present  edited by Phillip Lopate
• Touchstones: American Poets on a Favorite Poem edited by Robert Pack and Jay Parini
• The Los Angeles Diaries: A Memoir by James Brown
• The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
• Rose, Where Did You Get That Red?: Teaching Great Poetry to Children by Kenneth Koch
• Memory Slips: A Memoir of Music and Healing by Linda K Cutting

Oroonoko by Aphra Behn
Published: 1688
Rating: 5
Goodreads

For a woman in the stifling and sexist 17th century England, Aphra Behn lived a colorful life: she traveled in the West Indies, married a Dutch merchant and was widowed soon after, worked as a spy in Antwerp for Charles II, spent time in debtor's prison and became the first English woman who wrote poetry, novels and plays for a living.

In her famous extended essay, A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf gives props to Behn saying, " All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn which is, most scandalously but rather appropriately, in Westminster Abbey, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds."

I loved this novella, but be warned;  it is a tragedy amongst all tragedies.  Surprising accessible - once you get used to the longer-than-normal paragraph length and randomly capitalized words within the sentence - the story moves at break neck speed.  I was about one-third of the way through when, on a sleepless night, I got up at 4am to read thinking that it would make me sleepy.  Fat chance - once I got back into the story, I couldn't put it down, nor could I stop thinking about the horrifically tragic ending.

A Book of One's Own: People and Their Diaries by Thomas Mallon

Published: 1987

Rating: 4

Goodreads

Mallon divides diarists into the following categories and offers many examples and snippets within each - complete with his own witty and sarcastic commentary.  His goal was to "offer a brief tour of some of the books that have excited or annoyed or perplexed me most; to suggest the huge varieties of diaries that get written; to consider why they're kept; and - most of all - to think about the people who keep them."  I would say "mission accomplished."

• Chroniclers - Samuel Pepys, Virginia Woolf
• Travelers - Lewis & Clark
• Pilgrims - Thoreau, May Sarton, Anais Nin, C.S. Lewis
• Creators - James Joyce, Sylvia Plath, V. Woolf, Edgar Degas, Charles Darwin, Leonardo Da Vinci and numerous others
• Apologists - numerous politicians
• Confessors - sites examples of adolescent diaries
• Prisoners - Anne Frank, Albert Speer (Hitler's architect), Alice James

Favorite quotes in the preface:

"....diary writing is the poor man's art."
"...diaries are the flesh made word."

The Writer's Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life by Priscilla Long

Published: 2010

Rating: 5

Goodreads
Author's web site

I stumbled upon this book while on Amazon, and took at closer look after noticing reviewers had given it a full 5-stars.  All said it was a "must have" for both novice (me) and experienced writers; I would agree.

Long is a big believer in learning to write from other great writers, quoting Robert Louis Stevenson: "I have played the sedulous ape to Hazlitt, to Lamb, to Wordsworth, to Sir Thomas Browne, to Defoe, to Baudelaire, and to Obermann.....That, like it or not, is the way to learn to write."   And her own words: "...our core strategy, our quintessential tool, is to learn craft from models of virtuoso writing....Our best teachers are the masterworks we scrutinize."

Not surprisingly, her book is peppered with quotes; one of which was found in the chapter "The Simple Sentence", which stopped me in my tracks, became a journal writing prompt and a blog post. 

At her suggestion, I bought a small lined notebook which is now my Lexicon; the place to collect words and phrases.  And not just any word, but only the "good words, the juicy words, the hot words."   Since starting, I am paying far more attention to words while reading and am amazed at how many "juicy" words exist - like evanescent, repose, eschew, commodious, fecund and proclivity - to name just a few.   The following phrases have made it into my Lexicon: "...the color of a dried moth's wing...the jagged line of my salt-stained boots....cigarette-leg capris....his eyes are like shutters clicking on..."  Who knew it could be so much fun being a word/phrase collector?

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Published: 1814

Rating: 5

Goodreads

Having started and stopped this book twice - for no particular reason except that it was hard to find the 2 hours of undistracted reading time needed to get a handle on the characters and plot of this more serious, expansive Austen work - more drastic measures were needed. Therefore, on a recent business trip to Charlotte, NC from my home in Northern Virginia, it was the only book I took on the plane.

I loved it.   So many themes are explored:  the relationship between marriage and money, of which Austen is unparalleled; class and education; character and morality; the role and importance of the clergy; sibling love and rivalry; and the clash between the new secular-based, libertine views versus the more traditional, devout and conservative way of life.

