The-The-The-That's All, Folks!

Well...wow.  I didn't think it would happen.

I started this blog at the beginning of the year not just to write a little bit, but also to help motivate me to clear off the "shelf of unread books."  It used to be 3+ shelves, and hundreds of books.  Yes, I would buy faster than I could read.  I don't know why...it seemed like a good idea at the time.

It had been my goal in 2009 to clear off the shelf, and that obviously did not happen.  So it became my "I really mean it" goal for 2010.  And - lo and behold - here is the shelf RIGHT NOW.

Empty.  It is completely empty.  I'm still stunned.

So the purpose of this blog has been met, and just in time for the new year.  So now, starting January 1, it'll be onto bigger and better things...over at The Open Road.  Come check it out.

The Death of Josseline - Margaret Regan

Wow.  WOW.  I just finished this book and am almost at a loss for words.

I bought this book through my church a few weeks ago; they are encouraging everyone to read it, and there will be two discussions groups after the new year.  I hesitated - don't I already have too many books to read? - but decided to go for it.  And boy...am I glad I did.

I think of myself as a reasonably intelligent man, but I will freely admit that when it comes to politics, I'm pretty dumb.  It's not that I don't want to or try to understand, it's just that, for whatever reason, politics just doesn't "stick" in my brain.  I don't get it a lot of the time, and when I do, it usually doesn't last.  This puts me at a strong disadvantage when it comes to political discussions, which tend to be discussions that can get heated.

So - what does this have to do with this book?  A lot.  In this book, the author spent time on the US/Mexican border and gathered all sorts of stories of what's really happening there.  Not sweeping political propaganda, but real stories.  From real people.  From migrants to ranchers to medical examiners to Minutemen to Border Patrol agents to - well, to almost anyone you can think of.  And she gets their stories, gets the facts, and tells those stories.  And it is SO POWERFUL.

Why do people want to come to this country so badly?  Why can't they just stay home?  What's the big deal if they do sneak in?  Why should anyone help them?  All of these questions, and so many more, have been swirling through my mind as I've read this.  Some get answered clearly, some are open to moral and philosophical discussion.  It's staggering though to read about the number of people who die.  And the US citizens who live in the area and who have lost their privacy to Border Patrol agents.  And the environmental impacts that building a big wall across a desert have had.  And the inaccuracy of what politicians have said publicly.  It's just mind blowing.

What is the answer, then?  I don't know.  If I knew, I'd share it with the world!  And the author doesn't claim to know either.  And that's part of why I respect her and this book so much.  There's no slant to it that I picked up on.  There's no "And here's why you should believe this or that" throughout the book.  She presents facts and stories from all different parties and points of view, and lets the reader make up his mind.  I wish there were more of this out there, or that I knew where to find it...It's so frustrating to have "news" be nothing more than 10% fact, 60% opinion and 30% propaganda.  Regardless of which "side" it's for.

I am very much looking forward to the discussion group in January.  In the meantime, read this book.  Go get it, read it and share it with others.  Learn some of the stories of what is actually happening, and how our country is (and isn't) responding.

Diabetes Burnout - William H. Polonsky

I asked my mother to get this book for me last year, shortly after I was first diagnosed with diabetes.  I just got around to reading it...even though I wouldn't say that I'm burned out (yet).  But you know what?  I'm glad I have it.  It essentially recognizes that since this is a life-long illness, there will be times where it just doesn't seem worth it to keep on doing everything that needs to be done.  It's not something I wanted, asked for or chose, and yet here it is and I have to deal with it now.  And, honestly, this can apply to much more than diabetes.

But every day - watching what I eat (theoretically), exercising (theoretically), taking the meds, monitoring my blood sugar...and knowing that it'll never end.  Yeah, I'm sure that at some point I will get burned out.  And after reading this book I'm glad to have it on hand.

The book provides good support and empathy why burnout can happen.  And it acknowledges the crappy parts of doing everything that needs to be done...but then rather than just stopping at the whining (which is what I might do), it helps to find answers and solutions and ways through or around the roadblocks.

So, luckily, I can't relate to all parts of this book...at least not right now.  But it's good to know that I'll have it on hand for when I do.

Awakening Your Psychic Powers - Henry Reed, Ph.D.

A very interesting book!  It wasn't exactly the book that I was expecting, but I liked it.  It's not just a "here's how to be psychic in 10 easy steps," but talks a lot about the life, experiences and teaching of Edgar Cayce.

A part that particularly intrigued me is the relationship with the spiritual, which was apparently very important to Edgar Cayce.  It's said in the book that he thought of the big Bang theory as God exploding out into all sorts of little "atoms," which were unique souls.  Unique, but all still connected and part of God, and each one containing the essence of God and unity and holiness.  But then these souls ended up creating physicality and here we are - still with our souls at the core, but the souls now having forgotten where they came from and that we are, still, parts of God with all of god in each of us.  So we go through life (and lives, perhaps) trying to re-learn this.  It is very similar to another book I read - not about psychic abilities at all, but about spirituality.  And I think that that's why it's so interesting to me, to see how closely they parallel.

The book talks a lot about different techniques to use: meditation, a dream journal, learning to rely on intuition, using a pendulum...and many more.  It's really an interesting read and looks at everything with a much more holistic view.

Writing Down the Bones - Natalie Goldberg

This is another book I've had forever. It's sort of a how to book for writing. I enjoyed it - and I probably need to start doing a lot of it! There are a lot of good tips and suggestions as well as some realistic ways of dealing with road blocks. I like it.

Transformation Soup - Sark

You know what I like about Sark?  Or one of the things, I should say: she doesn't act like she's perfect and like she knows how to do it all.  She's a regular person, like you, like me.  With faults and imperfections and who has made mistakes and will undoubtedly make more.  Like you...Like me.  Like all of us - which is perhaps what we all truly have in common.

This book is about her year dedicated to healing, and to transformation.  There are little nuggets in here, little gems, that are truly inspiring.  For example:

Let's just all realize and admit that the pain never ends and go on brilliantly anyway.  *Brilliantly, in this case, means: despite all forms of wanting to quit.
Let's realize that to experience our lives intimately means to be off-balance, out of control, and subject to all sorts of fragile and tender emotions.
We might say, "Then why do it?  Why not hide, avoid, resist, anesthetize, refuse, neglect, lie, work harder, gain more control, get more money, seek more escapes, and live in denial?"
You'll do all of these anyway and the pain just waits for another entry point.


But this isn't a book that focuses on pain.  A little further on the same page:

Joy is tougher to accept than pain.  Isn't this a curious paradox.  We are often more comfortable with pain and struggle because it's familiar.


Wow.

Yeah...good stuff.  Sark: I like you.

The Thinker's Way - John Chaffee, Ph.D.

Hi, The Thinker's Way.  Have a seat - are you comfortable?  Um...this is kind of awkward...but we need to talk.  I know that you have been so good and so patient, waiting around on that bookshelf for all of these years, just waiting for me to get to you.  Waiting for your turn.  And now it's here!  And it's wonderful!  And it's great!  But - I think we're just not going to work out.  What I'm saying is, I think I want to read other books.  No - no - it's not you, really, it's me.  Completely me.

We started out so well, it's true.  You were talking about how there seem to be less critical thinking skills today - or at least in our news and media.  And I couldn't agree more!  We are surrounded by sound bytes and data snippets, pieces of facts which are then surrounded by opinion.  And that's not critical thinking!  That's not looking at information, digging deep, knowing your sources, forming your own conclusions...not at all.

And when you said that learning to think critically can lead to clearer goals in your life and greater chances of attaining them...Again, I agree.  And being creative!  I like what you said about how "being creative" doesn't have to mean "being an artist."  I really enjoyed this paragraph about that.

Whenever you are investing your own unique ideas, you are being creative.  When you develop a new recipe or dance in your own distinctive style, you are being creative, as you are when you stimulate original thinking in your children or make your friends laugh with your singular brand of humor.  Living your life creatively means bringing your unique perspective and creative talents to all the dimensions of your life.  Creativity is not an add-on, something extra that you have to find time for in your busy life.  Instead, creativity is a better, richer, more productive approach to doing what you are already doing.  It's braided seamlessly into your life, not a bow that's added on for decoration.


That's brilliant!  I love it!  But I'm only a quarter of the way through, and I'm just not feeling this relationship.  Like I said, it's me.  I'm really close to the end of the unread bookshelf, and I'm probably anxious to move on.  So don't take it personally...I know that the right reader will come along.

The Bodacious Book of Succulence - Sark

Gosh, I don't even know how long I've had this book. I bought 4 of her books or so, without first reading any. Oh, those were the crazy days...

This is a fun, creative, interactive book about realizing how wonderful and amazing we all are in our imperfections. And how richer we would all be if we stopped trying to hide our succulence underneath our facades. It's a pretty fun book...and yet it touched on some pretty serious topics.

I was particularly touched by and able to relate to the part about death, and how you get thrown into the "death club" whether you like it or not when you lose someone close to you. Yup...that's true.

Anyway - a fun book that'll make you think. Check it out.

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy - David D. Burns, MD

This book was originally written in 1980, when cognitive therapy was truly ground-breaking.  And that's what this book is about: cognitive therapy, how to use it and how powerful it can be.  I have had this book for probably over ten years without reading it.  Now, it was time.

