My Z Author

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


"One of the most important works of twentieth-century American literature, Zora Neale Hurston's beloved 1937 classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is an enduring Southern love story sparkling with wit, beauty, and heartfelt wisdom. Told in the captivating voice of a woman who refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, it is the story of fair-skinned, fiercely independent Janie Crawford, and her evolving selfhood through three marriages and a life marked by poverty, trials, and purpose. A true literary wonder, Hurston's masterwork remains as relevant and affecting today as when it was first published -- perhaps the most widely read and highly regarded novel in the entire canon of African American literature."
~~ back cover

Did I read the same book? Apparently I did -- the names of the characters are all the same.

I just never figured this book out. To begin with, I had trouble with the dialect. It didn't flow for me, so whenever any of the characters were speaking, I had to slow down and really concentrate on what they were saying. Not that I don't understand dialect -- I didn't live in NAwlins for 5 years for nothing. Hearing it is much different than reading it -- it doesn't flow off the written page, the way it does when you're hearing it. And losing that flow, having to stop and wade through it -- the lightness, quickness, native intelligence of the speakers is lost. This dialect is made to move, to twist and turn in on itself and the speakers, twine around them and the audience, swoop and swirl and carouse. I don't profess to know how to represent dialect on the written page without losing that wonder and joy. I do know that the way Ms. Hurston chose didn't work.

There was an awful lot of philosophizing about what makes lives worth living, etc. Heavy-handed philosophizing, to my way of thinking. I do hate being preached at from the mouth of a character in a novel. Just as in real life, the most effective sermon is doing by example.

There was indeed a contrast between Janie's three marriages, and certainly she was happier in the last than in the first two. Her grandmother married her off young to an older man, "to protect her". Janie chose her second husband, and the 20 year duration of that marriage as it soured and shredded provided some small arena for Janie to evolve her selfhood. Perhaps she did, subterraneously, as she seemed to emerge from it more sure of herself, more comfortable in her own skin.

The story tried too much I think. There was the background, but important in its own right, thread about what life was like for black people in the South in the 1930s. Janie seems to have escaped the worst of it, not that her life was a bed of roses. But there was no mention of the tensions between white and black, of the grinding poverty, of the circumscribed lives blacks in America were forced to live during that time. With the exception of the thread of her grandmother's dilemma for bearing the owner's child, any interaction between the races was painted as one of common respect and caring for one another.

The dramas of Janie and her marriages were the romantic theme of course, but it isn't romance as we generally think of it. Marriage more often was a financial survival tool, and a necessity to be placed in the social fabric. Love and/or friendship generally didn't enter into it. Janie's third marriage turned that standard on its ear, and outraged most of the community because of it. The words are there describing how much she loved Tea Cake, but for me they stayed just words on a page -- never igniting into a love that caught my heart.

I think the book should have stuck with one or the other, and not tried to take on both arenas. Neither was done a service.



View all my reviews

My Y Author

Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative Eurasian stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she moved from Hong Kong to England and eventually to the United States to become a physician and writer.

"A compelling, painful, and ultimately triumphant story of a girl's journey into adulthood, Adeline's story is a testament to the most basic of human needs: acceptance, love, and understanding. With a powerful voice that speaks of the harsh realities of growing up female in a family and society that kept girls in emotional chains, Falling Leaves is a work of heartfelt intimacy and a rare authentic portrait of twentieth-century China."
~~back cover

This is an incredible book! I could hardly put it down and read it in two days. As Amy Tan said, "my heart [was] pierced by Adeline's account of her terrible childhood." On one level, the book was an historic overview of China before the Sino-Japanese war, which melted into WWII, which in turn was overthrown by the onset of Communism. The downward spiral from personal affulence to personal deprivation is astonishing and bone chilling.

Even more bone chilling is the exposure of the dynamics between the various members of the family. The "wicked" stepmother keeping everyone in turmoil and hatred -- the children turning against one another in an effort to win her favor. As they grew up and escaped (or didn't) from her power, it was fascinating and at the same time horrifying to watch how it all played out amongst them. Was Adeline a fool to hold the philosophy she did towards her family? Could any of them have changed their trajectories?

Let me know what you think after you've read this book.

My X Author

MEET ME AT THE FIGHTING COCKS: LUNCH, LAGER, AND THE HOLY GRAIL by FRANCIS X. MALONE

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


"This novel treats the reader to a series of timeless London Pubs and cozy country inns. Join the entourage on this adventure as they explore the essence of life.

"Following a pub frolic in tow of London's 'villages', plus a day-out to Cambridge, the trio takes off on an outer crawl. From Brighton through the Cotswolds and Oxford to Saint Albans the party visits endearing pubs, grand cathedrals, and architectural gems, including the Prince Regent's Oriental Fantasy, a lavishly restored Norman castle, Majestic Blenheim Palace, and medieval scholastic splendors.

"They relish the charms of the Isle of Wight, Henley-on-Thames, The Royal Naval Base ('Victory' and 'Mary Rose'), Stonehenge, and Stourhead Garden. All are liberally laced with historical background, delectable dining, great companionship, and a dollop of spirituality.

"Richard L. Schwartz M.D., Pioneer Preventist, and Counseling Professor, having agreed to recount his life story, regales the author with 9 separate episodes from 1 to 3 days apart. His inspiring conclusion reveals that the most potent weapon in our medical arsenal if FAITH, the bedrock for hope, the magic ingredient of 'the will to live,' the key to survival."
~~ back cover

I was absolutely in ecstasies when I found this book. Bouncing up & down at the mail box with anticipation until it came! What could be better than a book that explores English pubs, & other delights? (For those of you who don't know me, I am an entrenched Anglophile, and pubs are among my favorite places in the whole of Britain.) I sat me down at once and dove right in.

And hit bottom somewhere in the first 50 pages. This is the most ghastly piece of work I've stumbled across in some time -- boring, poorly written, merely a laundry list of directions to the various pubs, a dry recitation of their history, and what they had to eat &/or drink while they were there. Poor Dr. Schwartz's story is butchered as well -- emerging dry as dust.

I couldn't finish it. I just couldn't even get to page 100.

Don't you wonder what a Pioneer Preventist might be? I did too. Evidently a Preventist is a doctor who practices preventive medicine, and also evidently Dr. Schwartz was one of the first in the field.

And it's no surprise to me that the publisher, AuthorHouse, is a self-publishing company. No real publisher would have touched this lot with a 10 foot pole! And what do you want to bet that the author wrote that glowing precis!

My W Author

Everybody's Favorite Duck by Gahan Wilson

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


"The celebrated cartoonist/comic novelist Gahan Wilson presents a thundering and uproarious adventure -- with literature's nastiest bad guys and most heroic good guys battling to the death in today's New York."

"When the Professor (the fiendishly brilliant British Napoleon of Crime), the Mandarin (the cruelly diabolical Chinest mastermind), and Spectrobert (the blackheartedly crafty French rogue) are spotted lunching together at Manhattan's posh Le Rond-Point, the police department is baffled, the FBI is bewildered, the CIA is entirely up a tree. What deviltry are they plotting? Whose fate hangs in the balance? How can the forces of justice stymie their plans? Above all, what is their connection with famed cartoonist Art Waldo's universally adored creation, Quacky the Lucky Duck?

