Catching Up, Final

Good Reads!

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
I loved the movie but had never read the book, so I finally did. The problem with reading a book after seeing it on the big screen is that the characters and voices are already formed in your mind, even if they don't exactly match the book description. With this book, that was okay. The movie actually followed the book pretty closely, with a few additions and subtractions, but didn't change the overall message. It's worth reading even if you've already seen the movie, and if not, read it first.

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
House of Mirth is a commentary on the lives of the rich in 1900's NY society. At the age of 29, Lily Bart is unmarried and in dire financial straights. She is feeling pressure from her friends and her finances to get that done in a hurry, before she loses her beauty. Her goal is to "marry well." Although she has deep feelings for Mr. Selden, marrying him would eliminate her from the upper crust of society with whom she has forged all her relationships. Unfortunately, those eligible men who could maintain her desirable lifestyle are unappealing and unacceptable to her. She soon gets herself into a conundrum, when she takes a favor from her friend's husband and her intentions are misunderstood.
The book presents a number of contrasts (rich/poor, beauty/ugliness, popularity/outcasts), asks some valid questions even for today (Who are your friends? Is it better to have love w/o money or money w/o love?) and criticizes our tendency to judge people by their occupation, their address and their wealth. A great classic novel reminiscent of Jane Eyre. 

Catching Up, Part 2

The following books were interesting, but somewhat disappointing.

Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel
While this book does relate a general biography of Galileo's later years and his struggles with the Church in contrast to his scientific discoveries and beliefs, it doesn't really address his daughter much beyond he living conditions in the convent. The story is told in a very straightforward way, mainly stating facts and inserting letters written from Sour Maria Celeste (the daughter) to her father, which primarily detail her hardships as a nun and asking her father for money. I enjoyed reading about the controversy Galileo endured with the church and the betrayal of his friend, who became Pope Urban VIII. But overall, the book was rather dry.

Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
If you are reading this book to learn about William Blake, you will be sorely disappointed! In her previous novels, Ms. Chevalier uses an era, the culture and secondary characters to reveal the main character, but in this book you learn a lot about the fictional Kellaway and Butterfield families and about Philip Astley and his circus, but you learn almost nothing about Blake.
I like her writing style, the story is fun and easy to read and had it not been billed as historical fiction about Blake it would have gone over better.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Although I liked this book, I didn't love it. Mantel tackles a much told tale from a different perspective, telling the story of Henry VIII's discarding of his first wife to marry Anne Boleyn from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell. The story begins with a brief history of Cromwell's youth and then follows his rise to becoming the right hand man to the King. I was intrigued by the debate between Henry and the Pope regarding nullifying his marriage, not realizing how lengthy the process was and all the negotiations that preceded that event. The author does a great job in keeping the star of the story as Cromwell, but also uncovering the nature of Henry, Anne, Catherine and many others who were close to the king and his court.
One big negative is that there are so many characters, many of them with the same name, that it is difficult at times to distinguish which Thomas or Mary or Henry the author is discussing. Sometimes a character is mentioned once, only to reappear 200 pages later and I had to go back in search of who this person was (not as easy on your Kindle). I also found this book to be a slow read, hundreds of pages with much of the same going on and never getting to "the good stuff," which I discovered half way through is in the sequel (helps to know in advance there is a book 2)! If you are a fan of historical fiction, you will like this segment of Henry's life.

Catching Up, Part 1

As promised, I am catching up on posting about my reading the past few months. I've contemplated the best way to accomplish this and here is what I've decided: I am not going to dedicate one post per book, but am dividing them into rating categories, partially because unless I post immediately, I lose the details, but mostly because it'll be easier for me.

I have a really hard time setting a book aside once I begin reading it. For some reason I feel an obligation to trudge through a book even though I am not enjoying it. Wish it weren't so, but if you have that same compulsion, here are two books to avoid:

12/21/12 by Larry Enright
Poorly written, end of life on earth story. No character development, unrealistic scenario and too predictable. Despite this, just when you start to accept what's going on, it's over! The end is abrupt and totally out of line with where the author begins to lead the reader.
This was a free Amazon download.... but don't be tempted. Even free, it isn't worth it.

Death of the Couch Potato's Wife by Christy Barritt
I should have known to quit reading when on page 2 the narrator divulges that she lives in a neighborhood called Dullington Estates in Boring, IN. After that, do I need to say more?
Another free Amazon download.... I'm sensing a pattern here.

