Thursday - December 29, 2005
many titles... catching up
The House of the Scorpion, The Sandman 1 - Preludes
and Nocturnes, Goldie Hawn: a lotus grows in the mud, Birds Without Wings, I am
Mordred, Harry Potter and the Blood Prince, Anansi Boys
It's been almost a year since I've blogged, but
I've managed to keep most of the books I've read in one pile. Whether or not I
resume blogging remains to be seen (although the new year would be as good an
excuse as any to get my fingers wiggling again) I want to keep a list going to
try to track the titles at least of the books I've read. So, quickly because I
really just need to dispose of the PILE, here -in no particular order - are the
books I've read and not reported
on.
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer - an award winning novel Bryan had to read for school. Has to do with cloning, but the greater story raises so many questions and issues -ethical, social, economic, socio-political... not just a boy-coming-of-age story at all, but a really great read.
The Sandman I - Preludes and Nocturnes - Neil Gaiman . I really should collect all my Gaiman works in one place. I'm sure I've read one or two of these comic collection/graphic novel in this series. I'm kind of skipping around Gaiman's work, but so far I love it all for his amazing imagination and incredible story-telling talent. Sometimes so graphic it makes me squeamish, but never so much to lose the story and turn me off the read. I love Dream like a creepy brother and often reach for his hand when I have trouble falling asleep. So real has this character become in a few short reads that it actually works.
Goldie Hawn: a lotus grows in the mud - when I was in my twenties, bleached out hair and all Florida wild, people would occasionally compare me to Goldie Hawn. I reacted with mixed feelings - she was the classic "dumb blonde" after all -something I tried desperately not to be. But when the book was handed to me, I couldn't resist reading it, for I always suspected there was more to the comparison than blondness. Beyond the dumb act that paid her way, she was a woman with a voracious appetite for life and love and always learning new things, seeking better ways, trying to make sense of the world and to be good and to love with all her heart. She may be a little flaky, but she really has gleaned much insight and wisdom along the way.
Birds Without Wings - Louis de Berniéres - What a fantastic book! A great story, lusciously told. Entertaining as it was educating for me, who knew pretty much nothing about the Ottoman Empire and the wars in that area around the turn of the last century. In the end, an intimate universal lesson on the utter futility, infectious devastation, and frustrating resilience of war itself.
I am Mordred - Nancy Springer. Not being an Arthurian purist (unless you count the living legend I'm married to), I enjoyed this little twist on the tale. Again, this one came from Bryan. A quick read, a fun little twisted tale.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling - Well, I don't need to write anything about this, so much has been written already. Just that I think the story is beginning to wear thin and although I enjoy the books, I'm as anxious for the whole thing to end as I am for the next book. For some reason I thought this was the last one, since it was his last year in school. It would have been nice to wrap it on, but now the end is nowhere in sight. It's like she tosses out a random bone near the end of this book just to keep us hanging on for the next one.
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman - I loved it of course, but I'm short on time so I'll steal a review from Christopher Moore: "With gentle humor and likable characters, Neil Gaiman has spun the trickster tale into the modern world with great result. Anansi Boys is a fun read that leaves one with a proper respect for the eternal forces of irony and silliness."
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer - an award winning novel Bryan had to read for school. Has to do with cloning, but the greater story raises so many questions and issues -ethical, social, economic, socio-political... not just a boy-coming-of-age story at all, but a really great read.
The Sandman I - Preludes and Nocturnes - Neil Gaiman . I really should collect all my Gaiman works in one place. I'm sure I've read one or two of these comic collection/graphic novel in this series. I'm kind of skipping around Gaiman's work, but so far I love it all for his amazing imagination and incredible story-telling talent. Sometimes so graphic it makes me squeamish, but never so much to lose the story and turn me off the read. I love Dream like a creepy brother and often reach for his hand when I have trouble falling asleep. So real has this character become in a few short reads that it actually works.
Goldie Hawn: a lotus grows in the mud - when I was in my twenties, bleached out hair and all Florida wild, people would occasionally compare me to Goldie Hawn. I reacted with mixed feelings - she was the classic "dumb blonde" after all -something I tried desperately not to be. But when the book was handed to me, I couldn't resist reading it, for I always suspected there was more to the comparison than blondness. Beyond the dumb act that paid her way, she was a woman with a voracious appetite for life and love and always learning new things, seeking better ways, trying to make sense of the world and to be good and to love with all her heart. She may be a little flaky, but she really has gleaned much insight and wisdom along the way.
Birds Without Wings - Louis de Berniéres - What a fantastic book! A great story, lusciously told. Entertaining as it was educating for me, who knew pretty much nothing about the Ottoman Empire and the wars in that area around the turn of the last century. In the end, an intimate universal lesson on the utter futility, infectious devastation, and frustrating resilience of war itself.
I am Mordred - Nancy Springer. Not being an Arthurian purist (unless you count the living legend I'm married to), I enjoyed this little twist on the tale. Again, this one came from Bryan. A quick read, a fun little twisted tale.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling - Well, I don't need to write anything about this, so much has been written already. Just that I think the story is beginning to wear thin and although I enjoy the books, I'm as anxious for the whole thing to end as I am for the next book. For some reason I thought this was the last one, since it was his last year in school. It would have been nice to wrap it on, but now the end is nowhere in sight. It's like she tosses out a random bone near the end of this book just to keep us hanging on for the next one.
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman - I loved it of course, but I'm short on time so I'll steal a review from Christopher Moore: "With gentle humor and likable characters, Neil Gaiman has spun the trickster tale into the modern world with great result. Anansi Boys is a fun read that leaves one with a proper respect for the eternal forces of irony and silliness."
