A Treasure/Reading the Library

When we found out that my sister was pregnant my Mom gave me an Auntie present....a real treasure. My dad read The Wind in the Willows to us when we were kids. On the first day that is really cold and gnarly I intend to stay in bed all day and read this book again. For now, I'm back to "reading the library" and I'm only on Allende. YIKES!

Reading the Library: Garden Spells

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen....Not bad, fluffy and light...but very predicatable....kind of a Southern Like Water for Chocolate, but not as well written.

http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com/ The author's website....I would read the other two books she has written if the library had them....

Reading the Library: Alexi, Ali, and Ali

Sherman Alexi....READ HIM!

Monica Ali....I read half of this book (Brick Lane) and ditched it....I can't tell you the last time I ditched a book I had already started. Bleck...I simply did not care what happened to any of the characters....DID NOT CARE AT ALL.

Samina Ali....I decided not to read this novel simply because she has the same last name as the above author who couldn't engage me. I know that is silly, but I'm making the rules and that is what I decided.

I think I'm going to read some other "stuff" for awhile and give the library a rest for a bit.

Reading the Library: Rasputin's Daughter

Rasputin's Daughter by Robert Alexander (same author as the last book)...this novel was even better than the last....again, I am delighted to realize that I am reading worthwhile things while choosing them in such a contrived way....I'm still sort of making choices, like skipping over Louisa May Alcott (to save my eyeballs from being punched out by self-wielded sharp sticks) and moving on to Alexander. I'm now on Alexi, as in Sherman and I know this one will be good as I've read his short stories in grad school.

Reading the Library: The Kitchen Boy

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander. Excellent and well worth my time....historical with a bit of mystery thrown in. Yet another book I would not have chosen just browsing....how lucky for me that it came up.

Reading the Library: The Flower in the Skull

The Flower in the Skull by Kathleen Alcala'.....I never would have picked this book just browsing and I would have missed out. That is the beauty of walking to the shelf and picking the next three books in line alphabetically....I find gems that I would have otherwise missed. Here's a review, rather unflattering really, but some else's take on it: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/1998/07/19/RV15149.DTL&type=printable

This reviewer thinks the novel is "just bones" and "clunky and hard"...while I think that the spareness of the language and our inability to "get close" to the characters is exactly what those characters feel...that no one can get close to them, that they must protect themselves.

Here is a passage that spoke to me...the family is separated and after a long time the brother (Beto) and his sister are reunited and share a meal....the author's description of Beto:

"Beto was proud to own no furniture. Things came between people and the truth. By remaining clean, pared down, a man who ate what was offered him and slept where he could, Beto's vision remained clear. He was a man who could discern the true nature of things, whether they were good or evil, whether they meant something or nothing, whether or not they would have importance to someone in the future. Beto, by remaining free of things, could tell their true names (Alcala 72).

This spoke to me because for months now I have been purging and paring down and trying to eliminate "stuff" that is JUST stuff, things we do not need, things we do not use. I think it might be true that things come between people and truth.

Reading the Library: The Tale of Holly How

The second of The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Albert. It is as delightful as the first...light and fun.

Here's the wisdom I gleaned from it...stop worrying and quit fearing the worst and every day will be a beautiful day!

"The breakfast table was always crowded with a great many animals....They were all at their best in the morning, rested and full of exuberant energy and interesting plans for the day ahead---always a wonderful day, because animals rarely worry or imagine the worst of what is to come, as people do. They were generally planning a picnic, or a foraging expedition, or the pleasant completion of chores, or just loafing on a quiet riverbank, listening to the whispering water and whistling birds and watching butterflies whirl through the transparent air."

Oh, to be an animal...The big question is: What kind of animal would I be?

Reading the Library: If You Could See Me Now

If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern. She also wrote P.S. I Love You, you know, the movie made everyone cry including my husband.