Book Challenge 2013

Beth Fish Reads has just released the What's in a Name 6 book challenge for 2013.  Here is the overview:

1. A book with up or down in the title
2. A book with something you'd find in your kitchen in the title
3. A book with party or celebration in the title
4. A book with fire (or equivalent) in the title
5. A book with an emotion in the title
6. A book with lost or found in the title

Sign up and read!

Yes, I am reading!

I have been reading, but have not been posting. This semester has been a little hectic, as my classes changed from T/R to MWF, which required that I reconfigure my lesson plans and assignments. In addition, I've been wedding planning. So... even though I have continued to read,  I have found it difficult to take time to post. I'm tired all the time!

I recently found a speed reading app (Quickreader) and after taking the timed test discovered I read at the exact average adult WPM (250). So I decided to try some of the exercises to increase my reading speed because I'd really love to read faster.  Here is my problem: it makes me dizzy! I am hoping this phenomenon is merely a result of my being new to the task and will eventually go away, but so far I can't even seem to practice for the recommended 15 minutes at a time.

Another thing about the speed reading is that I don't want to minimize comprehension or lose the fun of the story. I read several comments from readers whose speed had increased to nearly 1000 WPM, but they lost the personal connection to what they read. For me there'd be no point to read! We'll see how it goes. 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harlod Fry

by Rachel Joyce

My husband has a quote from Plato at the top of his blog, "Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." In this story, that fighter is Harold Fry, and his wife, and Queenie, and the many people he encounters as he makes his journey across England. Harold has retired to a home with a wife who speaks only to criticize and an an estranged relationship with his only son. When he receives a letter from an old friend dying from cancer, he knows he must thank her before she is gone. As he walks to the post office to mail his reply, he realizes he can't stop walking, and thus begins The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. 

As Harold walked, he contemplated his life and relationships, coming to an understanding that although the past could not be undone, "beginnings could happen more than once, or in different ways." He also met many people who encouraged and assisted him and who he in turn helped in some small way. Harold learned that "the world was made up of people putting one foot in front of the other; and a life might appear ordinary simply because the person living it had been doing so for a long time." 

Harold's cross country walk was a journey through a life full of joy and laughter, heartache and pain, discouragement and inspiration, and finally facing the giant. It is not an uncommon life or journey and it reminds us that we never know how big someone's giant is. 

I think you'd like Harold.

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling

by Ross King

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling was my audio exercise book this past month. I will begin my review by acknowledging that Ross King knows art, artists and renaissance history, and while I found the majority of the information compelling, Ross' delivery was pretty dry, failed to maintain a logical timeline, and delved into so much trivial detail it distracted from the theme. However, the audio narrator  for this book was very good (John Lee).

Facts I enjoyed hearing about were inspirations and details of each section of the Sistine Chapel and the struggles Michelangelo faced as he painted the frescoes. This medium was not his specialty and the project may have been assigned to him by the Pope in order to discredit his standing in the art world. Instead, as Michelangelo learned techniques and styles and experimented with approaches his work actually became a model for his contemporaries and the vault catapulted him into artistic fame. Because he was learning on the job, Michelangelo began the work on a section in a far corner, which took him over 6 weeks to complete. In contrast, he took only one day to complete the figure of God.

I would have loved to read/hear these sections of the book while looking at the actual fresco described, and I did pull up pictures on the Internet afterward; the Vatican has a nice site, but it would have been better in real time. Many reviewers of the print text complained about the lack of photos in the book.

The book discussed Michelangelo's influences: Donatello, other works of art, and other sculptures. It also delved into his many frustrations: Pope Julius II, DaVinci, Raphael, his father and brothers, and his commission on the ceiling, which interrupted his sculpting.

Then the author went chasing rabbits into the lives of other artists, their works and the competitions between them. The pope, his character, illnesses, and battles, the cultural influences on the artists and other influential religious leaders, such as Savonarola, Medici, Machiavelli and Borgia are also examined. Other trivia occupying much space were how colors were achieved in fresco, the costs of materials and fights over payments, the use of nude models (only in warm months please), nicknames of artists and popes, land battles in Italy, France and Spain, and on and on it goes.

If you are a history buff you will really like this book. If you are wanting background and inspiration for the depictions on the Sistine Ceiling, this book has that, but it can get lost amid all the other stuff.