"Aid to the Force of Good comes in the form of the formidably brilliant Enoch Bone (who bears more than a passing resemblance to one of fiction's greatest sleuths) and his irrepressibly hard-boiled sidekick John Weston (ditto). But the wily villains do not underestimate their opponents: Bone and Weston are in short order subjected to Spectrobert's demonically booby-trapped kitchen, the Mandarin's mutation-laden torture tunnels, and the Professor's Flying Purple Cloud of Destruction.

"Will the combination of Bone's laser-sharp mind and Weston's quick trigger-finger be enough to undo the evil-doers? A breathtakingly riotous climax at New Jersey theme part Waldo World holds the answer."
~~front & back flaps

What a great title! I got the book because that title promised great things. Unfortunately, for me, the book never managed to achieve the stature promised by the title.

I got it that the main characters were all spoofs of famous detectives or famous villains. The Professor was easy to figure out, but I never managed to identify the other two. I don't read that sort of mystery, and so I missed the clever puns, the charming allusions to other stories, other triumphs, etc. Lacking those resonances, the whole thing was unutterably disjointed, nonsensical, and not very entertaining. With the one exception of when someone (inevitably) asked "Where's Waldo?"

My V Author

The Art of the Moment: Simple Ways to Get the Most from Life by Veronique Vienne

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


"Prolong the Pleasure of Being Alive

"Don't wait for a second chance to get it right.

"Fold your napkin carefully at the end of a great gourmet meal.

"Have serious conversations with seven-year-olds.

"Forget to mention that you were right in the first place.

"Say 'Don't ask' and 'Go figure' rather than launch into tedious explanations.

"Reframe family pictures.

"Always have a kind word for people with old dogs.

"Look at the world as if you were a cat.

"Welcome unexpected interruptions: They are often the prologue to happy accidents.

"Think in the shower.

"Find a little more time to be with friends.

"Make the most of everything, one moment at a time."

~~back cover

"Feel the excitement of being here now! 'The Art of the Moment' explores ways to get the most from life, one day at a time. The signature essays -- short and sweet, yet insightful -- are invitations to appreciate the uniqueness of each moment. Dismissing the notion that our notoriously short attention span is to be blamed for our distracted state of mind, the book encourages readers to savor the fullness of life in brief, joy installments. 'Each moment is both the last time and the first time because no two days are ever alike.'

"Each chapter is a reminder that time is not running out. You don't have to rush to experience a sense of joy, wonder, and adventure. It's yours for the taking, whenever you are ready for it. You can claim the 'now' while watering the lawn, taking a seven-year-old to soccer practice, buying a new pair of shoes, or daydreaming about opening a small bookstore across the street from the bank.

"This book ... is a perfect gift for anyone who believes that the ultimate art of living is to make each minute count."
~~front flap

The only way I can think of to describe this book is to call it a miniature coffee table book. Nice format, lovely facile I-already-knew-that platitudes and small, nonmemorable essays -- to quote my friend, "it was much of a muchness". Perhaps a nice introduction to New Age thought for someone who's never delved into it before. But if you've done any reading on the subject, or are into meditating -- this is not the book for you. The metaphysical equivalent of "Dick and Jane".

I only read it because I needed a V author for my 52 A-Z Challenge.

My U Author

Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo by Daphne Uviller

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


"In this collection of original, frank, personal accounts, twenty-one of today's most celebrated writers -- all of them only children -- reveal the pleasures, peculiarities, and pain they faced growing up, and growing older, without siblings. More than just stories of head counts and birth order, these essays air the dirty laundry, reveal the singular joys, and grapple with questions of love, loss, and solitude. The authors will make other onlies grin and grimace in recognition and show the rest of us what it's like to be a party of one."
~~back cover

I must be weird. None of these stories resonated with me. And yes, I'm an only child, and have hated it all my life. I was forever trying to find a family that had more relatives than mine (we were a singularly small group: I'm an only child, my mother's only sibling was childless [that makes me an only only, you know.]) I always longed for a big family: lots of aunts and uncles and cousins, and Cecil B. DeMille Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas with mounds of presents under the tree. My father had several brothers and a sister, but they are all back in Ohio and I've never met any of them, so that doesn't count..

None of the stories came close to talking about what it's like to be the point of such an inverted pyramid. All eyes on you, all family aspirations yours to fulfill, yours to fail and let the whole family down, etc. I hated it! As I grew older and began to find out that my family of origin was skewed heavily towards major personality disorders, I wished even harder for a sibling. "I didn't do it, your father didn't do it, and the dog didn't do it." Useless to protest that I didn't do it either -- my goose was already precooked. If I'd had a sibling, we might have compared notes and come to the conclusion about how skewed our family was -- and maybe it wouldn't have taken me so many years to find out, and even more to try to begin to undo the damage.

As we all got older, it would have been lovely to have a sibling, someone to share the burden of caring for them as they declined in health, and proceeded towards leaving this world. Lovely to have had someone to help me clean out the trailer, stuffed with the accumulated detrius of years and years of hoarding against the next Great Depression.

Some of these stories touched on that aspect of being an only child, but most of them ended happily ever after: reconciliation with their aloneness, happy families with their parents. That wasn't my experience, although I really hoped I would read about others who felt like orphans long before their parents' deaths made that status a reality.

My T Author

Secret Lives of Walter Mitty and of James Thurber by James Thurber

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"The beloved works of one of America's most celebrated writers is ... gorgeously illustrated in this collector's edition. Illustrator Marc Simont imaginatively renders the fantastic adventures of the famed protagonist in Thurber's beloved story and his tongue-in-cheek autobiographical essay 'The Secret Life of James Thurber', which first appeared in The New Yorker."

A charming book -- the drawings are whimsical and delightful. And of course the stories are well-known and indeed beloved.

My S Author

The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"The delectable new installment in the best-selling and beloved adventures of Isabel Dalhousie. When Mimi, Isabel's cousin from Dallas, arrives in Edinburgh with her husband, Joe, several confounding situations unfurl. First, Mimi and Joe introduce Isabel to Tom Bruce -- a bigwig back home in Texas. The roving eye of Tom's young fiancee leads Isabel to believe that money may be at the root of her love for Tom. But what, Isabel wonders, is at the root of Tom's interest in Isabel herself? Then there are the feeling that Isabel has for Jamie, which are certainly hard to ignore. And she musn't forget about her niece, Cat, who's busy falling for a man whom Isabel suspects of being an incorrigible mama's boy.

Of course, Jamie counsels Isabel to stay out of it all, but there are irrestible philosophical issues at stake -- when to tell the truth and when to keep one's mouth shut, to be precise -- and philosophical issues are meat and drink to Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics. In any case, Isabel is certain of the ethical basis for a little sleuthing now and again -- especially when the problems involve matters of the heart."
~~front flap

I so much enjoy this series, precisely because it's almost like the Seinfeld tv series: almost nothing ever happens. Instead, it's a look into the lives of ordinary people, most of whom are nice, caring, ordinary human beings. It's just comfortable, thinking about ethical issues with Isabel, who does tend to obsess over them. I love it that it's set in Edinburgh, but it could be anywhere and the stories would be just as enchanting, just as comfortable.