Some parts of this book show their age.  There is a section at the end about medications that is, well, 30 years old.  Most of today's popular anti-depressants didn't even exist then and aren't listed.  That's an extreme example, but there were definitely parts that made me realize this book was written a while ago.  Also, I didn't always appreciate Dr. Burns's writing style.  Two examples of things that didn't work for me:

Does that sound like heresy or stupidity to you?  If you think I'm contradicting the obvious, you may feel like burning this book or throwing it down in disgust.  If so, I dare you to read on...


Harriet mastered the...Method quickly and reported a dramatic change in her mood and outlook because it gave her a simple, effective way to handle a problem that had been very real and overwhelming.  When she returned for the next session, her depression - which had crippled her for over a decade - had lifted and was entirely gone.


Okay, seriously?  Over a decade of crippling depression gone just like that?  I had a hard time swallowing that.

Now, criticism out of the way, this is a good book in a lot of ways.  There are real, honest to goodness things that you can do to help.  My personal belief is that depression and moods aren't caused by any one thing necessarily; brain chemistry can be a factor.  Foods (like sugar, especially) can be a factor.  Exercise can be a factor.  And what's discussed in this book can be a major factor - but one factor.  That's just my opinion.  I got some good stuff out of this book, though.  I noticed that even just in reading it, when I'd put it down for the day, I would be feeling a little better - without doing any of the exercises.  Just by reading about them and how to do them.  And I think that that says a lot.

There's also a self-assessment test in one part that shows me that I am emotionally strongest in the categories of Achievement, Perfectionism, Entitlement and Omnipotence...and that I'm emotionally the most vulnerable in the categories of Approval, Love and Autonomy.  Close to what I would have guessed, but maybe not an exact match; and this is good to know, since it helps me see where I excel and where I don't.

All in all - a book worth reading for anyone with depression, currently or previously.  It can be one powerful aspect of dealing with it.

Old Filth - Jane Gardam

A few posts back, the one for David Copperfield, I mentioned having seen a book reviewer in Chestertown.  Well, this same woman said that one of her favorite more recent books was one called The Man in the Wooden Hat.  I went to get it and discovered that it's a follow up to this book, Old Filth.  So I figured I'd start with this one.

It's the story of Teddy, or Eddie, or Sir Edward Feathers, or Old Filth...he answers to them all at one point or another.  Born in southeast Asia, sent at a young age back to mother England to be raised there away from everyone he knows, later to become a very well known and well respected lawyer in Hong Kong - this is his story.  From his childhood - well, from his birth, really - all the way through his death.  But not told chronologically...more thematically, I guess you could say.  Or episodically.  Which, to me, makes it all the more interesting.

I enjoyed this book - not just getting to know Old Filth and those around him, but for getting some glimpses into cultures and countries over the span of a lifetime.  I'm looking forward to reading The Man in the Wooden Hat, which I believe is a companion novel, really...told from the point of view of his wife.  I'll let you know after I read it.

Rut - Scott Phillips

This is the latest installment from Concord Free Press, a great idea that's long overdue.  Essentially, they publish a limited amount of each book and give them away - for free.  Then the recipients (such as myself) read the book, donate money to a charity/organization of my choice, log onto their site and let them know where I've donated along with my book number.  Then I pass the book on - again for free - to someone who will do the same.  And we all get to read good books and help others.  I like it.  But go check out their website, they describe it better than I do.

Anyway, the latest book is Rut.  Wow.  This would be a great book for a discussion group, because there are so many questions that I have that aren't answered.  The book is set about 40 years in the future, and something has happened that's pretty much destroyed our infrastructure and has radically separated the haves from the have-nots.  Was it environmental destruction?  Was it climate change?  Was it a war?  It's never stated.  The book takes place in a small town, and we get to know some of the locals.  We get pieces of what this new world is like (and fascinating pieces they are!) and we also get to know some pretty cool people.

I'm tempted to say that Bridget is the main character, just because she's the first character we really get to know, but she isn't.  There really is not one central character; it's about everyone...it's about the town.  And it really is a great story.  In a world where the rules don't always match the ones we have today, I was curious as to what would happen next, and even what was possible.  There was one scene that just really shook me, it was so well done and so - well, so possible.  Which is what makes it scary.

As much as the obsessed-with-details side of me wanted everything explained (what exactly happened? how can people regenerate parts of their body? why is the novel called Rut?), once I let go of my anal-retentiveness (never easy for me) and let myself go in this new and strange world, it was a crazy place to discover.

Don't buy this book - you can't right now, anyway.  But I'll be happy to give it to you so that you can read it, donate and pass it on.  Who wants it?

Mary Ann in Autumn - Armistead Maupin

Oh, I was so excited to see this book in the store the other day. It's the eighth book in the Tales of the City series. I couldn't wait to catch up with some of my favorite people again!

I zipped through this book in one day as I flew down to Charleston. And I loved every minute of it. Spending time with Mary Ann, Michael, Mrs. Madrigal and all of the others...it was nothing short of magical.

One of the things I really liked about the first six books is how the characters grow, develop and change. As we all do. And this continues here. And of course we have some newer characters too. They all just feel so - so true. It's great.

And of course there's some mystery, and some plot twists and connections that I really didn't see coming at all - which made it that much better. If you're a fan of the series, you'll enjoy this. If you're not, well, I don't know what's wrong with you. :-) And if you don't know the series - start from the beginning. It's worth it.

A Yank Back to England - Denis Lipman

I got this book from my friend Kim last Christmas, I believe; her mother is friends with the author.  It's part travelogue, part cultural dissection, part historical information, part family tale.  It's the true stories of Denis, a Brit who has moved to the US and who goes back to visit London and towns near London along with his American wife, Frances.  While there, they also spend time with Denis's family, most notably his parents.

I really enjoyed "seeing" some of the towns outside of London and getting to know the background of them.  It was also interesting to read Denis's observations of the British, being a somewhat removed Brit himself.  Not all of the towns interested me equally, which I think is to be expected.  I think it's a well written exploration, though.

I also was taken with Denis's writing style.  At one point (and I wish I had noted where) I even remarked how he was able to make the act of walking much more interesting just by the different words he used to describe it within the same paragraph.  He also does a great job in describing his parents, and every "Ghrrr" following his father's comments was just endearing.

Another aspect I enjoyed were the snippets and pieces of personal history that come through sometimes, showing what everyday life was like growing up for Denis.  For instance, take this paragraph:

We had electricity, but the supply to our little house in Dagenham was metered.  The electric meter was situated in the hallway, and attached to it was a coin box that took two-shilling pieces.  If we didn't feed the meter, the electric power switched off.  This happened many a night, and if no one had coins handy, one of us would careen into furniture, groping a way through the dark until the "light money" was found.  The light money was kept in an old Rowntrees pastille box, on the ledge on the farthest wall of the kitchen.  Coin in hand, the person sent to "do the light" would feel the way back, patting the narrow passageway until it turned, then shuffling across the hall before colliding with the chair that was always there.


And it goes on in a little more detail like this...which is just fascinating to me.  Makes me grateful for monthly billing!!!

All in all - a really enjoyable book to read.  The only thing is that I ended the book feeling like I know a lot about the towns, the sights, Denis, his parents, some of his extended family...but, oddly enough, not much about his wife or his daughter.  Maybe that's intentional; she's American, and this is about his experiences back in England, so maybe that's part of it - but I feel like I would have liked to know her a little better throughout the book.  Just my opinion.

Anyway - definitely worth a read, especially if you've been to or are interested in traveling to England.

Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories - Mike Birbiglia

First of all, phew.  After coming to this book after reading Charles Dickens, I appreciate Mike Birbiglia in a whole new way.  A very welcome change!  But of course, I already love Mike Birbiglia from hearing him on the radio and having just seen him at the Keswick Theater - where, it just so happens, I got this lovely (signed!) copy of his new book.  And it's a delight.

One of the things that I like best about Mike Birbiglia is his voice.  Not just his actual speaking voice, although that's pretty snazzy, but his comedic voice.  And it really comes through in his writing here.  There were times where I found myself reading slower than I might normally read so that I could read it in the rhythm of how I imagined him saying it.  And I think that that's the sign of someone who knows his voice.

It's a collection of stories, true stories as the title implies...different episodes throughout his life.  And it's awesome.  So my one friend who actually reads this - you know that I can be a bit, well, melodramatic.  Especially when I'm not feeling well.  Which is why this paragraph made me laugh out loud.

     When I was nineteen, my doctor found a malignant tumor in my bladder.  But it's funny - stay with me - because I was a hypochondriac, and the funniest thing that can happen to you as a hypochondriac is that you get cancer, because it confirms every fear you've ever had and allows you to say to your family, "See?  I told you!  Remember last week when I was overtired and I thought I had rickets?  I was probably right about that too.  There are gonna be a lot of changes around here!"


Genius.

So, my friends, if you're looking for some good laughs with some good insights along the way, go get this book.  I highly recommend it.  And Mike Birbiglia - we should hang out sometime.  You seem pretty awesome.

David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

Phew!  I didn't know if I'd make it through this one, but I did.

A little over a year ago, I was at the first annual Chestertown Book Festival, and one of the speakers I had the pleasure of seeing was a book critic for NPR - or maybe the Washington Post.  One of the two.  Anyway, I don't remember her name (or where, apparently, she works) but I do remember that she said that one of her favorite all-time books is this one - David Copperfield.  So I went right out and bought it.  All (almost) 900 pages of it.

