I'm vowing to continue...

I need to get back on track with Trollop and posting!

Other Books

Two novels I forgot to list - The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue. A modern update of the changleing stories, that I think would appeal to both readers of literary fiction and readers of genre fiction.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Aside from the author's precious name, the book was hilarious. Kind of Philip Marlowe meets the Hitchiker's Guide. Very funny if you are a reader of classic literature - Shakespeare, Bronte, etc.

Other titles

Just finished Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams, a juvenile mystery set in the imaginary Echo Falls. I read the first of this series, Down the Rabbit Hole and really enjoyed it. His heroine is refreshing and interesting - Ingrid, soccer player and sometime theatrical player with a passion for Sherlock Holmes. I love it! (sounds an awful lot like me!)

I also read The Train Now Departing by Martha Grimes - her web site is www.marthagrimes.com. I really enjoyed it. It was a nice departure from her Richard Jury detective novels. The Train Now Departing is 2 novellas linked thematically. Each has a desperately lonely woman ("of a certain age" as they used to say) as the main character. Each novella is finely focused and relentless in its pursuit of the source of each woman's desperation. Well worth reading and a good example of a novella.

A Crazy Fall

The fall has been crazy, but I have been doing some reading. Actually, I feel like I've been reading a lot, but the number of volumes is not great. I have read Ilium and Olympos by Dan Simmons, and honestly, I really felt like I accomplished something and learned something.

Dan Simmons is a visionary with the most incredible imagination I have ever come across. If I were a writer, and I do admit, I do aspire to be a writer, I would like to be like Dan Simmons. Perhaps not stylistically or thematically, but I would like to emulate him in his fullness of vision. Every Dan Simmons book I have read is fully realized and complete. From the realistic novels to the futuristic sci-fi, it all rings true and feels real.

The other books I read this fall are So Big by Edna Ferber and The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. So Big was a fabulous American portrait that reminded me of Willa Cather. I will have to read more Ferber. The Alchemist I have to admit, I did not care for (sorry, Julie). It was a very new agey tale with lots of solopsistic philosophy going on. Not really my thing.

I am trying to find a lighter tale to get me through the holidays - tried a Preston-Child novel but got bogged down with the overwhelming number of characters that everyone but me was obviously already familiar with.

Ilium Finished

I have finished Ilium by Dan Simmons. I think he is an amazing author with the most extraordinary imagination. He has the most complicated visions of fantastical futuristic societies. It was a very good idea for me to read The Iliad first. That way I did not have to worry about the plot of the Trojan War as it is played in Ilium - I had it fresh in my memory and could easily see where the book deviated from the epic.

Barchester Towers Done!

Barchester Towers is now off my "to read" list and on the "read" list. Trollope did have a surprise for me - the selfish woman opens the way for the lovers who cannot reveal themselves. Trollope's rather interesting in this book. I don't think any character changes, really - the lovers realize their love, but no one undergoes a sea change. Everyone stays true to their nature throughout, and I don't think any of the characters outside of the lovers have any self-realization. Very interesting.

So I am reading Ilium and I have also started So Big by Edna Ferber, recommended by my friend Sharlene. Both Sharlene and my good friend Julie have been on an American female novelist kick - Sharlene on Ferber, Julie on Edith Wharton. I need to join the fun!

Barchester Towers Continued

I am about halfway through Barchester Towers, and enjoying it thoroughly. I have read past my previous stoppage point, so I feel a bit proud of myself. Honestly, I don't know why it is so difficult to start these books, once I get going they are absorbing and so interesting.

I find that they have a contemporary resonance. Everyone is talking, blogging, reporting (!), plain old GOSSIPING about Britney Spears and her latest televised screw up. Poor girl. In Barchester Towers, everyone talks and gossips about Signora Neroni and her affliction. She entraps the men!!! She monopolized a sofa!! She makes unreasonable requests of her hosts and companions!! All I can say is, please, everyone, have a little understanding for the overexposed pop star and please, let's condemn the selfish spoiled woman as Trollope directs us to. But there is nothing new under the sun...

But maybe Trollope has a surprise for me, we'll see.

I am also reading Ilium by Dan Simmons, a writer of extraordinary powers and depth. I started this book about a year ago, realized I was out of my depth and that I needed to read the Iliad to truly do this book justice. So I have read the Iliad, and with it fresh in my mind, I have restarted Ilium and I am so glad I did so. Everything Simmons discusses through his characters is so much richer after reading the Iliad.