My R Author

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


"Compared favorably to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, Arundhati Roy's debut novel is a modern classic that has been read and loved worldwide. Equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama, it is the story of an affluent Indian family forever changed by one fateful day in 1969. The seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevokably by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. It is an event that will lead to an illicit liaison and tragedies accidental and intentional, exposing 'big things [that] lurk unsaid' in a country drifting dangerously toward unrest. Lush, lyrical, and unnerving, The God of Small Things is an award-winning landmark that started for its author an esteemed career of fiction and political commentary that continues unabated."
~`back cover.

I always feel so odd, so substandard, when I don't like a book the rest of the world is raving about. What did I miss? What didn't I see?

But I didn't much care for the book. I'm not a big fan of a plot disjointed in time (except for The Time Traveler's Wife, where the disjointedness of time was essential to the plot.) You get the plot in dribbles and drabs, never enough to anchor you in the story. Why is Baby Kochamma so jealous of Ammu? Who is the mysterious person to whom Estha is Returned? etc.

The book is a very elegant political commentary on the caste system, and human nature. But dark, bloody, vicious.

I didn't like it.

My Q Author

Inspector Queen's Own Case: November Song by Ellery Queen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


"The murder weapon was a white lace pillow soiled by the mark of a grey, dirty hand. The victim was a soft, gurgling baby. The trail led Inspector Queen to a vicious racket that preyed on unwed mothers and to a deadly encounter with a desperate killer."
~~back cover

A nice, gentle mystery -- an American cozy, in fact.

My P Author

Legend In Green Velvet by Elizabeth Peters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"It was a dream come true.

"Susan loved all things Scottish. So, when the opportunity presented itself, there was no question in her mind but that she would go on the archaeological dig in the Highlands. It was everything she could have wanted. And more. Much more.

"It was a living nightmare.

"A cryptic message slipped to Susan by a sinister soap box orator was the first puzzle. Why did he choose her? Why was he chasing her? And why, Susan had to wonder, were she and the handsome young laird Jamie Erskine suddenly being pursued by the police who wanted to talk to them about ... murder?"
~~back cover

I bet you, dear reader, can recreate the plot from just the back cover blurb alone. Wanna guess whether or not the mysterious archaeological professor was the ringleader of the bad guys? Wanna guess whether or not Susan and Jamie initially hated each other, but then ...?

Never mind. It was a lovely read, made ever better by kilts and tartans and Highland songs. There's nothing quite so bonny as a man in a kilt, you know.

My O Author

The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"A feathered version of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" ~~ Outside magazine

"Every January 1, a quirky crowd storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year -- a grand, expensive, and occasionally vicious 365-day marathon of birdwatching. For three men in particular, 1998 would become a grueling battle for a new North American birding record. Bouncing from coast to coast on frenetic pilgrimages for once-in-a-lifetime rarities, they brave broiling deserts, bug-infested swamps, and some of the lumpiest motel mattresses known to man. This unprecedented year of beat-the-clock adventures ultimately leads one man to a record so gigantic that it is unlikely ever to be bested. Here, prize-winning journalist Mark Obmascik creates a dazzling, fun narrative of the 275,000-mile odyssey of those three obsessives as they fight to win the greatest -- or maybe the worst -- birding contest of all time."
~~back cover

This is a fascinating book. Who knew there are people who are daft enough to put their whole lives on hold and spend an entire year compulsively racing after tick marks on a list of birds? They eat, sleep, breathe and dream birds: rare species, everyday back yard species, pelagic species, desert species, mountain species, swamp species. It's rather like those contests to see who can eat the most hot dogs in 10 minutes -- nobody tastes the hot dogs, they just cram as many as possible into their mouths before the final whistle blows. The men (& I suppose sometimes there are women) are only interested in "bagging" enough birds to break the record. They don't care which birds they see (or just hear), they're not interested in the beauty or rarity of the birds themselves. They just want to break the record, become someone famous.

It was intriguing -- I could hardly put it down.

And even though the movie is never as good as the book, I can't wait to see it!

My N Author

So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

"things go right, I read. When they go wrong, I read more.

"Sometimes subtle, sometimes striking, the interplay between our lives and our books is the subject of this unique memoir by well-known publishing correspondent and self-described 'readaholic' Sara Nelson. The project began as an experiment with a simple plan -- fifty-two weeks, fifty-two books -- that fell apart in the first week. It was then that Sara realized the books chose her as much as she chose them, and the rewards and frustrations they brought were nothing she could plan for. From Solzhenitsyn to Laura Zigman, Catherine M. to Captain Underpants, the result is a personal chronicle of insight, wit, and enough infectious enthusiasm to make a passionate reader out of anybody."
~~back cover

It didn't make a passionate reader out of me. (Well, perhaps that's unfair -- I already am a passionate reader. However, if I hadn't been, this book wouldn't have converted me.) Perhaps the problem here is that I come to books with expectations about them, generally based on the title, or the descriptive blurb, or the fact that someone whose taste I share thought it was a good book.

"fifty-two weeks, fifty-two books" -- I've done that challenge for the last three years, so I was prepared for a book that talked about the fifty-two books she read, why she liked them or didn't like them, etc. Secretly hoping for some authors or titles representing the hard letters: Q, X, Y, Z. In other words, I thought this book would be about the books.

It wasn't. Well, not exactly. It was more about the author, her family life, the crises in her life, etc. And how her husband doesn't understand why she reads so compulsively. And the way she intuitively gravitates toward a book depending on her current emotional state.

I have my share of "comfort reads", don't we all? But I don't chose what to read next based on how I'm feeling at the moment -- I have genres I like, and then there's titles that catch my eye, etc. Her process of choice didn't resonate with me, and neither did most of the books she chose to read.

I lusted after her built-in bookcases, though.

My M Author

Watson's Choice by Gladys Mitchell

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


"Wealthy and eccentric Sir Bohun Chantrey numbered among his enthusiasms an absorbing admiration for Sherlock Holmes. To celebrate that great man's anniversary, he gave a party at which guests were invited to impersonate characters from the Holmes stories. A good time would, no doubt, have been had by all -- if only the struggle for Sir Bohun's money had been less competitive, and if he himself had not, to the dismay and consternation of his relatives, suddenly announced his decision to marry a governess.

"Fortunately, Mrs. Beatrice Lestrange Bradley and her secretary Laura Menzies were among the guests, so that, when events began to go sour, they were on hand to investigate a rapidly intensifying mystery.

There was the unexpected meeting at a nearby inn; the sudden disappearance of the Lady in the Case; the menacing presence of Sir Bohun's toreador son. And, last but not least, there was the arrival, startling and unheralded, of the Hound of the Baskervilles ...

