I just found Booking Through Thursday and I am hooked.
For something different, I’m borrowing a question from … here! One of the very first questions ever at Booking Through Thursday. Back from 2005 when Laura owned the blog but, because it was so new, it didn’t get as many responses as it does now … so, why not revisit?
Here’s the question:
Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to…
Are you currently reading more than one book?
If so, how many books are you currently reading?
Is this normal for you?
Where do you keep your current reads?
1. Yes.
2. I am currently reading 3 books, one fiction, one non-fiction and one audiobook.
3. I almost always have 2 books going on at a time - one fiction and one non-fiction. The audio book is a new additon for me.
4. My books could be in a number of places, but mostly on my bedside table as I read mostly before going to bed. In the summer they are likely to be on the back porch, waiting for me to find time to enjoy them outside. We recently did a huge remodel on our house and I created a library nook and I sometimes leave my books there. The audiobook is on my old mp3 player in my car so I can listen while sitting in lovely ATL traffic.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Spring Break
We are on Spring Break this week. That ever wonderful break that both students and teachers need to make it to the end of the school year. We started ours with a trip home to the Bluegrass State, where it rained and yes, even snowed. We arrived back in Georgia to cold and rain again. Now, in my mind, Spring Break involves just a little bit of sunshine and I was afraid I was going to be very disappointed this year. Until yesteday..... It was a beautiful day, 70 degrees and sunny, the perfect spring day. But I had things to do... my house was a mess, I still hadn't unpacked and I have 10 people coming to my house for Easter dinner on Sunday. So, what did I do? I took my latest read, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon to the back porch and promply spent 1 1/2 wonderful hours lost in post WWII Barcelona. Oh and it was time well spent. Today.... it is raining again, time to finally face those still to be unpacked suitcases, mounds of laundry and planning the Easter menu.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Skeletons at the Feast
by Chris Bohjalian
I am not sure I can write a review that will do this book justice. It is not a typical World War II novel. The book is written from the perspective of a young German girl fleeing her home in what used to be Poland and trying to out run the advancing Soviet Army. She is accompanied by part of her family and a Scottish POW. They are joined along the way by a German soldier, who just might not be all he says he is. It is an unlikely group, but a group of survivors none the less. One of the underlying themes of the book is just how much the average German citizen knew about what was happening to the Jews of Europe. Bohjalian does an excellent job of showing both sides of the argument. He allows the secluded, rural citizen the benefit of the doubt, while showing little mercy on those living in the cities and in the areas surrounding the camps. While, not answering the age old question of how German citizens could have allowed the Holocaust to happen, it is a unique literary perspective.
I could not put this book down. It drew me in and kept me enthralled until the very last lines. There are several subplots that are woven together so well that when they come together at the end you expect it, but the events that unfold are like nothing you would have suspected. It is beautifully written and hauntingly plausible. This is by far the best book I have reading 2009 and will be my most recommended book for a long time.
Rating - A+
I am not sure I can write a review that will do this book justice. It is not a typical World War II novel. The book is written from the perspective of a young German girl fleeing her home in what used to be Poland and trying to out run the advancing Soviet Army. She is accompanied by part of her family and a Scottish POW. They are joined along the way by a German soldier, who just might not be all he says he is. It is an unlikely group, but a group of survivors none the less. One of the underlying themes of the book is just how much the average German citizen knew about what was happening to the Jews of Europe. Bohjalian does an excellent job of showing both sides of the argument. He allows the secluded, rural citizen the benefit of the doubt, while showing little mercy on those living in the cities and in the areas surrounding the camps. While, not answering the age old question of how German citizens could have allowed the Holocaust to happen, it is a unique literary perspective.
I could not put this book down. It drew me in and kept me enthralled until the very last lines. There are several subplots that are woven together so well that when they come together at the end you expect it, but the events that unfold are like nothing you would have suspected. It is beautifully written and hauntingly plausible. This is by far the best book I have reading 2009 and will be my most recommended book for a long time.
Rating - A+
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Three Cups of Tea
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Three Cups of Tea portrays the Pakistan and Afghanistan that the mainstream media won't. It explains how one man, through a failed attempt at climbing K2 discovered maybe the only way to fight the war on terror, by providing an unbiased education to the poor of this part of the world. He explains how the madrassas have recuited the poor men of the region to their Muslim extremist schools, sponsored by millions of Saudi oil money. He firmly believes, and the educator in me agrees, that educating women and girls and providing a balanced education (determined not by the US, but by local leaders) for men and boys is the only way to stop the war on terror, around the world.
The man behind the building of schools in Central Asia is just as interesting as his ideas.
After being injured climbing K2, he is nursed back to health in a small village. He sees the extreme poverty and makes a promise to the village leaders that he will return and build them a proper school. What he doesn't realize is that this is just the beginning and it won't be easy. The underlying story of this memoir, is don't give up. so many times it would have been easy for Greg to just say it's not worth it anymore. From the times he lived in his car trying to raise money for his first school, to the death threats he and his family received afer 9/ll, he always believed in what he was doing and that people would see the value in his work. Many of his friends believe he will win the Nobel Peace Prize someday and after reading this book, I believe they just might be right.