Reading Simmons makes me realize where my education is lacking. I wish I had a classical education and had learned Latin and Greek. I am not sure how to remedy this at this late date!

pam2

pam2
Originally uploaded by prhuxtable

What Next?

I have finally finished Intrepid's Last Case; I'm not sure if I have gained any knowledge except for the realization that my knowledge of history, post WWII is paltry. So I have put Willliam Manchester's The Glory and the Dream into my reading pile.

Actually, it's not a pile. It used to be a table, an old fashioned ladies dressing table, and I kept my "to be read" pile there. Very respectable. However, all-too-frequent trips to the library's sale table and the AAUW's book fair, and the local Borders, have turned my trusty table into a table plus overspill into a cardboard box. It's not very attractive, and I am going to have to break down and find a bookcase - maybe something dignified with glass doors? - to put in its place.

So the question is, as always, what next? I have a number of choices. My friend Sharlene lent me an Edna Ferber book, and I should start that. I bought a fantasy title that I LOVED reading a few years ago that is part of a trilogy. I found #s 2 and 3 on the library sale rack, bought them, and broke down and bought #1 at full price. My friend Julie has lent me a couple of titles that I could read - one is The Alchemist.

And there's always Trollope. It's been a while, I should revisit the purpose of this blog and read some Trollope. Barchester Towers awaits me. I find this one a hard start after The Warden, since in the first few pages I learn that one of my favorite characters from that book has died!

Continuing Intrepid

I am still reading Intrepid's Last Case by William Stevenson. It's a look at the development of the western intelligence agencies after WWII. The Intrepid of the title is William Stephenson, who coordinated intelligence between the British, Canadians and the US during the war, prior to the US' involvement. He was a very interesting figure who saw the cold war developing and had such foresight on the nature of the Soviet threat to the West. Post war history is not my strong point to say the least, so I'm not sure how much of this book I am truly understanding.

I'm looking for recommendations to supplement this foray into post-WWII history. There are some quotes in this book from The Glory and the Dream by William Manchester, so I thought maybe that would be a good place to start. Any other suggesstions would be welcome.

I remembered some other books read this summer:

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (kids book), this was super.
Undue Influence by Steve Martini
The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin. Futuristic sci-fi with strong social commentary. Obviously written during the cold war, so it's an interesting counterpoint to my current reading.

Computer Troubles and more...

Due to incredible computer trouble, combined with summer trips, it's been ages since I posted. My hard drive died, but not before it was misdiagnosed as a RAM problem. I'm still short some RAM, trying to figure it out, but I think I am going to just give up and make an appointment at the genius bar.

Short list of what I read in July and August:

Harry Potter 1-7
Prime Witness by Steve Martini
The Coffee Trader by David Liss
The $64 Tomato by William Alexander
The Changeling and Madwand by Roger Zelazny

That's all I can think of. I used to read so fast. Pathetic.

If you like to garden, or like to laugh at people gardening, read The $64 Tomato. It has been a long time since I laughed so hard while reading. The author has a web site, http://www.64dollartomato.com.

I have started Intrepid's Last Case by William Stevenson.

Catching up with my reading...

I have read quite a bit since my last post. I finished Rule of Four. Then I read Martin Cruz Smith's December 6. This was quite an interesting book. There's not much plot - Harry Niles, our protagonist, is an American resident of Tokyo on December 6, 1941. Will he get out of Japan before Pearl Harbor? And what exactly does he know about Pearl Harbor and the Japanese navy's interest in the Hawaiian islands?

Above all, December 6 is a character study. Characters like Harry don't come along very often. Harry is flawed, charming, smart, and yet cannot get out of his own way. He understands the Japanese culture in a way few westerners could at that time, and manipulates his Japanese friends mercilessly. Harry is not a "good" guy, he is at times downright ruthless and heartless.

And since the Harry Potter book 7 will be released soon, I have started my journey through the world of Harry Potter again. I have finished Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and am now reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I had forgotten how well crafted the first book was, our first introduction to this now world famous character. But it really was a delightful read. Harry's discoveries of the wizarding world are our discoveries as well, and there is a freshness to the first book that is sheer pleasure.

Brilliant Creatures

Finished Brilliant Creatures by Clive James. Honestly, don't read this one. It's dated and full of pretensious references that the author gives a reference to at the end of the novel! Unbelievable! A novelist writing his own Cliff notes.

So now I am rereading The Rule of Four. I loved this book when I read it three years ago; it made me wish I had gone to Princeton. A more sophisticated and frankly, more interesting novel than The DaVinci Code. Same sort of puzzle for the intelligentsia, though.