Watson's Choice, first published in 1955, is one of the best loved of Gladys Mitchell's many classic crime novels."
~~front flap

I've always liked this author in the past, and indeed have collected most of her books. This was a reread for me, and I was astonished to realize I didn't like it as much as I previously had done.

Possibly I'm just getting grumpy in my old age, but I think my taste in mysteries has changed somewhat over the years. I no longer care much for contrived plots, and endings that were impossible to figure out during the course of the book.

My L Author

Unlocking the Air and Other Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


"This collection of mainstream stories, which have been published in such distinguished magazine as The New Yorker, Harper's Omni, and Playboy, is a stunning example of the virtuosity of the legendary Ursula K. LeGuin.

In her own words:'These stories span twelve years of writing, from the early eighties to the mid-nineties. It took them a long time to gather themselves into a whole, with the shape and the subtle interconnections that make a bunch of stories into a book.

'Recently I have published two collections of science fiction stories. The stories in Unlocking the Air aren't science fiction; they belong variously to plain realism, or magical realism, or surrealism, or post-modern genres that don't even have names yet. They approach reality sometimes frontally, confrontationally, in daylight; sometimes deviously, by a back road in the dark; but they always approach it. Some take place in realistic setting, such as the central European country of Orsinia or the town of Ether, OR. Others take place in high fantastic settings, such as Oakland, Cleveland, or Portland. Several of them use a multiple voice, or a mythic voice, to talk about reality, because reality is a slippery fish that often can be caught only in a net of spells, or with the hook of metaphor. These stories are explorations of the mysteries of name and time and ordinary living and ordinary pain.' "
~~front flap

This is one of my favorite authors, so I was glad to dive into this book. The first story put me off a bit -- I didn't quite understand what was being done, or hinted at -- multiple realities? parallel universes? It got worse before it got better -- about halfway through I caught myself feeling disappointed, that these stories weren't the same caliber I've come to expect from the author. The last half of the book picked up, and I think that's my opinion because the stories toward the back of the book are more like science fiction. I think Ms. LeGuin is at her best when she's creating a reality tailored to her specific plot and message.

I'll keep the book, because I keep all the books I get written by her. Maybe a second reading, a few years from now, will sharpen my appreciation for this facet of her writing.

My K Author

The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


"First published in 1863, The Water-Babies is one of the most enchanting children's classics of all time. It tells the story of how little Tom, the chimney-sweep, runs away from his bullying employer, Mr. Grimes, falls into a river and is turned into a water-baby, and of his many adventures in the river and sea."
~~front flap

Why in the world did I ever think I wanted to read this book? Generally the books on my wish list are books that someone has recommended, or that I've come across by virtue of liking the author, or perhaps the illustrator, or else by a reference that intrigued me. I cannot for the life of me remember any of those, so I'm at a lost to know why I had this book in my TBR shelf.

The book is quite dated, not just because of the characters, but because of the social caste system inherent in the plot; because of the very thinly disguised strictures on how to be a good little boy, and to know one's place in the world, and to not grumble at one's lot in life. The plot is unbelievable for today's audience, and the "adventures" dull and unappealing.

Unless you're really an aficionado of Victorian children's literature, I wouldn't bother with reading this book.

My J Author

Dunwoody Pond: Reflections on the High Plains Wetlands and the Cultivation of Naturalists by John Janovy Jr.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


"In a small and -- to the untrained eye -- unimpressive pond, microscopic life abounds, breeding myriad mysteries. Indeed the mysteries ripple well beyond the pond's edge, where budding scientists stoop over their specimens, and one question in particular intrigues John Janovy Jr.: What make these otherwise normal young people want to study parasites? The parasites that Janovy peers at in Dunwoody Pond, living their intricate lives on or in beetles, damselflies, frogs, toads, fish, and tiny crustaceans, are no less interesting and involved than the lives of the young scientists he observes in their pursuit of these microorganisms.

An exploration of a small farm pond in Nebraska, the creatures that inhabit it, and the people who study them, this engaging book captures the spirit of scientific inquiry at its source. Janovy, a celebrated scientist, naturalist, and teacher, introduces us to five of his most gifts students at critical junctures in their scientific careers. As we watch these young people at work and learn about the fascinating microscopic universe that preoccupies them, we also learn firsthand about the curiosity, wonder, and excitement that animate scientific practice. As closely observed and warmly written as all of John Janovy's works, Dunwoody Pond is, above all, a highly original and insightful meditation on the nature of science itself."
~~back cover

I missed it. All that insightfulness about the students and then the metalevel of science itself -- I missed it all. At least I think I did. The book was so specific, so tied to dreary, isolated water tanks or ponds in ditches by the side of lonely dirt farm roads, that it was hard for me to relate. I tried to correlate my experiences as a graduate student in archaeology -- why did I choose prehistory over historical archaeology? Why lithics, rather than faunal analysis? But somehow the students, as portrayed in the book, didn't come across as real people struggling with those kinds of questions. Oh, they got close a couple of times -- I almost felt that I could understand what I was being shown. But in the end, I missed it.

My I Author

Who Let the Dogs In? Incredible Political Animals I Have Known by Molly Ivins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"The dazzling, inimitable Molly Ivins is back, with her own personal Hall of Fame of America's most amazing and outlandish politicians -- the wicked, the wise, the witty, and the witless -- drawn from more than twenty years of reporting on the folks who attempt to run our government (in some cases, into the ground).

Who Let the Dogs In? takes us on a wild ride through two decades of political life, from Ronald Regan, through Big George and Bill Clinton, to our current top dog, known to Ivins readers simply as Dubya. But those are just a few of the political animals who are honored and skewered for our amusement. Ivins also writes hilariously, perceptively, and at times witheringly of John Ashcroft, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, H. Ross Perot, Tom DeLay, Ann Richards, Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, and the current governor of Texas, who is known as Rick "Goodhair" Perry.

Following close on the heels of her phenomenally successful Bushwhacked and containing an up-to-the-minute Introduction for the campaign season, Who Let the Dogs In? is political writing at its best."
~~front flap

Well, as most of you already know, I just adore Molly Ivins. She was incredible: extremely politically astute and devastatingly funny. Any other book written about the Dubya era would probably seem dated and irrelevant, but almost everything Molly wrote is timeless. She had such a gimlet eye for the political arena and its denizens that it's a pure joy to read anything she wrote.

I often found myself laughing out loud through tears -- laughing in appreciation of her wit and assessment of some political boondoggle or malfeasance; crying because she's gone and I miss her so. Whatever would she have said about Sarah Palin? Michelle Bachman? Rick Perry as a Presidential candidate? Jerry Brown redux? She left just before the going got good.

RIP Molly, but damn! we hated to see you go.

My H Author

The Tale of Mrs.William Heelis: Beatrix Potter by John E. Heelis

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


"Much has been written about Beatrix Potter but one area of her life which has been neglected is her relationship with Willie Heelis, to whom she was happily married for thirty years. Here, their great-nephew casts a welcome look at this relationship, and tackles controversial issues, such as whether Beatrix ever did like children. Included are first hand reminicences of family and friends, and extracts from previously unpublished letters. Line drawings and photographs enhance the picture of Beatrix Potter's life which this engaging book provides."
~~back cover

I was so disappointed with this book! I was all set to dive right into her life, vicariously living in Cumbria and soaking up the country atmosphere. But that was not to be!