The protagonist and heroine, Fanny Price, reminded me of Pamela in Samuel Richardson's novel, Pamela or Virtue Rewarded as both were virtuous young women of no means to speak of, being pursued by amoral men.  Apparently Richardson was one of her favorite authors.

Thanks to Priscilla Long's book, The Writer's Portable Mentor, I am on the look-out for superb, hard-working sentences where each word has a purpose.   I found many such sentences in Mansfield Park which is another testament to Jane Austen's masterful writing.   Some examples are below:

I love this description of the 10-year old Fanny:

She was small of her age, with no glow of complexion, nor any other striking beauty; exceedingly timid and shy, and shrinking from notice; but her air, though awkward, was not vulgar, her voice was sweet, and when she spoke, her countenance was pretty.

And of the ego-centric, lazy Mrs. Bertram:

To the education of her daughters, Lady Bertram paid not the smallest attention.  She had not time for such cares.  She was a woman who spent her days in sitting nicely dressed on a sofa, doing some long piece of needle-work, of little use and no beauty, thinking more of her pug than her children, but very indulgent to the latter, when it did not put herself to inconvenience, guided in everything important by Sir Thomas, and in smaller concerns by her sister. 

Fanny had a "room of one's own" in Mansfield Park and in writing about how she spends her time there, Austen gives the reader a glimpse into Fanny's generous and forgiving heart:

She could go there after any thing unpleasant below, and find immediate consolation in some pursuit, or some train of thought at hand. - Her plants, her books - of which she had been a collector, from the first hour of her commanding a shilling - her writing desk, and her works of charity and ingenuity, were all within her reach; - or if indisposed for employment, if nothing but musing would do, she could scarcely see an object in that room which had not an interesting remembrance connected with it. - Everything was a friend, or bore her thoughts to a friend; and though there had been sometimes much of suffering to her - though her motives had been often misunderstood, her feelings disregarded, and her comprehension under-valued; though she had known the pains of tyranny, of ridicule, and neglect, yet almost every recurrence of either had led to something consolatory; her aunt Bertram had spoken for her, or Miss Lee had been encouraging, or what was yet more frequent or more dear - Edmund had been her champion and her friend, - he had supported her cause, or explained her meaning, he had told her not to cry, or had given her some proof of affection which make her tears delightful - and the whole was now so blended together, so harmonized by distance, that every former affliction had its charm.

I have one more Austen novel to read - Northanger Abbey.  I wonder where it will fit in my ranking below:

1. Pride and Prejudice tied with Persuasion
2. Sense and Sensibility tied with Mansfield Park
3. Emma

Memory Slips: A Memoir of Music and Healing by Linda Cutting

Published: 1997

Rating: 4

Goodreads

A moving and courageous memoir of a talented concert pianist who, after the suicide death of a second sibling, must face her own memories of unspeakable abuse throughout her childhood.   Struggling with suicidal ideation, she has these words by her desk: "Stay alive so you can tell."  They were told to her by a psychiatrist who was a Holocaust survivor and talked to her about "the importance of bearing witness, especially in the face of my brother's deaths....At times, those words have provided the courage to keep on living and writing."

May 2012 Books

I no longer want to read about the works of Alphra Behn, Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Virginia Woolf or Toni Morrison, I want to read the actual works.  So this month, my plan is to listen to these amazing women's voices as well as read other women's diary excerpts and memoirs.

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
Published: 1929
Rating: 4
Goodreads

I found two broad thesis' that Woolf conveys in this cleverly written essay.

Using history and fictional characters (Shakespeare's equally genius sister, Judith) and places (Oxbridge - cross between Oxford and Cambridge), Woolf gives convincing reasons why there were no female poets, dramatists or novelist before Alphra Behn, who wrote in the latter 17th century.

Women were poor, uneducated, and imprisoned in an extremely patriarchal world.  Even women of nobility and status were entirely dependent upon their fathers, brothers and husbands to marry well, have children and care for the household (think Downton Abbey).

Therefore Woolf argues that " a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction".  This is the first thesis.

The second addresses the main attribute of the literary artist.  Woolf states her belief that a true artist, a literary genius such as Shakespeare or Jane Austen must write with a certain mind - an "androgynous mind..resonant and porous; that it transmits emotion without impedimental,  that it is naturally creative, incandescent and undivided."

Much food for thought in this slim, highly recommended book.