I was won over by the message of this book, but I have to admit I almost put it down when the second chapter was written from the point of view of an imaginary friend....almost put it down, but decided to give it a chance and I am glad I did. It isn't great literature, but it is entertaining and amusing and it makes you "believe in believing". There is a tiny bit of (predicatable) magic in the pages and it made me smile and that is enough for me these days.

On the topic of imaginary friends mine were named Poo Doo and Shoo Shoo, but I don't remember them. I think sometimes I could use an imaginary friend these days, when I'm tired of being in my own head.

Reading the Library: Purple Hibiscus

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

This first novel is well worth your time. She has apparently written another novel, a play, and has published a collection of poems.

I marked the following as the most beautiful passage: "As we drove back to Enugu, I laughed loudly, above Fela's stringent singing. I laughed because Nsukka's untarred roads coat cars with dust in the harmattan and with sticky mud in the rainy season. Because the tarred roads spring potholes like surprise presents and the air smells of hills and history and the sunlight scatters the sand and turns it into gold dust. Because Nsukka could free something deep inside your belly that would rise up to your throat and come out as a freedom song. As laughter" (299)

Adichi, Chimamanda Ngazi. Purple Hibiscus. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. New York: 2003.

From: The Chimamanda Ngazi Adichi Website, comments by: Daria Tunca

Adichie's first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), was very well received by readers and critics alike. Set against the background of the political turmoil of the late 1990s in Nigeria, the story centres on Kambili Achike, a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl, and her family. Kambili's father, Eugene, is a complex character: a devout Catholic and a political rights activist, he also rules his household with a heavy hand. The narrative, told from the perspective of young Kambili, explores the adolescent's and her brother Jaja's response to their father's authority, as alternative models are provided by their more liberal aunt Ifeoma and their Igbo traditionalist grandfather, whom Eugene dismisses as a "heathen". Family, religion, politics and tolerance thus appear to be the central themes of an outstanding novel which may receive considerable critical attention in the future.
http://www.l3.ulg.ac.be/adichie/

Reading the Library: The Ice Pick Artist

The Ice Pick Artist by Harold Adams....don't go rushing out to find this author. Quick read, likeable main character who is a cut-rate Bogart-style good guy/bad guy (who apparently appears in his other novels as well), decent mystery, except that it was written in such a way that he told you everything leaving nothing for you to suss out yourself and the ending was too abrupt. Thumbs neutral: not a waste of my time because it took so little time to read, but not something I will seek out or recommend.

Reading the Library

I had this crazy idea 20 years ago when I first worked at the library (and when the library was much smaller) that I could read every book in the fiction section. I know it is "do-able" and I've been thinking about it a lot, thus I've outlined some rules for the endeavor.

1. Read the library in alphabetical order, starting with authors with an A last name...
2. You don't have to finish it, if you try it (Sounds like your Mom and brussel sprouts, huh?)
3. You can skip authors whom you have read in the past, putting them in the "been there, done that" category
4. You can skip authors who you KNOW are crap (ie. Danielle Steel, Nicholas Sparks, etc.)

My first report:
Peter Abrahams: End of Story, mediocre mild suspense, remotely decent story ruined by lame and unneccesary sex scenes (and there were four typo-type mistakes in the text...Shame on them!)

Alice Adams: The Last Lovely City (stories) I read the first story even though I don't much care for short stories....suffice it to say the first story didn't make me want to read a second story. POO

Andy Adams: The Log of a Cowboy (published in 1903)....I like westerns and I tried this one, but the language was cumbersome and I just couldn't do it....maybe I wasn't in the mood.

Douglas Adams: I've already read most of his work....I know the answer is 42! Enough already....

Next up: Harold Adams, The Ice Pick Artist. Ever heard of Harold Adams?...the fly leaf lists five titles, this one was published in 1997. Guess I should "google" him. The wise old Internet gives him credit for 18 or so titles. I hope I don't like it too much, because the library only has this one title.

Check him out here:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Discover_Harold_Adams