I started this book almost two months ago.  It's not fast reading; I couldn't just zip through it.  And as frustrating as it was to be progressing so slowly through such a thick tome, I was enjoying every bit of the story.  Finally, with my being on vacation this week, I was able to really spend time, dig in and give this book its due.  I really got a lot out of it.

Anyone can look up this book online to get an idea of the plot; David Copperfield and his life.  But it's so rich...the number of characters, the interconnectedness of them, the way they fade away and then come back...it's like a tapestry in that regard.  And so many insights into the culture of the time, with some opinions in there on class, poverty, snobbery.  Truly a rich novel.

One of the passages that really spoke to me was toward the end.  David has had a lot of loss in a relatively short time, and has reached a point where he's able to step back and breathe and really start to accept it all.

     I went away from England; not knowing, even then, how great the shock was, that I had to bear.  I left all who were dear to me, and went away; and believed that I had borne it, and it was past.  As a man upon a field of battle will receive a mortal hurt, and scarcely know that he is struck, so I, when I was left alone with my undisciplined heart, had no conception of the wound with which it had to strive.
     The knowledge came upon me, not quickly, but little by little, and grain by grain.  The desolate feeling with which I went abroad, deepened and widened hourly.  At first it was a heavy sense of loss and sorrow, wherein I could distinguish little else.  By imperceptible degrees, it became a hopeless consciousness of all that I had lost - love, friendship, interest; of all that had been shattered - my first trust, my first affection, the whole airy castle of my life; of all that remained - a ruined blank and waste, lying wide around me, unbroken, to the dark horizon.


Yeah.  That's some deep stuff.

If you're looking for a nice light read, this is not the book for you.  But if you're looking to read a classic, a novel that will hold onto you for some time, that you can really sink your teeth into, and with people you'll come to like and dislike - then this is a perfect fit.

StrengthsFinder 2.0 - Tom Rath -AND- Strengths Based Leadership - Tom Rath and Barry Conchie

Okay, first of all, Tom Rath?  If you're reading this, CALL ME.  You are absolutely, completely, 110% adorable and I have a crush on you.  *sigh*

But onto the reason I'm here.  I had lunch with the COO of the company where I work a few weeks ago, and she lent me a copy of Strengths Based Leadership.  The main tenet is that we all have strengths and weaknesses, and as employees (and people), we are more engaged and much happier when we can do things that play to and engage our strengths.  Makes sense!  But we're in a culture where more focus - much more - is placed on weaknesses and "overcoming" or "improving" them.  While it's important to know your weaknesses, it's also important to know your strengths and to be able to use them.  And this book talks about 34 different strengths, and how they fall into 4 different categories: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, Strategic Thinking.  People's main strengths can fall into any or all of these 4 areas, but may lie principally in one area.  And leadership needs to come from that area and also bring in people with strengths in other areas for things to work as best they can.  It's a really interesting book and a great concept.

So this led me to StrengthsFinder 2.0 - the book that started it all, I think, and the book that comes with a code to an online exam where you can find out your top 5 strengths.  I read the book and took the exam, and - are you ready? - my top 5 strengths are: Harmony, Empathy, Input, Relator and Discipline.  Of these, three fall under Relationship Building, one under Executing and one under Strategic Thinking.  Clearly I'm not all that great at Influencing.  And - honestly - that makes sense to me.  I know what I feel and what my opinions are, but I'm not always great at expressing them.  I offer an opinion but if you don't want to listen, then that's fine.

I don't know that there's anything rocket science in here in terms of finding out my strengths.  But I really appreciated and learned from reading about this idea of playing to our strengths.  And the book and website have a lot of resources (like my personalized 20 page report about my strengths) that I'm going to continue to read and explore.  And, of course, discuss in my next follow-up meeting with the COO.

Babies Ruin Everything - Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr

Aah, the Idiots are back!  Volume XXVIII (that's 28 to you and me) in the Idiots'Books series.  You could think of this, possibly, as a follow-up to The Baby Is Disappointing, and it certainly is related to the birth of their second child.  This volume is written from the perspective of a very little girl who has been an only child, and now finds herself dealing with having a younger sibling.  The illustrations are a break from the "traditional" Robbi, and are more done in the style of a little kid.  And yet Robbi still shines through, like when the pony is pooping on a kid, and with the amount of urine in the pictures.  There's a lot of urine.  A LOT.  And I love every last drop.

Go find the Idiots at www.idiotsbooks.com.  Buy their books.  You'll never regret it.  And it just may change your life.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt

Okay, so I've had this book for, oh, let me think...12 years?  That's right.  Easily.  And I have no idea why I waited so long to read it!  It was a GREAT book.  Based on a true story of someone who is shot to death.  But it's so much more than that; it's a love story between the author and the city of Savannah, Georgia.  And during the book, he made me fall in love with Savannah as well.

The people are so unique, the city sounds beautiful, and what happens is fascinating on so many levels.  He tells the story and lays out his facts in a way that makes it seem almost like a novel, and it's not at all dry and cold facts like some other "true story" books I've read.  He really weaves us into the tale.

A good book.  Go out and read it.

Wild Ride - Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

First of all, I have to announce the big news!  This is the first book that I read on my new Kindle!!!!!  Thank you, Amy, for the wonderful gift and your amazing generosity.  I love it.

Now, back to the book.  Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer have written three books together; this is the third.  I didn't read the first one, but the second one - Agnes and the Hitman - is one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read.  This one is not a sequel; it's all different characters in a completely different setting.  And I enjoyed this one as well.  Not as much as Agnes, but pretty darn close.

It's the story of a woman named Mab who is restoring a theme park in Ohio.  Oh, but the theme park just happens to be a prison for demons and home to some people whose life work it is to make sure that the demons don't escape.  Except, well, of course, the demons escape.  And chaos ensues.  And it's so entertaining!  And there's also a bit of a love story in there, too, and maybe a sex scene or two.  It is, as the title says, a wild ride.

Now - as for the Kindle experience - it took a little getting used to, but by the end of the book it felt natural.  I'm not going to say that every book I buy going forward will be on the Kindle.  I truly feel that its main advantage for me will be when I travel.  That said, the price of the books for Kindle tends to be cheaper than buying the actual book.  But then, when I'm done, I can't exactly lend the book to anyone, which is part of the joy of reading a good book for me.  I am amazed at how small and lightweight it is.  All in all, I'm just so excited to have one!!!!!

The Secret Life of France - Lucy Wadham

Scott got me this book for my birthday!  How thoughtful.  It's Ms. Wadham's true story of going to France, falling in love, getting married and staying there.  (She's British.)  But it's a lot more than that: it's more of a cultural analysis and comparison between France and the UK.

Well...I tried.  I was very excited about it, really I was!  But I got about a third of the way through it and it still wasn't grabbing me.  It's a great idea, an interesting concept, but it ended up being a little too intellectual or philosophical or something-al for me.

So - onto the next one.

Les Hommes qui n'aimaient pas les femmes - Stieg Larsson

Holy crap!  What a book.  It's been a while since I've stayed up past my bedtime because I just had to keep reading.  But for this book - I couldn't put it down at the end!

This novel was originally published in Swedish.  When I was in France last fall, Catherine told me that this series (it's the first in a trilogy) might just be her favorite series ever, and she bought me this book - the first in the series - so that I'd be guaranteed to read it.  Well, nine months later, I've finally read it.

It's a mystery story...but so much more.  It's a rich world, with characters who are so complex and compelling that they feel very real.  Essentially, if I can try to even simplify and summarize in a few sentences, it's the story of a journalist who agrees with the patriarch of a very wealthy family to write the family's story but, really, try to solve the mystery of what happened to Harriet Vanger back in the 1960's, when she suddenly and mysteriously disappeared and was probably murdered.  But along the way there is so much more...I can't help but wonder if I shouldn't even try to describe it as I did, because I can not do it justice.

Originally written in Swedish, it's now also translated into English by Reg Keeland.  One thing I don't understand, though, is the title.  If I were to literally translate the French title into English, it would be Men Who Didn't Like Women.  I don't speak Swedish, but from what I understand, that would be a literal translation of the Swedish title as well.  However, you have - I'm sure - heard of this book as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  And yes, there is a character that fits that description.  But I can't help but wonder - why the change?  Who decides that?  What's wrong with the original title?  Did some publisher feel that perhaps people might think it's about gay men and therefore not read it?  Was it just viewed as not compelling enough?  Yet it's a great success in other countries under that title.  I think I prefer the original title, because it shifts the focus onto these men, and leaves the reader to try to figure out who these men are and why that might have been chosen as a title.  I don't know...just something I've been thinking about.

Anyway, it's a GREAT book.  Stieg Larsson could probably have pared down the book to just the core mystery and had the book be half the length.  But you know what?  Then it would be half as good.  There are so many things that might not be related to the core mystery but that add a definite richness and depth to this story.  And, to be honest, it makes me wonder if they'll come into play in books 2 or 3...I'll have to find out sooner rather than later.  In the meantime, go find the English translation, and set aside some good hours to sink your teeth into it.

Boyfriends From Hell - Kevin Bentley, Editor

Oh, how fun this book is.  My friend Jen bought it, not realizing that it's all about gay men and their horrid boyfriends...despite the clearly very homoerotic drawing on the cover.  Oh, Jen, we love you.  :-)  So she sent it up to me.