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
Published: 1996
Rating: 4
Goodreads

It is interesting to see the polar reviews on Goodreads. To quote Ryan Mallady from Goodreads, the plot is pretty basic: "Author summers in Tuscany, buys an old farmhouse, refurbishes it, travels through Italy, and cooks constantly."

I liked it.  It does not surprise me the author is a poet. Her use of language was extremely effective; I could smell the garlic, taste the fruit, see the landscape, touch the marble, and hear the beautiful Italian language.  I've never been to Italy but have always wanted to go - even more so after reading her engaging memoir.  Recipes are included - many of which I would like to try such as Basil and Lemon Chicken, Baked Peppers with Ricotta and Basil, Cherries Steeped in Red Wine, Pears in Mascarpone Custard and Rustic Apple Bread Pudding - yummo.   I would recommend to any foodies, especially those who love Italian!

Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl
Published: 1998
Rating: 3
Goodreads

Another foodie memoir, quite different than Mayes', but similar in that they both have a passion for simple ingredients and good food.  Recipes abound in this book such as her father's favorite, Weiner Schnitzel, the author's infamous Artpark Brownies, a straight-forward Boeuf a la Bourguignonne, and super simple Deviled Eggs from her friend Marion.

It would be difficult to re-cap her very interesting life in a few sentences so will just write down the words that are in my book journal: bi-polar mother, passive father, French boarding school in Canada, college, bourgeois lifestyle, married, Europe, squalor living in NYC, commune in California, cook, restaurant critic, food writer, editor of Gourmet magazine.  An interesting and quick read.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
Published: 2011
Rating: 4
Goodreads

I have taken a detour from my intended focus on female authors due to a work-related trip to California and the need to get a book that would make the 5+ hour airtime go by quickly.   I was not disappointed by this quick and engrossing crime thriller.

Nesbo is a Norwegian author that is likened to his Swedish counterparts, Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell.  His protagonist is detective Harry Hole and while this is my first foray into the series, it is the 7th book.

According to Wikipedia, the first two, The Bat and The Cockroaches have not been translated in English.  Books 3 - 9 have been translated by the same person, Don Bartlett and are 3) The Redbreast, 4) Nemesis, 5) The Devil's Star, 6) The Redeemer, 7) The Snowman, 8) The Leopard and 9) Phantom.

The story is pretty self-contained although there are enough references to past cases, partners and relationship to guess that reading in order might be more fulfilling.  I have downloaded a sample of The Leopard into my iPad and from what I've read so far, it does feel like a continuation of The Snowman.

I like Nesbo's writing style and his protagonist.  There are a number of twists and turns - at one point, I was feeling pretty good about guessing "who done it" only to be thrown off - which was okay because I didn't want the book to end.

The Stonecutter by Camilla Lackberg
Published: 2010
Rating: 4
Goodreads

I have continued down the detour by downloading this book on my iPad after reading Maureen Corrigan's review in the Washington Post a couple of weeks ago.  Lackberg is another successful crime writer from the Scandinavian region;  she is from Sweden. This is the third in the series featuring police detective Patrik Hedstrom.  The first two are Ice Princess and The Preacher.

One word that would describe the content is "dysfunction".  Within the structure of a straightforward detective story, Lackberg explores this theme with all the major and minor characters. Upon retrospect, it is quite disturbing.  The reader is privy to the creation of a sociopath, a true monster whose actions are the root cause of tragic events in successive generations.

Within my book journal, I wrote a list of the other themes/issues addressed in the book:  Evil, incompetent police officers, postpartum depression, child pornography, murders by various modes, child abuse, Aspergers Syndrome, suicide, domestic violence, adultery.  Pretty dark stuff - all done behind closed doors in a small Swedish town.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Published: 1811
Rating: 5
Goodreads

LOVED IT!  I find Austen's writing virtually perfect.  Each word, phrase and sentence is meaningful and important - there is no fluff.  All of her characters, major and minor, are so vivid and real. The heroine (Elinor) is loved; the villains (Fanny and Willoughby) are despised; the spineless (Mr. Dashwood) is annoying, the broken-hearted (Marianne and Elinor) are pitied and the heroes (Colonel Brandon and Edward Ferrars) are without fault.

The comedic ending is perfect.

After reading the book, I watched the 2008 BBC mini-series and the Emma Thompson's 1995 movie adaptation.   Both are excellent.