The book is a hodge podge, and confusing with it. Letters and comments attributed to people who were related to her or him, or else neighbors or villagers. The author apparently thought we all had the family tree, complete with branches, in our heads as there were seldom, if ever, any placing references given. Her aunt? His sister? I should have drawn it all out before I plunged in, but who would have thought?

Family pictures in the middle of the book generally followed the same philosophy: "Judith Heelis with her prize-winning Herdwick at the Great Yorkshire Show, 1993." (Wikipedia: "The Herdwick is a breed of domestic sheep native to the Lake District of Cumbria in North West England. The name "Herdwick" is derived from the Old Norse herdvyck, meaning sheep pasture. And Beatrix herself was a prize-winning Herdwick breeder.") Lovely photo, nice looking young lady. But as Ms. Potter died in 1943, the rationale for including this photo in the book escapes me, as does the photo of "Two of the author's grandchildren, Sarah and Rebecca." (I am assuming they are the grandchildren of the great-nephew, as Beatrix herself was childless.)

I came away from the book quite confused, and feeling more distant from Beatrix than when I began. If you're a fan of her and her work, I'd stick to the 2006 movie "Miss Potter, a biopic of Potter’s life focusing on her early career and romance with her editor Norman Warne." It's delightful, and there's absolutely no necessity whatsoever to know anything about any of her family, or the Heelis family. What a relief!

My G Author

Bully for Brontosaurus: Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"From his best-selling Wonderful Life to his splendid essays on the endlessly interesting variations of evolution. Stephen Jay Gould has raised the art of scientific writing to new heights."
~~back cover

I adore good scientific writing, and Stephen Jay Gould certainly ranks up there amongst the masters of the genre, in my opinion. It's hard to choose my favorite from this palette of essays -- spoiled for choice seems to cover it. I enjoyed the "historic" sections a bit more than I did the parsing of greats and not-so-greats in the field, but all were interesting, and gave me much to think about.

F Author

A traveller's history of Scotland by Andrew Fisher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"The Traveller's History seies is for anybody who wants a comprehensive view of a nation's past history from earliest tme right up to the present day.

A Traveller's History of Scotland begins with Scotland's first people and their culture. Before the Vikings in 900 it was a land of romantic kingdoms and saints, gradually overtaken by more pragmatic struggles for power. Centuries of strife led up to the turbulent years of Mary Queen of Scots, the Calvinistic legacy of Knox, and the bitterness of final defeat.

The dreams of the Jacobites are contrasted with the cruel reality of the end of the Stewarts and the Act of Union with England. Scotland now saw an age of industry and despoliation. The result was much emigration and an obsession with the nation's past which glorified the legends of the Highlander and the Clans. In this century, a loss of identify and a drift to the south has been followed by a new surge of national pride with higher aspirations for the future.

A Traveller's History of Scotland explains the roots of Scottish history and is an invaluable companion for visitors."
~~back cover

I was so impressed by this book! The author was brilliant at distilling the rich tapestry of Scottish history into its essence -- all the important battles and assassinations and plots and historic coincidences are there. But it's a slim volume, for all of that -- easy reading for a historic tract. I highly recommend it if you're at all interested in Scottish history.

E Author

Middlemarch by George Eliot

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"Few novelists have ever attempted so broad a canvas as George Elliott in her masterpiece, Middlemarch. Portraying every level of social life in a provincial Midlands town called Middlemarch, she interweaves several intensely dramatic stories of love and death, betrayal and reconciliation, into one of the finest pictures of nineteenth-century England ever created. Its acute psychological penetration makes it also an exceptionally modern work, particularly in the romantic idealism of Dorothea Brooke, who often resembles George Eliot herself, and in the disastrous marriage and thwarted career of the young reformist doctor, Lydgate. Virginia Woolf called it 'one of the few English novels written for grownup people' -- and it is truly great literature that ranks among the best novels in the world."
~~back cover

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The author has a very sly sense of humor, and an understated way with it, so that you might miss all the innuendos and rapier thrusts if you read too fast, without thinking about what's being said. The story is reminiscent of the formulaic plots of Victorian English life, but it's only a surface resemblance. Characters behave as real, ordinary people, generally -- people who must make their way in the world, people who must weigh their principles against their need to earn a living. Even the deux ex machina denouement is enjoyable, and believable.

I don't understand why I waited so long to read it!

D Author

Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism by Irene Diamond

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


"The Ecofeminist Movement represents the coming together of the environmental, feminist, and women's spirituality movements out of a shared concern for the well-being of the Earth and all forms of life that our Earth supports. Reweaving the World is a major resource on ecofeminism, gathering in a single volume articles, essays, and poetic prose pieces by the foremost writers, scholars, activists, artists, and spiritual teachers of this movement. Interweaving politics and philosophy, theory and activism, this provocative collection advocates a restoration of harmony in a global environment damaged by a devaluation of nature and women."
~~back cover

I wanted to read this book to learn more about the ecofeminist movement: what it was all about, what are the guiding principles, etc. I'm not sure I know any more now than I did before I read it. It's a very dense book -- actually an academic book, and the pieces are written for an audience that has already mastered the basics of the discipline. That isn't me.

I'm reminded of the time I took a graduate course on nomads from my mentor in college. The syllabus was thick, and composed entirely of that same kind of dense articles. I'd never studied nomadism before, so the nuances and references and basic ideas weren't familiar to me -- I grappled with them, and it took me hours to get the reading done. The mentor, in the meanwhile, tossed them off like so many pieces of candy. It took me a long while to figure out that of course she could gallop through them -- she was conversant with the discipline.

I'm sure some of these pieces were brilliant, but I think the brilliance escaped me. Nor do I have much of an idea about the warp and woof of ecofeminism. The most salient thing I learned is that Ursula Le Guin's Always Coming Home is an ecofeminist work. And it's one of my all time favorite books. Who knew? I'll have to go read it again, & compare it with the commentary in this book. Maybe then I'll finally get it!

C Author

To Save the Wild Earth: Field Notes from the Environmental Frontline by Ric Careless

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"For more than 25 years Ric Careless has fought on the environmental frontline in British Columbia to save the wild earth. Tatshenshini River; Spatsizi Plateau; Nitinat Triangle; the Purcell Wilderness: these are a few of the areas Careless has helped to preserve for future generations -- almost 5.5 million acres of wilderness in all.