Rating - B
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Three Cups of Tea portrays the Pakistan and Afghanistan that the mainstream media won't. It explains how one man, through a failed attempt at climbing K2 discovered maybe the only way to fight the war on terror, by providing an unbiased education to the poor of this part of the world. He explains how the madrassas have recuited the poor men of the region to their Muslim extremist schools, sponsored by millions of Saudi oil money. He firmly believes, and the educator in me agrees, that educating women and girls and providing a balanced education (determined not by the US, but by local leaders) for men and boys is the only way to stop the war on terror, around the world.
The man behind the building of schools in Central Asia is just as interesting as his ideas.
After being injured climbing K2, he is nursed back to health in a small village. He sees the extreme poverty and makes a promise to the village leaders that he will return and build them a proper school. What he doesn't realize is that this is just the beginning and it won't be easy. The underlying story of this memoir, is don't give up. so many times it would have been easy for Greg to just say it's not worth it anymore. From the times he lived in his car trying to raise money for his first school, to the death threats he and his family received afer 9/ll, he always believed in what he was doing and that people would see the value in his work. Many of his friends believe he will win the Nobel Peace Prize someday and after reading this book, I believe they just might be right.
Rating - B
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Here on Earth
by Alice Hoffman
It took me a LONG time to get through Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman. I picked this book up and put it down again at least 3 times over a three year period. I put it on my Spring Reading Thing list to force myself to finish it. I picked it up Saturday afternoon and finished it in a little less than 2 hours. When I finished, I couldn't remember why I didn't like it to begin with!
The one thing that kept me trying to read the book several times was the vivid sense of place. The author painted a vivid picture of New England in the fall and winter. You could feel the cold, see the marsh grasses blowing in the howling wind and hear the foxes running through the woods. The character development, while slow, is in depth, wiht the strenghts and flaws of the character finally revealed, making the book the better for it.
The story had several plot lines involving a variet ofmemorable characters that aonly really came together at the end of the book. this is a story about trying to come home and recapter old memories and feelings and the reality that you can't come home again (no matter what Jon Bon Jovi says). When March comes back to Fox Hill upon the death of Judith and discovers the love of her life, Hollis has returned as well, she convinces herself that things can be the way they were years ago. Interwoven among the story of March and Hollis is the story of the Judge, his wife and the years long affair he had, the twisted relationship of the town drunk, his son and Hollis. And finally, the underlying story of Hollis's first wife, the sister of March's husband. With the dysfuctionality and views illustrated in the novel, it could have been set in the American South. the secrets and family relationships that Hoffman creates are worthy of a piece of southern literature.
Overall, I recommend the book. I ended up liking it, once the pieces began to fall in place. One reason I would recommend this book is that in th 3 days since I have finished the book, I am still thinking about the characters and questioning why they did the things they did. As this was the first book I have read by Alice Hoffman, I will probably read her work again, hoping to find the same vivid writing and strong character development.
Rating - C+
by Alice Hoffman
It took me a LONG time to get through Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman. I picked this book up and put it down again at least 3 times over a three year period. I put it on my Spring Reading Thing list to force myself to finish it. I picked it up Saturday afternoon and finished it in a little less than 2 hours. When I finished, I couldn't remember why I didn't like it to begin with!
The one thing that kept me trying to read the book several times was the vivid sense of place. The author painted a vivid picture of New England in the fall and winter. You could feel the cold, see the marsh grasses blowing in the howling wind and hear the foxes running through the woods. The character development, while slow, is in depth, wiht the strenghts and flaws of the character finally revealed, making the book the better for it.
The story had several plot lines involving a variet ofmemorable characters that aonly really came together at the end of the book. this is a story about trying to come home and recapter old memories and feelings and the reality that you can't come home again (no matter what Jon Bon Jovi says). When March comes back to Fox Hill upon the death of Judith and discovers the love of her life, Hollis has returned as well, she convinces herself that things can be the way they were years ago. Interwoven among the story of March and Hollis is the story of the Judge, his wife and the years long affair he had, the twisted relationship of the town drunk, his son and Hollis. And finally, the underlying story of Hollis's first wife, the sister of March's husband. With the dysfuctionality and views illustrated in the novel, it could have been set in the American South. the secrets and family relationships that Hoffman creates are worthy of a piece of southern literature.
Overall, I recommend the book. I ended up liking it, once the pieces began to fall in place. One reason I would recommend this book is that in th 3 days since I have finished the book, I am still thinking about the characters and questioning why they did the things they did. As this was the first book I have read by Alice Hoffman, I will probably read her work again, hoping to find the same vivid writing and strong character development.
Rating - C+
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What's On Your Nightstand - March 2009
Current -
Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
This is our book club pick for April
Just Finished -
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson- both previously started and I challenged myself to finish them as part of Callapider Days Spring Reading Thing
Next Up -
Beyond the White House by Jimmy Carter
I am a post-Presidency Jimmy Carter fan. I am impressed with his work with Habitat for Humanity and the irradication of diseases brought on by the guinea worm in Africa. His influence on the Middle East peace process was certainly Nobel Prize worthy. I am looking forward to reading about these endeavors from his perspective.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
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