It was a very quick read; I started it last night and finished it this morning.  The book is a collection from different gay male writers, describing bad first dates, horrible relationships, one night stands gone wrong and the like.  Some I could totally relate to!  Others I couldn't - and I'm kind of glad.

Great stories, lots of fun.

Que serais-je sans toi? - Guillaume Musso

Another French book I got on my trip over there last fall. Guillaume Musso writes very enjoyable stories that are generally pretty easy to follow. There is typically some sort of love story where people are, for some reason, kept apart; and there is also typically some sort of supernatural or other-worldly element.

In this story, which is literally translated as What Would I Be Without You?, Martin and Gabrielle meet at age 19. She's American, he's French. He returns to France and, for reasons he doesn't understand, she breaks it off with him. Fast forward fifteen years; Martin is now a cop with a hard heart. He's chasing after an international art thief who just so happens to be Gabrielle's father, who she thought died before she was born.

Martin pursues the thief to the US, to San Francisco, where they both end up seeing Gabrielle. Imagine her shock! But then the two men end up in a coma, where they spend time together in this other world, and then work out their differences.

I enjoyed the story; it's what I've come to expect from Guillaume Musso. No new ground-breaking stuff here, but an enjoyable relatively fast read.

The Milagro Beanfield War - John Nichols

Holy crap, what a great book.  It took me a while to get through it, mostly because I didn't dedicate the time to it that I wanted.  I'm so glad to have finally finished it though!  But I'll miss some of these characters.  And, truly, John Nichols' writing style.  It's so creative, so rich...He really knows how to create an entire world, and to give it such depth and feeling.  For instance - and bear with me, this is a longer quote than what I would usually do, but it's well worth it - this is how he introduces us to Ruby.

     For years many stories and quite a few unconfirmed rumors about the Strawberry Mesa Body Shop and Pipe Queen tycoon, Ruby Archuleta, had circulated between Milagro and Doña Luz.  Some folks swore she was a witch; a few misguided harpies insinuated she had poisoned or otherwise murdered the three husbands who had died on her.  Various highly impeachable sources suggested that Eliu Archuleta, her eighteen-year-old son, was actually the offspring of an affair between Ruby and the expatriot santo carver who had disappeared right after the Smokey the Bear statue riot, Snuffy Ledoux, a clandestine relationship that supposedly occurred while her second husband, Sufi Menopoulous, a Greek who had owned the Eagle Motel on Route 26 leading east from Chamisaville, lay dying of cancer at St. Claire's Hospital in the capital.  Then again, for years a few hardcore gossips had whispered that Eliu was actually the product of a virgin birth.
     Getting down to more verifiable facts, though, Ruby Archuleta was an uncertified midwife who had been safely delivering babies since 1940.  She also qualified as one of the best fishermen in the area and was a deer hunter supreme.  And whenever raspberries ripened in the local canyons a thousand jars of Ruby's raspberry jam appeared almost instantly on the shelves of Rael's store in Milagro, Benny's in Doña Luz, and the Flowering Wheat Health Food Store in Chamisaville, and she raked in the dinero hand over fist.
     This dynamo measured five feet two inches tall, was forty-nine years old, and her misty red hair had mostly turned to gray.  With her son Eliu, her gigantic lover, Claudio Garcia, and a roly-poly hillbilly mechanic named Marvin LaBlue, she lived in a mud-plastered railroad tie house situated on a hill overlooking the Body Shop and Pipe Queen, an enterprise inherited from her first husband, a charismatic hustler named Ray Mingleback, who had drowned on Halloween night, 1958, when his Rolls Royce dove off the north-south highway into the Rio Grande about twenty miles below Chamisaville.


All of that to introduce Ruby.  And, quite frankly, I love it.  It helps bring us into this world inhabited by all of these different people; it helps to make them real and to me us want to spend time with them.

The story - well, it's a simple enough premise.  In the little town of Milagro, mostly "Chicanos" as they call themselves, have lived for generations.  They are poor and have little to their names.  Even their water has been taken from them; the nearby river is off-limits for watering crops, and will be used to help build a new community and golf course...making the rich richer, and the poor poorer.  Well, one day Jose Mondragon decides to go out, tap into that water and irrigate a bean field.  And that begins the war - the war over water, over pride, over cultural identity, over money.  It's a symbolic gesture that Jose just decides to do for the heck of it; he doesn't mean it in any symbolic way.  He doesn't want to start a war.  He just wants to grow beans.  But of course it's so much more.

There's such complexity to this story.  It's about a clash of cultural identities: Chicanos versus Anglos.  It's about classism.  But it's also about understanding your actions, and what your role is in your world.  And it's about trying to figure out if you know who you are, what you want out of your life, and where you're going. And having the courage to stand up for what you believe in.

A great, amazing story.  Go read it.

La Princesse des glaces - Camilla Läckberg

I loved this book.  It's a translation from the Swedish into French.  The title can be translated as The Ice Princess.  Now, as far as translations go, my thinking is this: If I can't read a book in its original language, then I'd rather read the English translation, just because it'll be less work for me.  When I was in France last fall, though, and when I saw this book and was immediately intrigued (in part because of the cover, I won't lie), I checked on amazon.com (thank you, iPhone) and saw that it wasn't translated into English.  So, I bought the French translation.  It has since been translated into English, though, and has recently come out here.  So check it out.

It's a mystery, set in a small town in Sweden.  Erica has returned home to her small town following her parents' death, when there is a murder that takes place; a childhood friend of Erica's named Alex.  The police are of course involved, but so is Erica, trying to find out what happened and why.  Along the way, though, many more secrets turn up and there's a lot we learn about this small town.

I was completely intrigued as I read this book.  I kept mentally trying to put all of the pieces together, and then kept second guessing myself.  "What if it's this?  No, it can't be.  Oh, but it could be THIS!  Or can it?  Maybe it's THAT."  And I loved that.  And there are a lot of pieces to be put together!

I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, too.  There are things that happen, like with Erica's sister, that aren't directly related to the murder mystery.  But they didn't feel like they didn't belong; I actually really cared about that storyline as well.  And the way the author describes Erica's parents' house, where she and her sister grew up...I want to go see that house.  She really communicated not just the structure of it, but also the spirit and character of the house.

So.  Great story.  I didn't figure out whodunit and was surprised, but it made sense.  Other mysteries were involved and one really blew me away once I figured it out.  I think she's written six more stories written in this small town, and I'm sure they'll be out in English very soon...and I can't wait.

Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco

I've wanted to read this book for years.  Seriously.  It's always been like some legendary book that's really hard but really amazing - at least, that's the impression that I had gotten somewhere in my life.  I don't even know where.  So it was with excitement and nervousness that I picked up this book.  And - wow.  Here's a quote from early on in the book:

With six letters - Iahveh - he had seven hundred and twenty permutations at his disposal.  The repetitions didn't count, because Diotallevi had said that the two hes must be taken as two different letters.  Belbo could have chosen, say, the thirty-sixth or the hundred and twentieth.


Huh?

Okay, let's try this one.

"In Isaiah 9:2, for instance, there's the word "LMRBH," lemarbah - which, note the coincidence, means to multiply - but the mem in the middle is written as a final mem."


Um, yeah.  Of course it is.

Essentially, I think that this book is waaaaay over my head.  I made it to page 62 before being thoroughly confounded and confused and, well, feeling like a complete moron.  Maybe someone made a movie out of it that I can try watching?

Toutes ces choses qu'on ne s'est pas dites - Marc Levy

Or, roughly translated, All of These Things We Didn't Tell Each Other.  It's the story of Julia, who is getting ready to marry Adam, until her father's death leads her to postpone the wedding.  She's been very distant with her father and is not fond of him.  Well, the day after the funeral, surprise!  She receives a delivery of a large box...that contains her father!  Alive!  But it's not really him - it's an android of him, implanted with his memories of up to about a week before he died.  The android is an experimental thing that this company he invests in is working on.  And it has enough battery power to be "alive" for six days.  Of course it looks and feels exactly like a human.  So Julia has six days to spend with her "father," during which they end up traveling to different cities and making some interesting discoveries, leading her to question her to-be-rescheduled marriage to Adam.

Well, there's usually some element of the fantastical in Marc Levy's books, and that's part of the reason I like them and find them to have such unique charm.  In general, I'd say that the plot lines in his books are very plausible, as long as you accept this one odd ball element as being true.  Similar set up here; as long as the reader can accept that it's possible to have an android with a human's memories in it, that looks and acts and feels just like a human...

To me, though, this wasn't my favorite book of his.  Part of Julia's complaints about her father is that he always controlled her life - and what happens after he dies, and after his android appears, is that she lets him control almost everything about the next six days.  Doesn't seem likely.  I actually felt that he was being very manipulative, which was further shown at the end.  But if it's for her happiness, is it okay for him to manipulate her like that?  I would say no.  And the other thing I didn't like is the sudden appearance of Tomas.  Tomas, whom Julia had loved 18 years ago.  Tomas, from whom her father took her away 18 years ago.  Tomas, who was killed a year later.  Tomas, who - surprise! - we find out didn't really die.  I felt like he just sort of appeared part way through the story because the story needed something.

All in all, I enjoyed the book, and I'd recommend it.  But if you're looking for Marc Levy's best book, go to one of his earlier works.

