Read in February

February was actually a really good reading month. I read 9 different books.

Rapture in Death by J.D. Robb

Madicken by Astrid Lindgren

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

White Noise by Don DeLillo

The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by The Dalai Lama

I also read Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder which I have yet to review. I did however also post a review of History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer.

I also posted an author portrait of Astrid Lindgren, one of my favourite authors.

My favourite was beyond a shadow of a doubt The Souls of Black Folk. It’s been a long time since a book affected me in the way this one did. It felt incredibly relevant still plus it had beautiful language. I also really liked Freedom in Exile. I thought it was an excellent mixture of spirituality and history. It really helped me to understand and solidify ideas. I want to continue learning about Tibet and Buddhism.

My two least favourite where White Noise and French Lieutenant’s Woman. Both of these I read for school. Both were postmodern. I am sensing a pattern. I just don’t like postmodern literature. I can by in the the fractured idea of postmodernism but I like my literature to have a more old-fashioned structure. I don’t require there to be no twists (I like twists) but many postmodern novels seem so pointless. The characters just end up where they began and I refuse to believe that we do not grow through the people we meet and the experiences we have.

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North.This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Book Review: Rapture in Death

Rapture in Death by J.D. Robb

Category: Crime Fiction

Challenges: Suspense and Thriller 2010 Challenge, Flashback Challenge

Synopsis: A series of suicides where the victims have nothing in common except a smudge on their brains puzzle New York cop Eve Dallas.

My Thoughts: This book disturbs me a bit. The thought of people being able to manipulate our brainwaves in order to get us to do something is incredibly frightening. Yes music can heighten an experience. Lyrics can give us ideas. But they can in no way be altered to fit individual brain patterns. That is just scary.

Robb continues to tell the story of Eve Dallas and Roark and their sidekicks in this instalment. As per usual there is a great deal of humour and love in it. What I also appreciate in this particular instalment is the philosophical discussion regarding predestination or free will. Personally I fall on the side of Dr. Mira, I believe in free will but it is always interesting to see such debates in books that I always feel are more of the light entertainment variety.

This particular book as little in the variety of character development, it is more of solidifying the characters personalities and relationships. I like the relationship between Eve and Mavis in this one. How do we react when our friends are used against us or for the gain of someone else? It is another interesting aspect.

There are some scenes in this book that are upsetting and might disturb sensitive readers. But then I would say that for this whole series. Think Law and Order: SVU in the future.

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North.This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Book Review: The French Lieutenant’s Woman

The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles

Category: Modern Fiction

Challenge: Flashback Challenge

Synopsis: The French Lieutenant’s Woman tells the story of Charles Smithson, a Victorian gentleman and his infatuation with Sarah Woodruff, the title character, who is a woman who has acquired a certain reputation. During a visit to his fiancé, Ernestina, in Lyme Regis, Charles meets Sarah and is captured by her tragic story. 

My thoughts: There are some spoilers in this review with regards to structure (which goes to message and events) because I can’t talk about the book without commentating on these issues.

I didn’t like this book. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t like it. I on principal dislike books where the author feels that they repeatedly have to jump in the book and tell me that it is just a story. I know it is a story. If I wanted a true story I would read non-fiction. When I read fiction I want a story. I don’t want to be repeatedly yanked out of the story by the author thinking they are clever and having a dialogue with me.

I also disliked the multiple endings. I want a straight up and down ending. I want the author to make up their mind about which ending they like the best. I don’t like this whole “well I wrote this ending, but now I’m going to give you this other ending”. Just make up your mind for pete sake.

I do like the language in the book. Often it is very beautifully constructed. Clearly a lot of thought went into choosing words and to make them feel authentic. I also liked the the location descriptions.

I am well aware of the fact that this book was written with a psychoanalytical criticism in mind and I find that problematic. The way women are portrayed in the book is a view that I find insulting. There are no women (apart perhaps from Aunt Tranter) who do not appear scheming in some way. The men are portrayed as mere victims of these women. For me that is insulting both to men and women.

I read this book in high school and I just could not remember what happened. It was as if I had read the book for the first time. I did remember the setting and once I started reading I remembered the characters and some events. But more events were new to me than I remembered. Not generally a good thing for a book.

All this said I know a lot of people really appreciate this book. I just don’t.

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North.This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Teaser Tuesday: The French Lieutenant’s Woman

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“He stood unable to do anything but stare down, tranced by this unexpected encounter, and overcome by an equally strange feeling—not sexual, but fraternal, perhaps paternal, a certainty of the innocence of this creature, of her being unfairly outcast,  and which was in turn a factor of his intuition of her appalling loneliness. He could not imagine what, besides despair, could driver her, in an age where women were semi-static, timid, incapable of sustained physical effort to this wild place”

The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles, pg 71

Book Review: The Long Winter

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Category: Children’s book

Synopsis: Through the many blizzards of the Long Winter the Ingalls family tries their best to survive.

My Thoughts: I didn’t have any plans what so ever to read this book. But as I was starting the fires in the house with the help of wood that was never meant to be wood and an ever dwindling supply of this type of wood too I was struck by the image of Laura and Pa twisting straw and wondering if this was in my future. Our situation is nowhere near as dire as that which the Ingalls faced that winter but I am mighty tired of the cold and the snow.

It is interesting to note Ma’s view on what is women’s work when one thinks of the view of “foreigners” that is presented in Willa Cather’s My Ántonia. Here Laura helps Pa make hay despite the fact that Ma would have preferred her not to because it is needed. The views on what is woman’s work and what is a mans work in these books sometimes get on my nerves. I try to remind myself that it was the view of the time but still, it rankles some.