November 2011 Books and Audiocourse

It is now December 4th and with the addition of the books/course below, I am just eight books away from reaching one hundred in 2011.  I have never come close to reading this many books in one year - ever.  This underscores how vital books have been to my grief journey.  I am in full agreement with Thomas Jefferson's famous quote: I cannot live without books.

The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner
Published: 1983
Rating: 3
Goodreads review
I would like to be a more discerning reader so have collected a number of books such as this one - books that describe how fiction works.  I also have some story ideas percolating in my head, that one day I may try to write.  For the more experienced fiction/creative writers, this may be just what you are looking for.  But for me, the ultra novice, "don't know what I am doing" wanna-be-writer, it was difficult to get through.

Blue Nights by Joan Didon
Published: 2011
Rating: 3
Goodreads review
A short memoir by a well known author who has suffered multiple losses within a short period of time.  On December 30, 2003, while her adult daughter Quintana was in the hospital overcoming a life-threatening infection, her husband died from a sudden heart attack.  Then on August 26, 2005, the proverbial "other shoe" dropped as her daughter, who suffered complications from the initial infection, died.  In October, 2005, she published a moving memoir about her first loss, The Year of Magical Thinking - reviewed in this post.

It is evident that writing Blue Nights helped Didion process her daughter's death.  She asks many unanswerable questions. She thinks of other friends who have died. She reviews specific memories and ponders their significance.  Why does she remember these and not others?  She allows these memories to trigger others and so leads the reader down a meandering path of events that occur in real time, the recent past and the way, way past.  She ponders aging and dying.  A quick and moving read.

On a side note, this is the first book that I read on my new iPad and loved the experience.  I like the large screen and the highlighting and note-taking capability.

My Brother by Jamaica Kincaid
Published: 1997
Rating: 3
Goodreads review
I bought this book from a public library book sale in Charlottesville, VA while visiting my daughter.  Kincaid is another writer who has penned a memoir about loss - her brother who died of AIDS in Antigua on January 19, 1996.  This memoir chronicles a complicated grief because she has a very angry, hateful and unresolved relationship with her mother which gets in the way of her feelings for her brother.  Her thoughts stream together in long sentences which I sometimes found difficult to follow but at other times, were beautiful and brilliant.  She has unique thoughts on death that has made me think.

Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
Published: 1981
Rating: 3
Lists: 1,001
Goodreads review
I bought Kincaid's book at The Book Rack, a used bookstore in S. Yarmouth, MA this past summer and decided to read it after finishing her memoir, My Brother.  It is a short book, only 148 pages, which I read in one day.  It is a coming of age story - about an only child, Annie John, born to a beautiful mother whom she first adores and then comes to hate/love - sound familiar?  Telling quote: My mother would kill me if she got the chance.  I would kill my mother if I had the courage."  Yikes!  The consequence of this dysfunctional relationship is severe as Annie suffers from deep depression and what I would call a breakdown.  My unhappiness was something deep inside me, and when I closed my eyes I could even see it....It took the shape of a small black ball, all wrapped in cobwebs."   It was painful to read about a love-hate relationship between mother and daughter again.

Anne of Green Gables (#1) by L.M. Montgomery
Published: 1908
Rating: 5
Goodreads review
This has been sitting on my bookshelf since January 2011 when I bought it at a local library book sale.  I was looking for something light and fun to read after finished some pretty heavy books and this did the trick - I loved it!  For some reason, I was ready to fall in love with Anne Shirley, eleven-year old orphaned girl who went to live with an older spinster couple, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert on their farm, Green Gables located on rural Prince Edward Island, Canada.  At the end of chapter 8, about 20% into the book, I wrote down the following reasons of why Anne was such an engaging character:  innocent, vivid and real imagination, curious, gumption, honest, love of life, she sees beauty in nature that is missed by others, bright and articulate, unpretentious, a reader and a true romantic.  The book follows her many adventures and was so successful with early 20th century readers that Montgomery ended up writing a series, which I happily plan to read.  UPDATE:  I watched the 1985 made-for TV movie starring Megan Follows in the title role.  I loved it so much that I have watched both sequels.