This Must Be the Place - Kate Racculia

This must be the place...right?  Well, I found this book at the Doylestown Book Store along with the Jennifer Crusie I read last week.  It's another one of those "not yet published" deals; this one will be released in July.  So, next month.

Kate Racculia - I had never heard of her, and turns out this is her first novel.  I was intrigued by the cover, although they say that you shouldn't judge a book that way.  Then when I read the back I was sucked in.  It mentions a sudden death and secrets - well, sign me up!

The story centers on four people, mainly.  Amy, her husband Arthur, Amy's former best friend Mona and Mona's daughter Oneida.  It's about how these people have found each other, maybe lose each other sometimes, and come back together in new ways.  Along the way, we learn a lot about each person - sometimes right along with them, as they learn it about themselves.

It was a really cool story, and I enjoyed the characters.  There was a big secret that I saw coming, but was only about 60% sure of.  There was a small secret that doesn't really affect the plot too much but that I thought was really cool.  And there were a few plot twists that I really liked.  I also enjoyed the way that she gave glimpses into the characters' futures, sometimes by mentioning things that'll happen years ahead, and it lets the reader put some pieces together.  That was a nice surprise.

Overall, I was into the book, but it wasn't as fast of a read as I wanted it to be for some reason.  It took me longer to get through than I thought it would - and I don't know if it was the book or if it was me.  That said, I'm looking forward to seeing what future novels she brings us.

Maybe This Time - Jennifer Crusie

Last Friday night, I did something almost unprecedented for me.  I went out.  I know!  I couldn't believe it myself.  I just felt like I needed to go out.  So I grabbed my book and my iPod and headed into Doylestown to go sit and relax at the coffee shop.  Well, I hadn't realized that it was First Friday, which means musicians playing and other fun things going on, so town was packed.  I went into Saxby's, got a cup of coffee, sat down and started to read, and was able to enjoy a small live jazz band!  Didn't even need the iPod.  Yay.

And it was in Saxby's that I realized that I wasn't going to keep reading the previous book I wrote about.  When I was done there I decided to walk around town a bit and went into the local independent Doylestown book shop.  As much as I think about an e-reader, there's something about a local, independent book store that just can't be matched.  And while I knew that I shouldn't buy any more books, since I'm still not through "the shelf," I wanted to look around.

I was surprised to see an area on one wall called something like Advanced Release Books.  I went over and was surprised!  They have books there you can borrow for free!  I looked into it a little further.  There were about 15 or 20 books there, one copy of each.  And apparently these are all books that haven't been released yet.  I guess publishers send out advance copies...and this is what these are.  You can borrow, for free, up to two; you just have to sign them out at the register.  And they include a link where you can post your review of the book.  I was intrigued and found two books that looked interesting.  This is the first of these books.

I'd read one book that Jennifer Crusie had co-written with bob Mayer; it's called Agnes and the Hitman and is a book I completely adored.  When I saw this - a new book, coming out in hardcover in September of this year, I decided to give it a whirl.  And I am so glad that I did.  The story is about a woman named Andie who decides she needs to close out her issues with her ex-husband, North, before she moves on with the new man in her life, Will.  And it ends up that Andie goes to take care of these two children of whom North has become guardian; she agrees to do this for one month.  Except, of course, there are ghosts.  Ghosts of what happened to these children, ghosts of her former marriage to North, and ghosts of dead people in the house where the children live.

This is such a great story.  It won't change your world, it won't make you think about realigning your core beliefs, but it will draw you in.  Parts are comical, parts are freaky, parts are mysterious, parts are a good love story.  I haven't read a book in a long time that's drawn me in as much as this one did.  Literally, last night, I looked up after reading; I thought maybe 45 minutes had gone by, and it was about 2 hours.  And I couldn't stop reading to go to bed last night; I just had to finish the book.  I was that hooked!  Andie's relationship with the kids, Alice and Carter...the ghosts haunting this old house...some of the crazy characters, like Andie's mother Flo and a medium...then North and his family...they're all just great.  Part of the reason I like Andie so much is because she seems so real, like someone I might actually know.  She's got some issues, she's flawed, she's confused on what she wants, she doesn't have perfect relationships.  Sounds like me and lot of people I know.

The only thing I didn't like about the book were the names Andie (the main character) and Alice (the girl Andie's taking care of).  The way my crazy brain works, those two names are easily confused, so I had to keep stopping to think through who is who.  But I think most people's brains work differently than mine do when it comes to names.

Point being: when this comes out in September, go read it.  And in the meantime: support your local book stores.

Qumran - Eliette Abécassis

Qumran is a site near the Dead Sea that apparently, centuries ago, was a community - perhaps for the Essenes, a Jewish sect.  And it's also the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.  Who knew?  I certainly didn't before picking up this book.

I've had this book for a long time - maybe about 8 or 9 years.  A coworker had given it to me after he was done reading it.  It's a fictional story of some of the Dead Sea scrolls, in particular one that was stolen a few decades ago.  In this book, a very Orthodox Jewish man in his early 20's is convinced to join his agnostic father on a quest to find this stolen scroll - a quest that will prove to be dangerous and life-altering.

Or so I assume.  I don't know how the quest ended up affecting them.  I reallllly tried to get into this book and to love it.  It has all the ingredients of a story that will pull me in!  But I couldn't do it.  I read about 25% of the book and finally realized that I just needed to give up, that it wasn't for me.  It wasn't a fast paced book like you might think.  I was over 100 pages in before they started their globetrotting.  And I think that that was part of the problem for me, why I struggled with it, because it was a slower pace than I was wanting.

So I've given up.  After about 120 pages I threw in the towel and offered my surrender.  I hope that this book will find its way to the right person who will be able to appreciate it for all it has to offer.

IOU: New Writing on Money - Ron Slate, Editor

How timely - writings on money as I struggle with my budget and figuring out what I really need to be spending it on.  So, you may ask, how much did I spend on this book?  Zero.  Nothing.  That's right!  And that's always the best part.  It's from Concord Free Press - a new experiment in publishing.  Check it out at www.concordfreepress.com.  Such a cool concept!  You get a book for free, donate to your chosen cause and let them know so that they can track it.  Then pass the book on to someone who will do the same.  So - I better give this a good review so that everyone will want it.

This is, essentially, a collection of short stories, essays, some interviews, excerpts from books and poetry, all somehow relating to money.  As with any collection of works by different authors, some struck me more than others.  I didn't love every bit, but overall I really did enjoy this.  I'm going to include a few lines from a poem, although I'm hesitant to take lines out of a poem for fear that they will lose their meaning.  But here goes.  These lines are from a poem called "America" by Tony Hoagland.


But how could he have imagined 100 channels of 24-hour cable
Or what kind of nightmare it might be


When each day you watch rivers of bright merchandise run past you
And you are floating in your pleasure boat upon this river


What an image.  Rivers of bright merchandise.  And don't we see that, any time we turn on the tv or walk down the aisles of our favorite store?  Or turn the pages in a magazine?  Or see the ads on our favorite websites?  It's all over.  And I'm as guilty as the next of sitting proudly in my boat.

It just really struck me.

So - you can't beat the price.  And I'll donate, where I don't know yet, and will let them know about that.  And maybe, just maybe, hopefully, I'll buy less than what I would normally buy.

Briefly Told Lives - C. Bard Cole

What a perfect book for today.  Yup, that's right, I started and finished this book today.  My friend Jeffrey gave me this book, along with a bunch of others.  It's actually a collection of short stories rather than a novel.  The weather today: kinda cool, a breeze, mostly cloudy although some periods of sun, and the occasional light drizzle.  The perfect day to brew a pot of coffee, curl up, put on some good jazz and just bliss out and read.  As it turned out, this was the next book in the pile.

A collection of stories: not my usual thing, but it was good.  All about a character - usually the main one, but not always - who is gay.  Different ages, perspectives, time periods.  And occasionally I'd realize that a peripheral character in one story was also in a different story, which was kind of cool.  But then other stories had no connections whatsoever.

He has an interesting writing style - some of the stories were told almost like a news report or something, with one story where the narrator provided the exact date and time that he saw this other guy.  It was different but I liked it.

I didn't sit and read the book non-stop; I took a few breaks, watched some tv, went for a walk, that kind of thing.  I had Melody Gardot on in the background for a lot of it (www.melodygardot.com, go check her out, she's great) and they went well together.

A perfect read for a peaceful day for me.  Also, a great follow-up to that boring French book.  Like a breath of fresh air, while a nice cool breeze was coming in.  Aaahh.

L'Élégance du hérisson - Muriel Barbery

I tried, really, I did. I read over 25% of this book before finally giving in and giving up. I just couldn't get into it no matter how much I hoped I would.

I got this book when I was in France last November, although I don't remember why I picked it. It's a story about an apartment building in Paris; the tenants are all very upper-class bourgeois families, and there's a widow who is the concierge. She is much more intelligent than she lets on out of fear of breaking the social stereotypes of how a concierge should be. The novel goes back and forth between her and a 12 year old girl, very precocious, who lives in one of the apartments.

The girl has decided that life is ridiculous and that all adults are just lying to themselves, so she's going to kill herself on her 13th birthday. And despite this setup I just didn't really care about either person or what she had to say. I'm sure at some point the two get to know each other, and I'm sure at some point the older woman shows the girl something about life she's never seen before. But, yeah, I just couldn't sit through it to find out.

Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris

Oh, Sookie, we heart you.  Book 10 in the series!!!  She's come a long way - both Sookie and Charlaine Harris.  It's been interesting to see how this series has evolved, from sort of "a mystery with a twist" that I felt the first book was to some interesting character and cultural developments as the series has progressed, adding layers as werewolves, witches, fairies and others have become central to the stories.

After the end of the last book - which I felt was relatively dark for this series, but I liked - I didn't know what to expect from this one.  But what I got was not what I expected, although I enjoyed it.  As with the others, it didn't take me very long to read it; the books have always been a relatively quick read for me, and this was no exception.  It picked up very soon after where the previous book left off, as Sookie is recovering.  And then - well - took off from there.  (I'm being cautious not to say anything that might spoil the plot for those who haven't read it yet - hi Peggy!)

What I thought was interesting was that it wasn't like the early books, with a clear starting point to a mystery/conflict.  And it wasn't like the later books, with things clearly building to a large battle.  At the same time, though, things are happening that (of course) put Sookie in some danger.

I really don't want to say too much or reveal any plot points, but I'll say again that I felt like it was kind of a different style of book for Sookie, but that I really enjoyed it.  It had come plot points that I definitely didn't see coming but that I appreciated.  If you're a fan of the series, you won't be disappointed.  I'm very interested to see what comes next!

California Screaming - Doug Guinan

Well, not exactly a really tough read for this one.  My friend Jeffrey gave me this book.  Essentially I guess it's some sort of love story - but really it's a fluff novel.  As I started the first chapter I could tell that I wasn't going to like it...It's set in LA, and the main character - Kevin - is a pretty boy, one of the most wanted and desired ones in LA.  And it talks about how to be gay and be accepted, you need to look a certain way, dress a certain way, etc, and how if you don't do these things then you're essentially a waste.  Not exactly a character I can relate to!

But the story ended up being - well, maybe not great, and maybe not really good - but better than I thought it would.  Kevin meets Brad, an amazingly wealthy and successful entertainment mogul, and they meet each other's needs and then - twist! - fall in love!  How dare they.  That's apparently against the LA rules.  And there's an act of betrayal, of course, that drives them apart.

All of the characters in here are pretty one-dimensional.  Even the back story of what brought Kevin from NYC to LA is somewhat interesting but kind of flat.  I ended up enjoying the novel more than I thought I would, which was a nice surprise.  But I just can't understand or relate to the amount of self-loathing that each of the characters feels.  And maybe that's the way it really is in LA and West Hollywood, at least for some people.  And if so, I can assure you that I don't really want to get to know them.

I don't know anything about the author, and it appears that this is his only novel.  Has he lived in LA?  Is this his own version of a cautionary tale?  Was he rejected from LA, so he wrote this out of bitterness?  Maybe he's never even been out there, and this is all imagined in his mind...I really don't know.  There's signs of redemption for Kevin at the end of the novel, as he starts living a different life.  Which I guess is some sort of a happy ending.  I guess we'll never know - and I guess I'm okay with that.

Sans Feu Ni Lieu - Fred Vargas

Well, this is the last of the Fred Vargas books that I have. Oh, she's written more, and I'll read them eventually. But this is the last one that I brought back with me from my last trip to France.

This story has the three Evangelists again, living in the same house with the one guy's godfather. And they crack me up. They really are very engaging characters. We have a new hero in this story, a man named Clement who realizes that he's been framed for some recent murders. Clement isn't very smart...maybe he is mildly mentally retarded, it's not completely clear. He is VERY well written and so endearing. You just know from the outset that he is innocent, as he claims to be.

So then, of course, it's up to the three evangelists and an ex-cop to find the real killer and clear Clement. Which they do of course. I was proud of myself; I actually figured out who the real killer was, which I rarely do! So go me. There were some aspects that I got wrong about it, though. Which is not surprising.

Another good story from Fred Vargas, with well drawn characters that pull you in, and a good ending. I can't wait for my next trip to France so that I can get some more of her books!

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

Well - I guess this is the first time I'm writing about a well-known book.  Interesting.  Dan Brown: people certainly have opinions about him!  I picked up The DaVinci Code when it first came out and before it was all over the news and I loved it.  I then read Angels and Demons and enjoyed that too.  And now, finally, I've read the newest one.

I have to say - his style is certainly a page-turner!  Short chapters that end on a mini cliffhanger make you want to keep reading.  "Just one more," I said to myself on several occasions.  The suspense kept me going, and I liked it!  Part of what I like about his novels is the blending of fact and fiction.  And it's the facts that, for me, make it the most interesting - well, the facts and what he does with them.  Reading about the symbolism, the Freemasons, the architecture in Washington DC, the things that are there that we don't even realize, or whose significance is lost on us...It's really interesting, and that's the part that I liked best.  The actual plot was okay...There was a twist at the end involving the bad guy that I did NOT see coming at all, and I thought that that was very well done.  The involvement of the CIA - that part didn't stand up as much for me.  But it was necessary.

I also liked the inclusion of Noetics...I've heard about this before, and it fascinates me.  I like how he blended/paired it with ancient and religious teachings.  I don't know if that part is fact or fiction, but it makes for interesting thinking.

So my quote - there was definitely one paragraph that stood out.  And here it is.

From the Crusades, to the Inquisition, to American politics - the name Jesus had been hijacked as an ally in all kinds of power struggles.  Since the beginning of time, the ignorant had always screamed the loudest, herding the unsuspecting masses and forcing them to do their bidding.  They defended their worldly desires by citing Scripture they did not understand.  They celebrated their intolerance as proof of their own convictions.  Now, after all these years, mankind had finally managed to utterly erode everything that had once been so beautiful about Jesus.


Wow.  Wow.  I'm sure there are a lot of conservative Christians who would flip out about that paragraph...but I think it's very powerful, and very true.  Not that I was around 2,000 years ago to have known Jesus, but still.

An interesting read.  A fun read.  A thought-provoking read, if you want it to be.  I recommend it.

Debout Les Morts - Fred Vargas

Debout Les Morts, or - loosely translated - Dead People Are Standing.  This is the third of the four Fred Vargas novels I got while in France.  This one doesn't have Inspector Adamsberg, which the last one did...It has a group of guys all sharing a house.  Three guys in their 30's and the one guy's uncle/godfather.  And they're all historians, except for the uncle, who is a former cop.  And such characters!  I see why Catherine really likes these books.  They've moved into this old, beat-up house because they're all pretty much broke.  And they arrange themselves by time periods they study.  Mathias studies prehistory, so has the second floor.  Marc studies medieval history so has the third floor.  And Lucien studies World War I, so has the third floor.  And the uncle - former cop- well, he's firmly in the present so is on the top floor.  It's just a comical way to place themselves.

The three come to be known as the Evangelists, because the uncle/godfather starts calling them Saint Matthew, Saint Mark and Saint Luke, much to their dismay.  But it fits, oddly.  In this book, we meet them, see them move into this house and get to know each other, and - of course - solve a mystery.  Their neighbor is a former opera singer, Sophia.  And one day, she wakes up, and is disturbed to see that someone has planted a tree in her yard.  Overnight.  For no (known) reason.  Well, she's none too pleased, and even a bit disturbed.  Her husband doesn't seem to care and no one claims any knowledge of it.  She gets to know the Evangelists and then, one day, she disappears.

Theories abound - did she run away with a secret lover? was she killed? - until they find her body.  Then the investigation gets serious.  And intriguing!  I had a few theories as I read about who did what, but boy was I wrong.  And there was a twist near the end that I really didn't see coming.  It's a great story...full of unique and memorable characters, a strong plot and a good resolution at the end.  I have one more of Fred Vargas's books at home - with the three evangelists again - and am looking forward to reading it!  And if you want to read it too, but don't read French, it's published in English under the title The Three Evangelists.

Frontiers - Michael Jensen

The first words on the back cover: "The year is 1797." Right there, reason enough for me to not even try to read the book. Me and history, you know, we are not friends. But let me give it a whirl, I told myself. Had I seen this in the bookstore I would not have bought it. But I actually got this book - along with many others - from Jeffrey, and he liked it, so it should be half-decent, right?

I really enjoyed it! Much to my surprise. The main character is John Chapman who, apparently, is Johnny Appleseed. It doesn't say that in the book anywhere but I happened to see it online when I was looking to see what other books Michael Jensen has written. Anyway, John Chapman is leaving behind everything he knew and striking out to western Pennsylvania, which is still being settled at this time. It's his story, and the story of the people he meets.

Add in a love story - because apparently John Chapman is gay, which is the reason he's running. Sodomy don't go over too well in these times. And add in some violence and drama, because life wasn't easy back then, clearly. Especially not when one of the characters is a psychotic killer.

What I thought was interesting was how Michael Jensen treats the idea of identity. As the book opens, John is fleeing from southern Canada, where he was caught having a relationship with a British soldier. And John is scared, insecure, not very self-reliant. If he makes it through the trek to western PA, where he meets Daniel, it's through luck and divine providence rather than his own skills. Once he meets Daniel, though, and has to learn to survive and to kill and things like that - to be much tougher and, in a way, more violent than he has before. So he starts to refer to himself by his last name, as Chapman, and mentally differentiates between how John would handle something versus how Chapman would handle it. And it got me thinking about how much difference a name can make - and does it affect who we are and how we act?