I do enjoy this genre. Rule of Four and Cryptonomicon are the height of this smart puzzle/history novel.

The Jury

I finished The Jury by Steve Martini last night. Very well plotted and entertaining, but not a lot of depth. Sometimes that's fine!

I have picked up Beautiful Creatures by Clive James and started reading that. The characters are so self-conscious and hyper aware of themselves. It is interesting and strange to read about a character observing himself - as you, the reader, observe the character. It is very disconcerting.

Finished the Iliad

Finished the Iliad yesterday and it was a long journey. What I felt most in reading this epic is the contrast between the wars our country is fighting now in Iraq and Afghanistan and the ancient war of Greeks versus Trojans. In the Iliad there are graphic descriptions of warfare, primitive warfare fought with spears and swords, where guts are spilled and injuries detailed. War is horrific and brings out both the worst and the best in the men fighting.

Our country is fighting a war that I am completely out of touch with. And it's not that I don't pay attention - I do. I read two newspapers every day, a local and a national, and would say coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is paltry. The only coverage on fatalities in the local paper happens when a local soldier is killed. And the coverage, aside from a few stories in Newsweek, is sanitized. Emphasis is on good medical response for the soldiers, and how many lives are saved by it, rather than the debilitating injuries and fatalities.

Homer describes every death in the Iliad; there is no such person as an unknown soldier. When a warrior dies, Homer names him and his foe, and he also describes the fallen. Perhaps we learn of his parents, or where the warrior hailed from. Sometimes we learn of deeds or accomplishments of the warrior. This aspect of the poem has really struck me.

I remember from history classes in college descriptions of the television coverage of the Vietnam War, and the way the networks would scroll the names of soldiers killed in action. I don't see that now, except in the Memorial Day Roll run by the comic Doonesbury!

I think we have sanitized war and distanced ourselves from it, and this is not a good thing. How are we ever to realize how horrific war is and how terrible and irrevocable the consequences are? Homer understood this, and I think modern man had the chance to understand this, but we've let it slip away.

Anyway, after reading that, I felt the need for something light, so I picked up Steve Martini's The Jury. Good plotting so far, thin on descriptions, heavy on conversation. Not always my thing, but a good read right now

Taliesin

Just finished reading Taliesin by Stephen Lawhead. It's a pre-Arthur tale. I generally really enjoy Arthurian tales, modern and old, but this one I did find tedious and I will not be reading book 2 or 3.

Still reading the Iliad, Robert Fagles' translation.

My niece Jenna is a very talented young woman, growing more so every day. Here is her latest:



Jenna : Jenna

http://www.ifilm.com/profile/jleigh/video/2859693?sublisting=videos&page=1

Done with Cryptonomicon

Well, I finally finished Cryptonomicon and it was a roller coaster ride of an ending. I'm glad I perservered past the difficult first few hundred pages, because it was a story worth reading. Some interesting concepts that I hadn't thought of, too, such as a private, independent currency used solely for electronic transactions over the Internet. Also, the concept of a physical vault for sensitve electronic files located in an accomodating country with obliging laws regarding privacy. Very interesting.

So, Cryptonomicon is done and I decide to take it easy and read something light, Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. And I ended up getting really ticked off at this whole "chick-lit" genre that has cropped up over the last decade. I'm referring to the Bridget Jones books, The Nanny Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada and the list just keeps growing. These books are really just name-dropping exercises in fluff. They are long on designer names and conversation but very light on anything of substance, character or plot.

I'd stop reading them except that I feel like I'm missing out if I haven't read the latest one. Which is why I'm really mad! I've been suckered into reading these books, but I don't feel like I've gained anything in return. And for comparison's sake, I read Confessions of a Shopaholic in about a day and a half, not any concentrated reading time, just on the elliptical, while cooking, and before bed. Cryptonomicon, on the other hand, took me WEEKS! So with Confessions, I wasn't even entertained for very long. Thank goodness I bought it at a garage sale.

I'm going to swear off chick-lit, and find a good book to read.

Finished The Warden

I have finished The Warden, and I do feel like I read something of merit that was also entertaining and interesting. I espcially enjoyed the character of Harding, the warden of the title. He worries and obsesses and over thinks things, and I feel a kinship with him. I feel that I also tend to worry and nitpick, even after I have made a decision.

