Transferring * books

Pre-entry note: As most of you know, I have a blog about our family that's on a private distribution list. On that blog, I have previously written entries about what I was reading. I'm going to transfer all the book entries to this blog. So if you've been following that blog, and those entries, you can skip these. You already read them. I'm putting them here so all the book entries are in the same place---as requested by Kristen. Now all the book entries will be in the same place. I will mark them with a * in the title.

Laurie R. King is one of my new favorite authors. I've been re-reading her Mary Russell series (just finished books one and two, now I'm on to three), and they are absolutely delicious. Great plots. Crisp dialogue. Intelligent references. Fantastic main character. King has brought to life a strong, witty, determined main character in Mary Russell. I always like it when I find stong, well written female protagonists in any genre, but it's all the more satisfying to find them in mystery/suspense. But I wouldn't call it a "woman's book" any more than I'd call other books "men's books". It's just a good book.

But on that note . . . here are three "women's genre" books that are stereotypically marketed to women and drive me crazy.

1. MEN ARE ALL EVIL books. A few months ago I chose seven books from a recommended reading list put together by the San Jose Book Club Convention. I got them from my library and began to skim. They all sounded the same. Unhappy, depressed woman in India. Unhappy, depressed woman in Mexico. Unhappy, depressed woman in Minnesota. And all of them had serious, serious "We hate men" undertones. This deeply bothered me. I returned all the books.

2. WOMEN ARE OBSESSED WITH FOOD books. I've found this in two places---a well known mystery series and one of the books that Dessert Book lauded last summer as a good book for book clubs. The second book was formulaic. There are five women. Chapter one: Woman one has a problem. Gets together with the other four. Long descriptive passages about what everyone is eating. Women solve the problem. Chapter Two: Another woman has a problem. Gets together with the other four. Long descriptive passages about what everyone is eating. Women solve the problem. Chapter Three: Woman three has a problem . . . etc.

I got sick of reading what everyone was eating. Does the author thing that her readership are perpetual dieters who can vicariously get satisfaction from the food that other people ingest? Or is the assumed readership subsisting on funeral potatoes and jello and therefore entranced with words such as "proscuitto", "tarragon", and "escarole". I didn't finish that book either.

3. WOMEN WHINE books. Here I have to mention an unfortunate experience with one my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card. I really, really like Card's writing. But not in his Women of the Covenant series. I came to these books hoping to see what I knew Card was cabable of giving: well developed, strong, interesting characters.

But in the book I read, the one about Bilhah, Zilpah, Rachel, and Leah, I grew more and more flustered as the novel wore on. The characters just weren't very interesting. The only one who seemed to have two functional synapses in her head was Bilhah. Leah just whined and whined. After about chapter three, Leah would start in on her emotional blathering and I would skip to the next section.

I felt like Card had betrayed me. Why didn't he include intelligent characters in this series as well? He's fully capable. I've seen him do it with women and with men. I think I'll give one more of the books in this series a try. But if I don't find an intelligent heroine, I'm going back to the Ender series. (Maybe he should tackle the story of Deborah, the prophetess. No whiney women there, neither in Deborah nor in Jael.)

Another author, new on the scene, that I'd recommend is Brandon Sanderson. I met Brandon in a writing class at BYU and he has developed into quite an author. His first book, Elantris (which I had the pleasure to peek at in manuscript form) was good, but his second book, Mistborn, is even better. Yet another intelligent, captivating female main character. I look forward to seeing great things from Brandon, and I can't wait to read the sequel to Mistborn.

But I digress. Back to Laurie R. King. She's great and I give her series two thumbs up. I found very little questionable content (if there is some, I either can't remember it or I didn't find it offensive). I hope there are more books to come.

And one on Netflix

If you Netflix, put the BBC production of Charles Dickens' Bleak House in your queue. The one with Gillian Anderson.

I've never read Bleak House, but now I want to.

This three disk series is great. Positively fabulous. We loved it. We stayed up way too late watching it. We started Disk three on Thursday at 10:30 PM, telling ourselves we weren't going to watch all three hours. We lied.

The production is fabulous. FAB YOU LOUS. And Dickens is a master. Look for the themes of bondage and redemption, forgiveness and grudge, secrets, being a child, being a captive, being a deliverer, and so forth.

I could write a paper on Bleak House. Actually, I could write more than that.

Kristen C., now that you are done with Foyles War, try this one. Then call me so we can talk about it.

Try these again

If you read these as a child, or if you haven't discovered them yet, try these.

Deborah's Top 9 (see number 10) that are worth Rediscovering as an Adult

1. A Little Princess by Francess Hodgson Burnett

2. The Secret Garden by Burnett

3. Anne of Green Gables by Montgomery. Montgomery is clever and witty. I missed that when I read these before.

4. The Laura Ingalls Wilder books. If you don't want to do them all, just read These Happy Golden Years.

5. Peter Pan by Barrie

6. The Jungle Book by Kipling. Shocking to read these as an adult and find such strong themes of atonement and redemption. I thought it was just a cute story, but no, no, no. There's depth there. Who knew?

7. Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

8. Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson

9. Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

(10. This would be a better list if there were 1o. I'm going to have to come back. I'm sure I'll think of a tenth at a random time. Like scrubbing the kitchen floor. Or while changing a poopy. THis is when my mind wanders.)

You can pass on Judy Blume. Pass, pass, pass. If you were already subjected to her, you don't need to go there again. Ditto on Cynthia Voight. Dicey will just have to be depressed somewhere else, but not in your library.

Factory Girls, Enna Burning

I read Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie Chang. Not bad. Good writing. Worth reading if you are interested in the topic, pass on it if you aren't. With a crisp writing no-nonsense voice, Chang explores the lives of young women in China who have left their rural countryside homes to work for the factories of China. I found it interesting for the most part---the boring parts I skipped.