Who am I, for instance. I'm Don, right? Yes and no. To my friends I am. To my immediate family, I'm Donald. To my extended family, Donnie. And in France I'm Donald, pronounced with a French accent. Does that make me a different person in each scenario? I do feel slightly different. Especially in France. Is there power in a name? Can it help us see ourselves differently and be different? Is a rose by any other name really still a rose? I don't know.

Anyway...a good read that was much more enjoyable than I thought. So, yay.

Pars Vite et Reviens Tard - Fred Vargas

Pars Vite et Reviens Tard, or Leave Quickly and Come Back Late.  This is Catherine's favorite author, the one I mentioned a few books ago.  I had read her first book, and Catherine said that that one wasn't her favorite.  Well, now, after reading this one, I totally get it.

This book is about a serial killer in Paris - but one who decided to kill his victims with the black plague.  Which isn't around anymore, right?  Or is it?  A seemingly random selection of victims.  Who, of course, are anything but.  And a very complex reveal of who the killer is.

I loved the complexity of this book.  It opens with two parallel stories: a modern-day town crier reading mysterious submissions, which makes his acquaintance suspicious; a homicide detective pulled into what appear to be number 4s graffitied on random doors.  You know, from the beginning, that these two plot lines are going to come together.  But they don't do so until about 1/3 of the way through the book.  In the meantime, you get to know the characters and really understand what's happening.  Then with the introduction of the black plague - which is what the mysterious submissions are actually about, and which the 4s are linked to as well - it all becomes fascinating.

Detective Adamsburg is the main man on the scene; he's the homicide detective.  And I love the details that are brought into this story that aren't related to the murders but that feel like they couldn't have been left out of the book.  His girlfriend, Camille, and their relationship...It adds such a depth to things, a richness not just to Adamsburg but to the story overall.

At the end, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, who was going to be behind it all, and I thought it was really well done.  So kudos to this book.  In comparison to the other Fred Vargas I read, it's clear that her writing matured very well.  The other book, while enjoyable, was more - I don't know - formulaic, almost.  A younger writing style, less mature.  This one is rich, complex, layered, in a whole different league.  I look forward to reading the two others that Catherine selected for me.

While England Sleeps - David Leavitt

England, late 1930's.  From the point of view of our main character, Brian, most of England remains caught up in itself and is choosing to ignore the problems in Europe - namely, Hitler is in power in Germany and there's violence and war in Spain against Franco's regime.

Right there, that's enough to make me put down a book.  I swear that I am missing whatever part of the brain is in charge of understanding history and politics.  Maybe that part of my brain has been reassigned to help support my sparkling wit and amazing personality, I don't know.  But anyway, I loved this book.  Despite the history and politics!  And that's no mean feat.

The story is that of Brian and the man he falls in love with, Edward.  They're both about 20 years old, but from very different classes.  Brian, we learn, is not able to accept being gay and his relationship with Edward, despite the fact that they really do love each other.  And this leads Brian to make some pretty crappy decisions with some pretty crappy consequences.  It's a love story, it's a story that takes us to war, it's a story about pain and being afraid.  I truly was pulled in from the beginning which is a testament to David Leavitt's writing style.  And he kept my interest the whole way through.

Two quotes...One is on that page that lists the copyright year, which I always look at to see when the book was written.  And underneath that is this line that I don't understand...The moral right of the author has been asserted.  Huh?  Um...okay...

The other quote comes after Brian and Edward spend their first night sleeping together - and I mean sleeping. Brian wakes up to find Edward, still asleep, cuddled into him and is awakened to more than just a new morning, but to a new potential in life.  And he narrates...
Edward had his arm draped over my chest.  I could feel little bursts of warmth on my back as he breathed against me.  I could hear the knock and whistle of the water pipes, the purr of the calico cat. And at that moment a happiness filled me that was pure and perfect and yet it was bled with despair - as if I had been handed a cup of ambrosial nectar to drink from and knew that once I finished drinking, the cup would be withdrawn forever, and nothing to come would ever taste as good.


Wow.  Such a beautiful image, and filled with such sadness at the end.  Wow.

Ceux Qui Vont Mourir Te Saluent - Fred Vargas

...or, in English, Those Who Are Going to Die Salute You.  Henri Valhubert is shown a never-before-seen work by Michaelangelo, and he suspects it's been stolen from the Vatican's library.  In Rome, his longtime friend is a Monsignor there, his wife visits Rome frequently, and his son and his two friends - who go by the names of emperors, Claudius, Tiberius and Nero - also live there.  Well, Henri goes to investigate where this art came from, and you know that never goes well.  Soon enough he's dead, and a guy named Valence is called in to find out who killed him.

Fred Vargas is a pseudonym; the woman writer is a researcher in history and archeology.  She's written a whole series with Valence solving murders, and it's Catherine's favorite book series.  (Catherine, the mother of my French family.)  She's long told me I should read them so when I was there in November I bought this one, which is the first in the series.  I proudly showed it to her, knowing she'd be excited; she looked at it and said, essentially, "No, that won't do at all."  I was dumbfounded.  "That one is not the best.  It's not my favorite.  And it doesn't have the supporting characters whom I love and who appear in a lot of the books.  I'll take care of this."  And a few days later, we go off to the bookstore, where she buys her two favorites for me.

Now, my borderline-autistic/OCD side automatically kicks in.  "Isn't that other one the first in the series though?"

"Oui," she answers.  "But these are the best."  Apparently she doesn't understand that I can't just read books out of order!  It's...it's...unthinkable!

This one was the first in the series and thus I went in knowing that it's not Catherine's favorite.  I have to say, though, that I enjoyed it!  It's a relatively short read at 189 pages.  And it was more complex than I thought it would be, with art thieves, smuggling and other things.  And it didn't come together the way I thought it would, which is kind of cool.  So now...I have two more by Fred Vargas that I'll read at some point, even though they aren't 2 and 3 in the series...

UPDATE: Later that same evening...
I sort of lied above.  Okay, I didn't actually lie.  I presented the information as I had it in my head.  That's not lying, is it?  But after further research - which perhaps I should have done before I wrote the entry - I have learned that I am incorrect with some of my information.  So I didn't really lie.  I did really accidentally shoplift a magazine from Wegman's this past weekend, but that's another story and it really was completely accidental.  I swear.  Anyway...
So this detective guy, Valence, is only in this one novel.  And Catherine got me three other novels, not two.  One is with her favorite detective, Adamsberg, and the other two are in the "Three Evangelists" series - I think those are the other characters she loves.  Now I'm all confused about it though.  So I'll just have to read them (at some point, as I slowly make my way through my shelf of unread books) and figure it out!

Flatland - Edwin A. Abbott

So I had no interest in reading this book, and really had never heard of it.  But then I bought this app for my iPhone called Classics - it's the full text of about two dozen books, all for 99 cents.  Well, how can you beat that?  Right there on my phone!  I scrolled through them and recognized most of them, and then there was this Flatland.  Interested because it's a "classic" and I'd never heard of it, I decided to give it a whirl.  And it was pretty interesting!

It's essentially the story of a square who lives in a two-dimensional world, and he explains his world to the reader, living in a three dimensional world.  Then he explains how he visited some other worlds, including the three dimensional world.  Essentially, in this flatland world, women are a straight line and men have more than two sides.  The more sides someone has, the higher their social class.  I liked that it was a really very different type of novel told from a very different point of view.

What makes it a classic?  I had no idea, so I googled it.  Of course.  And apparently it was written in 1884 as a satire of Victorian England and its class structure.  And now I can see that.  Plus apparently it's still read for its mathematical parts, talking about sides and angles and things like that.

All in all, it was an interesting read.  I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.  It got me thinking, though, of electronic readers.  There's the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Sony Reader that I know of.  And then I saw a guy on the plane last week with one.  Part of why I think I wouldn't like one is that it doesn't feel like holding a book, I wouldn't think.  But the guy on the plane had a leather cover for his...so when the cover was open, it was kind of like a book.  Interesting!  Plus I'm sure that that would help protect it.  And I thought that it must be great for traveling.  I always take books, plural, with me when I travel, and I always have to consider the book's size before I pack it.  With something like that, I would just bring this slim electronic thing and I could have as many books as I wanted.  But the thing that it lacks - well, two things, I think.
1) A book cover...I love reading the back or the book flap, looking at the cover, that kind of thing.
2) The ability to share...Sure, I could lend you my reader, but would I really?  Whereas I'm happy to lend out a book or books for however long.
So, who knows.  It's nothing I need to buy or really want right now, especially with so many books in the bedroom waiting to be read.  But the experience of reading on the iPhone wasn't nearly as...weird or awkward or uncomfortable as I thought.

From the Inside Out - Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr

Twist!  Two updates in one day!  I can hardly believe it myself.

This is the latest Idiots'Book in the series...from wonderful people and husband and wife team Matthew Swanson and  Robbi Behr.  Shameless plug: go to their site, www.idiotsbooks.com, read their blog, subscribe to their books, and love them.  Just as I have.  Do it now.

So this latest book, volume 25.  It's hard to summarize any of the books because they are such a unique blend of the word and the art and you really need both.  And they're not straightforward stories either.  If I were to try to summarize, I'd say that it's from the narrator's point of view as he joins something similar to AA, but for people who don't believe in a higher power.  Two quotes that I particularly liked:

There among the clutter and congestion was a message that intrigued me: Unable to appeal to a higher power, we will immerse ourselves in craft and work together to discover new ways of sating our thirsts.  We will aim to rebuild from the inside out.
and
The cumulative effect of so much pain is to create a space where it feels normal to ache.