"Now Careless a gehind-the-scenes look at how environmental campaigns are fought and how they are won. To Save the Wild Earth is one man's firsthand experience of how countless people have come together again and again to save nature. 'Wilderness. It is a place, an experience, a tradition, a remembering, and a future,' writes Careless. With these words, he hopes to inspire people across North America to join the fight."
~~back cover

This book was an unexpected jewel, a sweetness beyond explaining. Although there is a modicum of biographical detail, the book is about the wilderness lands that had to be saved from exploitation and destruction. What most fascinated me was his practicality: Careless is no wild-eyed Earth First!er, but rather a man with a passion and dedication to save as much of the last unspoiled lands as he could for their own beauty, for their pristine remembrance of the world before man, the culture bearer, began to carve it to his own image. He learned to translate his passion into practicality -- to bring miners and loggers and developers to see the value in wilderness, and to recruit them to his cause. He formulated plans of action that drew the local populaces in, and which were fair and balanced to both sides.

It was an eye-opening story of how environmentalism can work well in this day of focus on the profit margin and the bottom line. And the descriptions of the wildernesses he traveled through, loved, and saved are lyric.

I could hardly put the book down.

B Author

Dewey Death by Charity Blackstock

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


"The Inter-Libraries Despatch Association is a librarians' library. With the help of the Dewey Decimal System of Classification, it should be a model of propriety and impersonal efficiency.

"But impersonal it is not. Everyone know that handsome, demonic Mark Allan is in thrall to the resident blond bombshell, Mrs. Bridgwater. And it's no secret that pretty Barbara Smith writes luscious historical novels about helpless ladies and dashing men -- even though she refuses to reveal her pen name. It's also clear that someday young Jack Wilson will let his curiosity get the better of him.

"But it's Mrs. Warren -- vicious gossip, interfering busybody, self-righteous prude -- who elevates office talk to something of an art form. How ironic that she will not be able to participate in discussing the most astonishing event the I.L.D.A. has ever seen. But then a victim cannot talk about her own murder.

"Somewhere among the books and microfilm, a killer is lurking at the I.L.D.A. And soon the staff will have another murder to chat about ..."
~~back cover

I'm a big fan of English murder mysteries. But I particularly like the English cozy genre, and this one wasn't quite in that category. It was good -- well written, good characterization, tight plotting, etc. But it just didn't quite catch my fancy. I recommend it to you, if you like English murder mysteries, and aren't quite as picky as I am about them!

A Author

The Slow Air of Ewan Macpherson by Thomas Fox Averill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"Glasgow, Kansas, is not quite the motherland for Scotsman Rob MacPherson. But his efforts to make it so leave an indelible impression on his son, Ewan -- especially the elder MacPherson's failed attempt to make a single malt Scotch ... which leads to a whisky-still explosion ... which leads to Ewan's suffering a terrible injury ... which leads to his falling in love -- at fourteen years of age -- with Shirley Porter.

"There's no turning back for Ewan. From that moment on, his heart has set its course. Through adolescence and into adulthood, through becoming a high school teacher, bagpipe instructor, loyal son, and keeper of all Scottish traditions, Ewan has found his one true passion -- much like his father's obsession with single malt Scotch. A passion that -- through trial and error -- will teach him that love is an acquired taste ..."
~~back cover

I really liked this book. But to be very honest, I probably liked it because the unexpected meetings with Scottish songs, or traditions, or trivia always brought a smile to my face. I love the Scottish culture as its played out in America. I have a suspicion that if this book had been interlarded into some other cultural tradition, I wouldn't have liked it half so much. I'm not a big fan of modern literature, my translation of which is people acting daft without any seemingly rational reason to do so. There was a good bit of that in this book.

Walking Zero

Walking Zero: Discovering Cosmic Space and Time Along the PRIME MERIDIAN by Chet Raymo

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

In Walking Zero, the author uses the prime meridian -- the line of zero longitude and the standard for all the world's maps and clocks -- to reconstruct the story of humankind's intellectual journey from a cosmos not much larger than ourselves to the universe of the galaxies and geologic eons.

The author connects personally with the story by walking along England's prime meridian from Brighton on the south coast through Greenwich to the North Sea. The prime meridian passes near a remarkable number of landmarks that loom large in science: the site where the first dinosaur fossils were discovered; Charles Darwin's home at Down, in Kent; John Harrison's chronometers measuring longitude in a museum room of the Royal Observatory; and Isaac Newton's chamber at Trinity College, Cambridge, among many others. Visiting them in turn, the author brings to life the human dramas of courageous individuals who bucked reigning orthodoxies to expand our horizons, including Giordano Bruno, a seventeenth-century priest who paid the ultimate price for surmising the multitude of worlds we now take for granted.

A splendid short history of astronomy, geology, and paleontology, Walking Zero illuminates the startling interplay of science, psychology, faith, and the arts in our understanding of space and time.
~~front flap

I should have loved this book. I absolutely revel in this sort of writing: synthesis, and how one thing tipped another to result in our world as it is today. James Burke's series were just gorgeous, and I'm just finishing up Bronowski's Ascent of Man series now (and I own the book.)

But I didn't care for it much. Oh it was informative, and I learned a great deal from reading it. But it was academic ponderous, dull recitations of the men who played their parts in our civilization being able to harness time, and plot space. A wee bit of the countryside at the start of each chapter, and then back to facts and figures. A shame really. A really good author could have made it a wonderful excursion -- a lyric, affectionate tour of English footpaths, and the scientific geniuses of the past who fashioned our world.


And there. The 26 books by alphabetical title are accomplished, with the 26 books by alphabetical author to come.

The Discovery of Yellowstone Park

The Discovery of Yellowstone Park: Journal of the Washburn Expedition to the Yellowstone and Firehole Rivers in the Year 1870 by Nathaniel Pitt Langford

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


With the ecological integrity of Yellowstone National Park in contention between developers and environmentalists, the events of its exploration and founding take on an added interest. This edition of the author's journal brings back into print one of the principal sources of information on the exploration of the Yellowstone region and its establishment as America's first national park.

The findings of the 1870 Washburn expedition, of which the author was a member, gave credence to the findings of the Folsom party of 1869 and resulted in the sending of a government survey party into the area in 1871. The culminating effect of the three expeditions was the federal legislation creating our first and largest national park and marking the beginning of the national concern for the preservation of America's heritage of wilderness beauty.
~~back cover

I had such high hopes for this book! I thought it was going to be a singing record of the land, the trees and the animals, and the geologic wonders. Instead, it was more of a daily recording of the minutia of the exploration: who got lost, who fell off their horse, etc. There are some vivid descriptions of what they saw: rock formations, sulphur springs, bubbling mineral springs and mud pots, rivers and rapids, massive waterfalls, geysers, etc. But the descriptions are meager, and unsatisfying.

My maternal great great uncle was one of the mountain men who helped open up the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. I hoped for a mention of him, or a reference, but there was none. That thought did, however, give me the idea to research his name, to see what's been written about him.

This is a slim book, 125 pages or so. I was relieved when it was over.

An Expert in Murder

Expert in Murder, An: A Josephine Tey Mystery by Nicola Upson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


"March 1934. Revered mystery writer Josephine Tey is traveling from Scotland to London for the final week of her play Richard of Bordeaux, the surprise hit of the season, with pacifist themes that resonate in a world still haunted by war. But joy turns to horror when her arrival coincides with the murder of a young woman she had befriended on the train ride -- and Tey is plunged into a mystery as puzzling as any in her own works.