I'm also breezing through Enna Burning by Shannon Hale. Much, much better than Austenland, thank you Shannon. This genre is where Hale shines. I ruined some of the book for myself because I already read the next in the series so I know the storyline of this one. Nevertheless, not bad.

Austenland, Striped Pajames, Guernsey Literary

So I picked up Austenland by Shannon Hale with low expectations, having heard from my friend Mariann that it was a disappointment.

I hate it when my low expectations are met.

Hale can write. She has great characters, and she can do a great plot.

But she didn't.

Austenland started fine and then crashed in flames. Ashes were all that were left at the end.

Here's a list of just some of the problems with this book: too many make-out scenes. I skip these anyway (my husband is more fun to kiss than reading about someone else kissing their paramour), but there were a lot. The themes are good: what's real and what's illusion in the game of love, but there's no development. And the last scene when Jane leaves WITH a man was unnecessary. The point of the whole book was that she could learn to be a whole person by herself, in reality. So it would've been better had she left---whole---to find another whole person. Together they might've had a chance. But the Mr. Nobley shows up at the airport at the end thing---pointless. Mariann pointed out it would've been better had she found someone on the plane. At least he would've been a whole, real man who wore jeans instead of breeches.

So four thumbs down for Austenland, which is the two thumbs I have, and two more thumbs because Hale can do better than this.

But. The Boy in the Stried Pajamas by John Boyne was fabulous. Really honestly fabulous. Subtle. Powerful. Shook the plate techonics of my mind. It's about a nine year old boy and his experiences being the son of a Commandant of a concentration camp in WWII Poland.

And it's just plain good. So different from say, Elie Wiesel's Night, which I taught my 8th grade English class. My problem with Night was that it was so shocking and graphic. Something to read alone, painfully, but not something that I wanted to journey with 8th graders. But Striped Pajamas I would teach. All the meaning, all the power, all the message, all the atrocity, but gently.

Yes, Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Boyne is one of the best authors I've ever read, ever, who can speak in another person's point of view and make it authentic. I can't say enough good about this book. It should be required reading for everyone. (Wouldn't that be a concept---a Universal Required Reading List---Want your driver's license? Want to buy groceries? Not yet, you haven't done your reading.

But I digress.)

I also loved, loved, loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Peel Society by Shaffer and Barrows. It's been a while since I've been so charmed by a book. Completely and utterly mesmerized and charmed. I didn't read it---I inhaled it. S and B are fantastic writers and they are masters of character. Takes place in WWII London and thereabouts. Deals with the war, yes, but that's the backdrop. It's really about life and laughter and friendship and love. Go read it and then come talk to me about it. Or we can go play Dead Bride (That's from the book. If you don't read the book, you'll have to play Dead Bride with Charlie Ravioli.)

My only problem with Guernsey is that it ended.

I wish there were a sequel.

Shannon Hale, Red Scarf Girl, Daughter of Destiny

I didn't jump on the Harry Potter bandwagon until Book two (or three?) had already come out. I'd heard the hype and finally read one. And I was thrilled there were more in the series and they'd already been published! No waiting! Yes!  

This is how I'm feeling about my latest authorial discovery: Shannon Hale. Grand, grand, grand. YA writer and good at what she does. I wasn't too impressed with her first book, Princess Academy, even though it was a Newberry Honor book (what do they know?). But I adore her Bayern series. Goose Girl was great, River Secrets was fantastic, and I expect great things for Enna Burning and any other Bayern books. Hale also wrote Austenland for adults, and that's on my list.

So thumbs up for Shannon Hale. She writes for that hard-to-write-for tween audience. Old enough to cognitively understand "grown-up" writing, but too young for adult themes. I lean conservatively as to what I think it appropriate for tweens, and Hale does just fine. When I have a daughter, I'll buy her everything that Hale has written. I think my sons will like her work as well. And she is great for adults who want a good novel. (Anjanette and Liz, try this one. Start with Goose Girl. Then let me know what you think.) 

Thumbs down, on the other hand, for Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang. I was expecting great things from this book because it's one of the novels taught at a sister school in my previous school district. The English teachers there love it. Personal narrative about a young girl experiencing the cultural revolution of Mao Tse Tung in China. Fascinating topic. Good characters. 

But poor writing. Bland:

"Shut up," she said. 

Thank you very much. BOOORRRRING. 

Sad, because it had great plot potential. Fell flat. I think it would be fine taught in a history class, but as literature . . . no way. Just didn't have it. 

But speaking of historical narratives---I've also been perusing Benazir Bhutto's Daughter of Destiny. Bhutto was the first female prime minister in Pakistan and was assassinated in 2007. I know so little about Pakistan, but this is a compelling read. I have been skimming it, but I need to just settle down and read it from the start. She's a good writer. I like it. I'd recommend it. 

The Wednesday Wars

I just finished The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt.

It's great. I laughed and laughed during the book and cried at the end. Not that an emotional response is the best way to judge a book, but this one I enjoyed.

Schmidt is a good writer to start with, but when he writes about something that I know---7th grade English class, for instance, it's a winning combination of reader and author.

The plot is, basically, a student spends Wednesday afternoons with his 7th grade English teacher while the rest of his classmates attend out-of-school religious instruction. And the teacher (can you imagine) uses the time to teach him Shakespeare.

But the book really is a classic coming-of-age novel. Usually these bore me (think Julie of the Wolves) just a little, but this one is choice. And Schmidt can really tell a story and come up with a good plot.

I was destined to love this book. It starts slow, but it doesn't take long to pick up speed. I read it in two days. Two thumbs up.