Yeah.  This is good stuff, people.

Je L'Aimais - Anna Gavalda

I Loved Her is the title.  Or it could be I Loved Him, it's indistinguishable in the French without some context.  And in the book, it could be either way.  I read a previous book of hers that the French family gave me and loved it, so I bought this one when I was over there last November.  It's a short book - about 170 pages, I think - and a pretty easy read.  And I really enjoyed it.

It's a simple story, or at least a simple premise.  A woman, the narrator, is with her parents-in-law, and it's quickly revealed that her husband - their son - has left her for another woman.  The father-in-law takes her and her two girls to their country house for a few days.  She thinks he's distant and unfeeling and, in her raw emotional state, doesn't hesitate to tell him.  The bulk of the novel is a conversation they have one night after the kids have gone to bed, and it's his recounting how he met the love of his life (not his wife), how he lost her, how he hurt himself and his wife in the process, and how weak he is for letting life take control of him.  It unfolds a new side of him that she's never seen before and, while not forgiving of the mistakes he's made, illustrates how they happened.

A quote that really jumped out at me:
La vie, même quand tu la nies, même quand tu la négliges, même quand tu refuses de l'admettre, est plus forte que toi.  Plus forte que tout.  Des gens sont revenus des camps et ont refait des enfants.  Des hommes et des femmes qu'on a torturés, qui ont vu mourir leurs proches et brûler leur maison ont recommencé à courir après l'autobus, à commenter la météo et à marier leurs filles.  C'est incroyable mais c'est comme ça.  La Vie est plus forte que tout.  Et puis, qui sommes-nous pour nous accorder tant d'importance?  Nous nous agitons, nous parlons fort et alors?  Et pourquoi?  Et puis quoi, après?
And in English...
Life, even when you deny it, even when you neglect it, even when you refuse to admit it, is stronger than you.  Stronger than everything.  People came back from concentration camps and had more children.  Men and women that were tortured, that saw their loved ones die and their houses burn started running for the bus again, talking about the weather and marrying off their daughters.  It's incredible but that's how it is.  Life is stronger than everything.  And then, who are we to give ourselves so much importance?  We act out, we raise our voices and so?  And why?  And then what, after?


There's a lot of truth in that paragraph.

A good novel.  A good insight into two people - the narrator and her father-in-law - that tries to allow us insight into ourselves.  I don't know if it's available in English, but the vocabulary and the writing style is so simple yet pulls you in...I almost want to translate it just to dig deeply into it.

So who loved whom?  The father-in-law loved this other woman.  She loved him.  He loved his wife, and still does in a way.  The narrator loves - loved? - her husband.  It's hard to say.

Luck in the Shadows - Lynn Flewelling

A fantasy novel!  I don't think I've read a true fantasy novel in a long time.  Jeff gave me this book, which is how I stumbled across it.  I really enjoy sci-fi and fantasy but rarely go looking for books in that genre, for whatever reason.  So this is sort of the standard fare: a different world, wizards, swordplay, adventure, intrigue, that kind of thing.  There's a slight twist in that the main character, Seregil, is gay - or maybe bi.  What I like about this book in that aspect is that his sexual orientation is not at all a main focus.  As a matter of fact, they never once use words like gay, bi, etc.  It's referred to and brought up a few times but not as a major plot point.  So I liked that.

It's the story of Seregil and a teenage-ish boy he rescues and takes on named Alec.  And Seregil teaches Alec his ways (not sexually!) and together they get enmeshed in the mystery of who is trying to oust the queen.  Overall, it was okay.  I liked it well enough but, at 480 pages, felt that parts of it could have been trimmed down.  I know that the series continues - there are parts 2 through 4, I believe - but I don't know that I care enough to keep reading them.

A part that struck me was when two characters were talking about magic.  The great wizard Nysander is explaining some history to Alec and says, "It was they who first taught that knowledge is as powerful, in its own way, as any magic, and that magic without knowledge is worse than useless; it is dangerous."  I like that.  And I would say that any power, without knowledge, is dangerous, right?  And then what is magic?  If I wave a magic wand and make your door open, isn't that magic?  And what if I do the same thing but, instead of a magic wand, I use a garage door opener?  Well then it's no longer magic, but why not?  I don't understand how either one works.  If we could show this to someone who has no experience with this, wouldn't it be magical?  Is it knowledge that takes away the magic?  So as we grow older and understand more, do we then take the magic out of our own lives?  Although I have to say that I don't know how a garage door opener, or a remote control, or even wireless internet works.  But it's not magic...

Anyway, I enjoyed the book, I'm glad I read it, if I stumbled across the next one I'd consider it, but it didn't change my life.

Les Enfants de la liberté - Marc Levy

Well, I tried.  I really did.  I have enjoyed all of Marc Levy's other stuff; it's been contemporary novels, with a twist to them - like when God and Satan sent messengers to decide the fate of humankind and they fell in love with each other.  But this one - totally different.  It's a story, loosely based (I believe) on Marc Levy's father's life when he was about 20 years old and in the Resistance.  And I tried...and tried...to like it, and to get through it.  And it's not that I didn't like it...I just couldn't get through it.  It's very well written, and as I've been reading it (for the past two months) I've enjoyed it, but it's such slow-going for me that I have decided to give up on it.  Which is a shame, because I really wish I could get through it, but I can't.

So...onward to the next book.

Rampaging Fuckers of Everything on the Crazy Shitting Planet of the Vomit Atmosphere! - Mykle Hansen

So...another amazon.com recommendation, at the same time as The Haunted Vagina.  It contains three short novels: "Monster Cocks," "Journey to the Center of Agnes Cuddlebottom" and "Crazy Shitting Planet."  Turns out that it's also part of this bizarro fiction genre; I really have never heard of this before and I am not sure at all why amazon would recommend these to me.

What did I think?  Well - they were okay.  The stories were all a quick read, which was in their favor.  Of the three I enjoyed the one about Agnes Cuddlebottom the best...interviews with people who, thanks to a new invention, were shrunk and then were up walking around Agnes's intestines.  There's definitely a very satirical element to these three stories which comes across loud and clear.  Essentially, this story really takes to task what we'll do for medical advancement and how we treat the earth and each other.  It essentially says how we have a blatant disregard for human life - except our own, of course.  But it does so in a very funny way; how they end up opening a Starbucks in her intestines, for instance, because there are so many people in there.  It's...well, I guess it's called bizarro fiction for a reason, because it's bizarro.

I don't have any other bizarro books to read, and I think I'm okay with that.  I think that if someone likes this genre, then this is a good book to read, but overall I don't know that I've been pulled into the bizarro genre.  Doesn't mean I won't visit from time to time, though.

Grave Secret - Charlaine Harris

Okay, I have to confess.  I didn't really read this book; it was more skimming/speed reading.  This is the fourth book in Charlaine Harris's Harper Connelly series.  I stumbled across Charlaine Harris randomly, two summers ago, and her Sookie Stackhouse series.  [This was before it was made into True Blood on HBO.]  I was immediately drawn in and still love the series!  So I decided to read one of her other series last summer and picked this one.

It's an interesting concept - Harper was struck by lightning and now gets certain vibes/messages from corpses.  I like it.  I zipped through the first three and enjoyed them...but not as much as Sookie.  Which isn't really a fair comparison, because they are completely different series and concepts.  Anyway, Grave Secret came out in hardback, and while I wanted to read it I didn't want to spend the money to buy it in hardback.  So...a bit of a confession here...I decided to speed read it in various bookstores.  That's right.  Part of it in Barnes & Noble and part of it in Borders.

What I liked about this book is that it dealt more with her family and her missing sister, which has been a focus of the series since the start.  It was interesting to see her with family around; other than Tolliver, she's generally been on her own for the first three books.  I like that it treated the family rapports with a certain complexity.  As for the mystery of the book, I really didn't figure it out and was pretty shocked at the end!  Which is always a sign of a good book.  Maybe there were clues that I missed because I was reading/skimming it so quickly.  Overall I enjoyed it, though, and if you've read the first three then this is worth reading as well.  I wouldn't rush out and buy it, but it's a good library book.

I don't know if this closes out the series or not; it certainly felt like good closure at the end of the book.  If it does end now, then this was a good ending book for it.

The Haunted Vagina - Carlton Mellick III

Yes, that's right, The Haunted Vagina.  Believe it or not, amazon.com suggested this book to me!  I don't know why - it's not like I've ever really searched for books about vaginas.  But given recent comedic discussions I've had with some friends about how scary vaginas are, I thought I had to get it.

Essentially, the plot is that Steve's girlfriend, Stacy, has a haunted vagina.  So he goes inside to explore.  And the story is what happens after that.

I have to say - it was pretty interesting!  A short book, only about 100 pages.  A quick read.  Definitely comedic in parts, and completely bizarre in other parts.  The idea of having a whole other world in a vagina is, well, creepy.

No particular quotes or themes that resonated with me, and I don't know that I'll rush out to read any of his other books, but it was interesting and clever.  Apparently Carlton Mellick III is one of the leading authors of a new genre called "bizarro fiction."  I don't know that I'm familiar with this genre, but I can see that there's a place for it.