Detective Inspector Archie Penrose is convinced that the killing is connected to the play, and that Tey herself is in danger of becoming a victim of her own success. In the aftermath of a second murder, the writer and the policeman must join together to stop a ruthless killer who will apparently stop at nothing."
~~back cover

This book is charmingly written. The author is an excellent writer: her characters are real people, with depth and anguish and trepidation, with hopes and dreams. The plotting is quite good -- an extravagantly complicated puzzle, with all the pieces sliding into place at the end.

I would have given the book much higher marks, except that the solving involves hitherto unknown facts and relationships, old vendettas, false identities, megalomania, etc. I'm not big on that style of mystery. And it's a shame because I rather liked the subplot of a hesitantly developing romance between Miss Tey and the policeman. Perhaps I'll try the sequel, Angel with Two Faces, and see how it goes.

We Bought a Zoo

We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever.

An unforgettable memoir about the mysteries of the animal kingdom, the power of family and the triumph of hope over tragedy.

In the market for a house and the adventure of a lifetime, the author decided to uproot his family and move them to an unlikely new home: a dilapidated zoo in the English countryside, complete with over 200 exotic animals. The author, who specializes in animal behavior, had a dream to refurbish the zoo and run it as a family business. Naturally, friends and colleagues that he was crazy.

His pipe dream became a reality in October 2006, when he and the rest of the clan -- wife, son (ago six), daughter (age fou), brother, and his seventy-six-year-old mother -- relocated to the Dartmoor Wildlife Park and met their new neighbors, including Solomon, an African lion and scourge of the local golf course; Zak, the elderly Alpha wolf, a benevolent dictator clinging to power; Ronnie, a Brazilian tapir easily capable of killing a man but hopelessly wimpy; and Sovereign, a jaguar who had devised a long-term escape plan and implemented it.

The grand reopening of the zoo was scheduled for spring, but there was much work to be done and none of it easy for these novice zookeepers. Tigers broke loose, money ran low, the staff grew skeptical, and family tensions reached a boiling point.

Then tragedy struck, and the situation went from difficult to unimaginable. His wife had a recurrence of a brain tumor, forcing the author and the children to face the heartbreak of illness and the devastating loss of wife and mother. But inspired by her memory and the healing power of the incredible family of animals they had grown to love, the author and the kids resolved to move forward. The family opened the gates of the revitalized zoo in July 2007 to great success.

Brimming with energy and insight, We Bought a Zoo is a profoundly moving portrait of an ordinary family living in the most extraordinary circumstances.
~~front & back flaps

This is a grand book! The marvelous, gut-wrenching adventure of owning your own zoo -- who could have imagined? What impressed me most was the requirements for a zoo -- and if they're not met, the zoo doesn't open. Or is closed down. Fascinating details of behind-the-scenes operations, and insights into the philosophy behind zoos and how that's changed as our world and our society has changed.

I would have given this book a five star rating, but for the intertwined story of the illness and death of the author's wife. I understand that in some ways it was important to the story, but for me it was a distraction, and therefore an irritation. The story of anyone's death is a profoundly moving experience, and deserves its own center stage. Here, it jostled with the main story for attention, and for top billing. I think these two stories could have been separate books, and I think each of the stories was diminished because of the push-me-pull-you aspect that combining them brought to the book.

This book was made into a television series in England. I wish I could have seen it!

Vulture

Vulture: Nature's Ghastly Gourmet by Wayne Grady

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"From the bald, scarlet-headed turkey vulture to the violently colored king vulture -- with its red-rimmed eyes, purple wattles and orange beak -- to the giant California condor, vultures have been reviled as hideous scavengers that feed greedily on rotting carcases. But vultures are magnificent birds in their own right and perform an important service by cleaning up the environment and preventing the spread of disease. Combining a fascinating and authoritative text with dramatic, full-color phographs and elgant line drawings, Vulture explores the myth and the reality of this much maligned bird.

"Although veteran science write Wayne Grady includes a discussion of the Old World vultures, Vulture focuses on the seven species of New World vultures, describing their mating, breeding and feeding habits as well as their bad breath and untidy nests. Some vultures rely on their exceptionally keen eyesight, whereas others have a highly developed sense of smell. All vultures ride the thermals more efficiently than any other bird, gliding for miles without expending a single calorie of energy.

"Grady also explores the relationship between vultures and human beings. California condors were the origin of the Thunderbird myth, and the Egyptian vulture was declared sacred by the Pharoahs. In Sky Burials in India and Tibet, the dead are left on the famed Towers of Silence to be eaten by hordes of vultures. The book ends with the story of the California condor, which has been rescued from the brink of extinction by a dedicated team of scientists and conservationists.

"Throughout the book, spectacular photographs capture the birds as they soar above the grasslands of Africa, perch atop a cactus in Mexico, or dry their feathers in the morning sun in Texas. Enchanting line drawings illuminate the mythological and deliciously macabre side of the vulture. Together, text and images present a vivid portrait of the vulture in all its ghoulish glory."
~~front flap

Not much left to say, after that introduction, is there?

The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture

The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture by Wendell Berry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


"The Unsettling of American is Wendell Berry's probing and personal inquiry into the way in which we use the land that sustains us, and an expression of profound awareness that farming cannot be considered separately from the larger culture. His provocative suggestions for change are by turns passionate and eloquent, here is a book that gathers urgency for today's troubled society."
~~back cover

When I was doing my upper division course work at UC Santa Cruz, there was no graduate program offered in my major. Nonetheless, several graduate level courses were offered. I took them all eagerly. One of them knocked me on my bottom! The course was on transhumance. The syllabus was 3" thick, of xeroxed articles from professional journals. The reading assignments were brutal -- 5 or 6 articles at a time. And you better have read them -- they were discussed in class. And class was small -- no hiding out in the back row. There wasn't a back row. Even worse, my mentor was teaching the class -- a clear fiat to perform and perform well.

I struggled with those damn readings. It took me hours to get through each one. I constantly felt behind, consequently dull, lumbering, inadequate. Eventually I realized that I was struggling so because I had never read anything about transhumance before, and suddenly I'd been thrown off the bank into the deep water of the cutting edge of theory. No wonder I was struggling -- I didn't have any of the foundation, the resonances, didn't know the paths through the jungle. My mentor, of course, could read those articles in minutes, appreciating the nuances as she went.

This book was somewhat of the same experience for me. It read like a textbook, or a professional journal. Indeed, he's been a university professor (amongst many other things -- he's a true Renaissance man), which explains the tenor and depth of his language. I struggled with the language, and of course that made it difficult to unlock his ideas. But I'd waited so long to read Wendell Berry -- no matter how much I wanted to put it down, I needed to finish it, to be sure I got it all.

I'm glad I did.

The crux of the book is that agribusiness and the US Dept. of Agriculture are in bed together, the one aiding and abetting the other. And agribusiness is killing the land. Small diverse personal farms are the only way to save or restore the land. Agribusiness will drain all productivity and make the land unusable. He takes a lot of words and a lot of examples to support this hypothesis. Because he's passionate about it. He thinks it's a matter of life or death.