Persuasion by Jane Austen
Published: 1817
Rating: 5
Goodreads review
Jane Austen web site
Jane Austen Society of North America
I decided to read this in keeping with the unplanned "Anne" theme as I've  recently read Anna Karenina, Annie John, Anne of Green Gables - why not another book featuring an Anne?  I initially gave it a 4 (as how could any book match the beloved Pride and Prejudice), but changed it to a 5 because after finishing, I didn't want the story to end.  So I researched what good sequels were out there, found one by Amanda Grange (below), paid full price ($12.99 for the ibook), downloaded and read in one day.  I also rewatched the movie with Rupert Penry-Jones as the handsome and dashing Captain Wentworth and Sally Hawkins as the heroine, Anne Elliot.  I look forward to reading Austen's other three books: Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey.  A Google search shows numerous sites created for Jane Austen fans and a Society called the Jane Austen Society of North America or JASNA - who knew?

Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Grange
Published: 2007
Rating: 4
Goodreads review
Author's web site
Authors's Goodreads blog
Grange has written a number of Austen male protagonist diaries, starting with Mr. Darcy's Diary (2007).  See this interesting online interview on her decision to do so.  I found Grange's version of when Anne and Frederick Wentworth initially fell in love completely believable.  It is a satisfying companion to Austen's original.

The English Novel  by Professor Timothy Spurgin
Audiocourse by The Great Courses
Rating: 5

Borrowed from the library, I had high hopes for this course based on his other course, The Art of Reading.  I listen to the CD's while driving so one requirement is that they are interesting and this did not disappoint. This course begins with what is typically regarded as the first English novel, Pamela (1740) by Samuel Richardson and ends with notable contemporary works by Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie and Zadie Smith.  18th century books such as Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding, Tristam Shandy (1759-1767) by Laurence Sterne and The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe have been added to my TBR pile.  Works by Sir Walter Scott (Waverly 1814) and Henry James (The Portrait of a Lady 1881) join other 19th century "to-be-read" authors: Austen, Bronte, Dickens, Thackeray and Eliot.  In Spurgin's discussion of a particular novel, he not only talks about the work itself, but spends time on the author's biography and the time period in which he/she wrote.  He ties in critical historical and social events that influence the writer and the work.  His love for literature is evident and so each lecture was a pleasure to listen to.  I would highly recommend.

"Emma" by Jane Austen

Published: 1815
Read: 2011
Genre: Fiction: classic
Setting: Highbury, England; early 19th century
Rating: 4
Review: Goodreads







I've had my Nook since April 2010 and have been undecided about it's usefulness. I like to dog-ear, underline and write in the margins of my books and find the Nook's highlight feature sorely lacking.   However, the other night, I downloaded 100 classic books (in two volumes) for only $6.  Can't beat that.

Emma is the first book I chose to read, mainly to see what additional nuggets could be gleaned beyond the movie adaptations.

As opposed to the protagonist in Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett, whom I really like, I wasn't sure about Emma Woodhouse.  As the story unfolds, her actions denote a proud, spoiled, arrogant, manipulative, petulant girl/woman.  Saving grace is her naivety and interestingly enough, her selflessness.  For the motivation for her manipulating events and people is for their best interest (according to what she thinks, of course).  This is evidenced by the match-making of Miss Taylor, her governess and dearest friend to Mr. Weston.  She would never have done this, if truly selfish.  As it turns out, her father, Mr. Woodhouse, is far more self-centered than she.

Over the course of the book, I was back-and-forth on my opinion of her.  But in the end, her self reflection and corresponding ability to accept fault won me over.

Memorable quotes:
When she was soundly rebuked by Mr. Knightly regarding her careless and hurtful words to Miss Bates:

"Never had she felt so agitated, mortified, grieved, at any circumstance in her life. She was most forcibly struck. The truth of this representation there was not denying. She felt it at her heart.  How could she have been so brutal, so cruel to Miss Bates?"

When she realized how arrogant she has been regarding the matchmaking games:

"With insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the secret of every body's feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed to arrange every body's destiny.  She was proved to have been universally mistaken; and she had not quite done nothing - for she had done mischief.  She had brought evil on Harriet, on herself, and she too much feared, on Mr. Knightley."

When she found out that Harriet had accepted Mr. Martin's proposal of marriage and therefore she herself, could be truly happy to accept Mr. Knightley's proposal:

"The joy, the gratitude, the exquisite delight of her sensations may be imagined. The sole grievance and alloy thus removed in the prospect of Harriet's welfare, she was really in danger of becoming too happy for security.  What had she to wish for? Nothing, but to grow more worthy of him, whose intentions and judgment had been ever so superior to her own.  Nothing, but that the lessons of her past folly might teach her humility and circumspection in future." 

What else can be said about Jane Austen's writing other than sheer brilliance?  I look forward to reading her other books.