The other aspect of this novel that I felt resonates today is Trollope's scathing indictment of the press and its power. I find it interesting that almost 200 years after this novel was written, the press is still criticized and demonized for its pursuit of readership by using sensationalism and scandal-mongering. The newspaper of Trollope's novel, The Jupiter, relentlessly pursues what it views as corruption in the church. Trollope is very careful to subtly acknowledge that this corruption is very likely occurring. But he also makes sure that we know that Harding is the one character who is tortured by the the thought that his office is the beneficiary of church corruption. Ironically, The Jupiter succeeds in only getting rid of the one truly benevolent church officer in the novel, the warden Harding.

I had intended to continue with the Barchester novels, but I picked up my copy of Fagles' translation of the Iliad and got embroiled. I have read excerpts only of the Iliad, I thought I would try to read the whole thing. I had read mostly from Fitzgerald's translations in college. Fagles' translation came out 10-15 years ago, and was a sensation when it came out. I have read reviews of his translation that just sing its praises to high heaven, so I hope it lives up to its reviews. Fagles recently published his translation of The Aeneid and Nick gave me a copy for my birthday, which was nice as I had been reading Fitzgerald's translation of it. My copy of Fagles' Iliad is a used paperback - untouched - from www.shopgoodwill.com. I also bought his translation of The Odyssey at the same time.

When I read ancient literature, I feel strangely connected to all literature, new and old. The ancient stories are stories we still tell each other in our novels and poems. We think we have advanced and that these ancient people were primitive and crude, but we are these people. The graphic violence of today's films and books is right there in the Aeneid, beheadings, blood and gore, it's all there. And the crude humor of Apuleius in The Golden Ass is still laughed at today, although it may be Jim Carrey we're laughing at on the movie screen. I guess my point is that when I read ancient literature, I am constantly surprised by how familiar it feels.

Still reading Cryptonomicon. Only about 400 pages to go!

The Warden

I am now officially reading The Warden, the first of the Barchester novels. Finally! It is, so far, as I remembered it. Trollope creates a fully realized town in Barchester, and fully drawn characters. Readers of Jane Austen will feel a familiarity with Trollope, I think.

The criticism in the introduction of The Warden identifies Trollope's comments as the narrator as the only jarring notes in the novel. Occasionally, Trollope self-consciously comments on the action, remarking that such things only happen in novels. I agree with the critic in that it can be a bit jarring, however, it does not bother me. The only thing that bothers me on this reading is Trollope's name choices for his characters - Haphazard for the lawyer is one. It's a very old fashioned choice that reminds me of Pilgrim's Progress. I think it was unneccessary, too. Trollope's characters are so honest and real that the reader doesn't need Trollope's signposting in the form of character names.

Another book I read this week was The Children of Green Knowe by L. M. Boston. It's a children's book, a blend of fantasy and imagination that leaves you enchanted. I saw the book at the local library and was intrigued. I couldn't get my 9 year old interested in the book, so I checked it out myself. I'm so glad I did. Now I have the delightful prospect ahead of 5 (I think) more books to read in the series. The story is about a young boy who goes to stay with his great-grandmother in her ancient country home. As he comes to know the house and his great grandmother, strange things start to happen. He hears children, who turn out to be his ancestors who once lived in the house. Are they ghosts? or his fantasy? And then he learns that his great grandmother is aware of them as well. She tells him stories about the three ghost children, wonderful tales that sweep him up into their world.

I found a website for the author Lucy Boston's home, http://www.greenknowe.co.uk/index.html. There are some lovely photos of the home that was the basis for the home in the Green Knowe stories.

I am also still reading a few pages of Cryptonomicon here and there.

More UnTrollope...

I was laid up last week and guess what? I did NOT read Trollope. I read Hamlet, Revenge! by Michael Innes. This was a very British, literary murder mystery with wonderful Shakespeare references, Hamlet and otherwise. There were many other cultural references - highbrow cultural references - and I had to make a list so I could look everything up all at once. It was enjoyable, rather dated and complicated in the myriad of characters that kept parading on and off the page.

The references I enjoyed the most were not the highbrow ones, sorry to say. I was very tickled by the ever so slightly snide references to Agatha Christie's Poirot. A few of the characters complain about Police Inspector Appleby, and insist that a Real detective would be better, a foreigner. And Appleby makes a pointed reference to his gray cells early on. These little touches amused me so much I had to find out more about Michael Innes, which is a pseudonym for John Innes Mackintosh Stewart, a Scottish scholar and novelist.

In the process of researching Michael Innes, I discovered this amazing web site:

The Library Thing

You can catalog your own library, browse other people's shelves, see what other people are reading that might be to your taste. Very interesting and fun. Enjoy!