And it is. But I doubt that many will be persuaded by this book, which is offputting in its complexity and obscurity.

Truth and Beauty

Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


"Ann Prachett and the late Lucy Grealy met in college in 1981, and, after enrolling in the Iowa Writers' Workshop, began a friendship that would be as defining to both of their lives as their work. In Grealy's critically acclaimed memoir, Autobiography of a Face, she wrote about losing part of her jaw to childhood cancer, years of chemotherapy and radiation, and endless reconstructive surgeries. In Truth & Beauty, the story isn't Lucy's life or Ann's life, but the parts of their lives they shared. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans twenty years, from the long winters of the Midwest, to surgical wards, to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this is what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined ... and what happens when one is left behind.

"This is a tender, brutal book about loving the person we cannot save. It is about loyalty, and being lifted up by the sheer effervescence of someone who knew how to live life to the fullest."
~~front flap

I don't really know how to talk about this book. It was unsettling, disquieting. In this day and age, of life lived too fast, with too much to do and not enough hours or days, we've become ruthless about friendship. A friend with too many problems, with unresolved emotional issues -- someone needy, clinging, possessive? Ah no. It's too much -- we haven't the time, the emotional resources ourselves to withstand the depth and scope of the cataclysm. It's too demanding, too much work, too much trouble. We cut those sorts of people out of our lives, remove them with surgical precision and congratulate ourselves for facing reality without flinching.

The book is also comforting, heartening, enlightening. The author never considered her friend a liability, a disaster, someone to be jettisoned in order to survive herself. She loved her friend with that unwavering commitment we all search for in a friend or lover, and so seldom find. Unconditional love, that's the phrase I'm hunting for. No matter how outrageous, how demanding, how inconvenient, the author loved her friend.

As I read the book, as Lucy's actions and emotions became more and more bizarre, more demanding, more outre, I found myself thinking that I couldn't have been the friend that Ann was. I doubt I could have remained her friend through the drug use, the medical emergencies and all the other crises and catastrophes that Lucy sought to give her life the frisson she so desperately craved. And yet, this book delineated a beautiful love that we all would wish for ourselves: unconditional love.

Sometimes in this world, we have to look at relationships with eyes wide open, have to tally up the cost benefit analysis, and generally find the relationship not worth the cost. But equally, sometimes we have to immerse ourselves in a relationship for the sheer joy of it, for the love of the other person, for the comfort of our soul. This book is about choosing the latter path, and the joys and sorrows that came of that choice.

Saving Grace

Saving Grace by Tom McGregor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"What is Grace growing in her greenhouse?

"Grace Trevethan has a wonderful life, living with her husband in their beautiful house and grounds in the Cornish village of St Liac. Then one day, Grace's dream-like existence is shattered as her husband dies suddenly by jumping out of a plane without a parachute (nearly taking out an unsuspecting morris dancer in the process). Faced with huge debts that mean she will lose her beloved home, Grace is at her wits' end, under she and her gardener, Matthew, come up with a perfect, if highly illegal, solution that they believe can save her ...

"Gradually Grace becomes embroiled in a daring scheme that can either save her home or end with disastrous consequences. The events that ensue make life in the usually sleepy village more complex, nerve-wracking and entertaining than anything a city has to offer."
~~back cover

A charming, well-written, funny, understated, laugh-out-loud funny book. Nor is it your typical English village recap -- it takes place in an English village, but you'll not met Miss Marple or Miss Silver round any of the corners.

I can't wait for the movie to come up on my Netflix queue!

Reflections From the North Country

Reflections from the North Country by Sigurd F. Olson

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

"These are reflections, and the philosophy, of a man who has traveled the wilderness most of his life. 'I hope.' writes Sigurd Olson, 'those who travel with me may hear an almost imperceptible note of harmony that runs through the grand symphony of the land I have known.'

"His book is alive with anecdote and insight, born of his long familiarity with rivers, lakes, and primitive terrain, from the northern United States and the mountains of Alaska to the Northwest Territories of Canada and the arctic tundra.

"He evokes the soaring grace of raven, osprey and eagle, the call of the loon and the song of the hermit thrush. He sharpens our awareness of the beauty around us -- gently warning us to leave behind our excess baggage of scientific sophistication and open ourselves to wonder. He reflects on our frontier heritage, ponders the meaning of solitude--its freedoms and cleansing powers. He meditates on wholeness, cosmic rhythms, and the slow cycles of seasonal change, and once again offers eloquent testimony to the inherent joys and truths he has found."
~~front flap

Oh BOY! This is going to be one of my all time very favoritest of books, thinks I. Don't I have a special connection with ravens? Isn't the song of the hermit thrust burned forever in my memory after that magical hike at dusk along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon? Don't I thirst after wholeness, and the slow cycles of seasonal change? Doesn't my heart sing for rivers, lakes, and primitive terrain?

So I rubbed my hands together in glee, and dove right in.

I hated it.

This book says "Me me me -- look at me! See how environmentally and woodsy I am? Aren't I wonderful?" Well he may have been wonderful, and the back flap of the dust jacket says he was: "one of America's distinguished ecologists and interpreters of wilderness, and one of the best-loved writers in his field." But what I wanted from this book was to see what he'd seen, go where he'd been, travel and watch and wonder with him. Instead, I got lectured on every page about the danger of losing wilderness, and how we should all care, and do something about it. I do care, I do do as much as I can about it, and if I didn't already know all that, do think I'd be reading a book about wilderness?

Quarry

Quarry by Susan Cummins Miller

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"With crimes of passion striking the quiet University of Del Rio campus, geologist Frankie MacFarlane is enmeshed in the case of a fragile psyche pushed to the edge ...
"Just as Frankie arranges her doctoral dissertation's long-awaited defense, a police investigation has reopened -- alongside unhealed wounds. When her ex-fiance Geoff Travers vanished, expelled by the university for plagiarizing Frankie's research, she should've deduced that his remains -- found later in the desert -- couldn't be legit, either.

"Now an unknown assailant is preying on high-profile geologists. Two members of her dissertation defense board have been attacked, one of them fatally. A fellow student has been abducted from her fieldwork site and, trapped amid the volcanic mesas of the Cady Mountains, has little time left. As Frankie sorts clues, she'll need to keep perspective -- or she'll swiftly become a psychopath's latest quarry."

~~back cover

I thought I would like this book more. It has lots of elements I like: university life, being a graduate student, being a graduate geology student (which in many ways is like being an archaeology graduate student), field work, a mystery, etc. Unfortunately, the plot revolves around a psychopath and trying to figure out what he will do next. And why. Not my cup of tea.


The book is very well written. The plot is clever and excellent for its genre. The characters are believable and interesting. Frankie, our hero, is not a lovely woman thrown into harm's way, who doesn't quite know what to do about it except plunge ahead into very predictable danger. She's a competent, self-assured young woman who is independent and quite used to solving problems and taking care of herself.

I wish I could give this book more stars. It deserves more stars. It's just that I'm not a fan of the psychopathic murder genre. If you are, you'll probably love this book.