Like Laura I hate the feeling of dry earth on potatoes. It makes me shiver too. I always could relate to Laura. As I said in my review of The Little House on the Prairie, Laura was a childhood heroine of mine and it wasn’t just because she was headstrong like me. We also had other small things like this in common. This is one of the things I came to appreciate about the books, the small details that make their way into the books and make Laura more of a person, someone I could be friends with.

The Long Winter was never my favourite Little House book but now reading it as an adult I have a whole new appreciation of the situation the settlers found themselves in. I think I could feel the worry in a whole new way now. I could also appreciate what Ma and Pa did to make sure the girls did not worry to much. The way they managed to make a living through this time is truly amazing, and yes I know it is a story but I can see that there is truth in it.

All in all this cold tale really did warm me on a very cold day here in Sweden where the winter seems to have no end. At least I don’t have to live off nothing but brown bread. Our cupboards might have felt bare today but they are nice and filled again today, and we got a new load of wood and no one had to risk their life to get it to us. Today I appreciate living in the modern world. I also seem to have kicked off a bit of a Little House binge so look for more mini-reviews in the next few days. The books are a nice antidote to Theory of Literature :D

I could probably have counted this book for several challenges but I’m not going to because I read it for me, on a complete impulse and you know what, that was fun!

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North.This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

The Sunday Salon: Reading is Important

What Caught My Fancy This Week

For one of my classes we were supposed to give a speech and then write an article on the same topic. I have written enough argumentative essays over the past 15 years to make me rather sick of it all. I am also going to spend my working life reading students argumentative essays. I am sure I will read more than my fair share of essays about the death penalty and assisted suicide. I really didn’t want to write one myself. So I chose to give my speech on the importance of reading to children. It was a sure winner since I was giving the speech to a bunch of future Swedish teachers. My professor was almost in tears she was so happy with my choice and the speech (even though I went over in time). Then I wrote a column on the same thing.

After I had handed in my first draft I ended up reading a really upsetting article in a teaching magazine. Apparently high school students have such a poor vocabulary that they can’t read regular text books in various subjects!!! I often complain that the academic texts I have to read use bigger words than necessary. That I hate. But to not know basic vocabulary??!!! That is just so incredibly wrong.

The article I read advocated that students in lower grades should be given an hour of free reading time per week. An hour? Per week??!! Allow me to be appalled at the paltry amount. Yes I know that I can spend an entire day reading, actually I could spend all day every day reading if I was allowed. And yes I know that reading is not everyone’s cup of tea, but come on! An hour a week?! They need more than that! Reading shouldn’t be a chore but it should definitely be encouraged. And quite frankly I don’t care what they read, as long as they read. Because I firmly believe that sooner or later they will realise that reading isn’t hard or scary but fun and a great way of finding out new things and they will read different things.

Reading is so incredibly important that we shouldn’t simply schedule in an hour a week. It should be something that happens every day and we need to talk about WHY it is important to read.

I’m going to get off my high horse now. But man did that make my blood boil. An hour a week indeed!

Reading

I’m reading quite a few books this week :D

Rapture in Death by J.D. Robb. Still re-reading this. I haven’t read that much in it this week because I usually read this in bed at night and this week I’ve been up late watching the Olympics.

 

The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles. I’m almost done this book and I realise why I don’t remember it. I simply didn’t like it the first time. And I don’t like it now. I am still counting it for the  Flashback Challenge because I think it will be interesting to discuss why I don’t like it and how I look at it differently now, I still have my old notes.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. We have had absolutely atrocious weather here this week and I have had a mad week in school so I haven’t been out for my walks when I mainly listen to audiobooks so no listening to this this week. Makes me sad because I really like it. This will be my first book for the South Asian Author Challenge.

Reviewed

I only reviewed one book this week, but what a book!!!

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois. This was probably one of the most thought provoking books I have read in a long time. I was surprised by how relevant it still was. So much of what Du Bois wrote can be applied to today’s world. The importance of education and the dangers of certain types of loans. I have put Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery because Du Bois heavily criticises his stand on education and suffrage and I wanted to know what Washington actually said. I do love it when one book causes me to read another. On a purely personal note I am also incredibly proud of this review. It felt really solid.  

Bookish News

An article from The Guardian about Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. It talks about many of the problems I had with the books, and about the movie of the first book which is out in the UK this month. They are actually showing the movies (extended cut apparently) on tv here this spring. I will probably watch them. Should be interesting.

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North.This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Booking Through Thursday: Olympic Reading

This weeks Booking Through Thursday asks: You may have noticed–the Winter Olympics are going on. Is that affecting your reading time? Have you read any Olympics-themed books? What do you think about the Olympics in general? Here’s your chance to discuss!

I LOVE the Olympics! There is something wonderful about seeing all these sports that normally never get the time of day on our televising screens.

The Olympics are actually giving me more reading time. I’m staying up later than I should to watch the games (we are 9 hours ahead of Vancouver most of the events take place when I am fast asleep). I am reading more because often there is little going on between events, especially now when the weather isn’t cooperating. Often you know when you need to watch the tv because the sport reporters get VERY excited. One of our commentators voice breaks when he gets excited. It is hilarious.

I really should have planned to read some Olympic books. I don’t read that many books that have Olympic connections. I think one of my goals for next year will be to read more sport memoirs because I love sports and there seems to be so many good ones around. I think the last Olympic connection book I read was My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva and I read that many many years ago. I am glad that she has found someone to love again. It is a truly lovely love story although one can tell that English is not her first language. I definitely recommend it.

Does anyone have any sports memoirs they think I should read?