Spring Book Challenge 2011

Tomorrow is the last day of The Nest Book Club's "Spring Book Challenge 2011".  As you could see in the tabs above, I have been following this since April, and although I didn't come close to finishing, I still think I did pretty well.  My final score was 270 points.  Not shabby for a first time around!

I will be removing the tab above and replacing it with the "Summer Book Challenge 2011" today.  The challenge starts on Friday, July 1st.  The book I'm reading right now, Legacy by Susan Kay, doesn't fit in the SBC, but it will fit in the SuBC, and it's so long, and I have so little time over the next few days, that I'm fairly certain I won't be past 50% done with it by Friday morning.

So, for posterity's sake, here is a recap of the 2011 Spring Book Challenge:

5 pts

1. Read a book with a one word title Testimony by Anita Shreve

2. Read a book that you already own, but haven't read Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

3. IHO Cherish an Antique Day (April 9), read a classic A Little Princess by Frances H. Burnett

4. Read a book by an author that has an X, Z, or Q in their name. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

5. Lewis and Clark set off on 5/14/1804: Read a book set somewhere you'd like to go  Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

6. Read a book with a person's entire head not visible (only shows other parts of the body) The Devil Wears Prada by Laura Weisberger

7. Flowers are (finally!) growing: Read a book with a green cover or with "flower" or a specific flower name in the title Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

8. Read a book you loved as a child/teenager Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

9. IHO Earth Day read an ebook, library book, or listen to an audiobook Shine by Lauren Myracle

10. Read something outside The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

10 pts

1. Read a book about/at a wedding The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

2. School's out for summer: read a book set in or about high school The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

3. Read a play by Shakespeare

4. Read a book set in or about a country you haven't been to The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

5. Read a good book: has an average of 4 stars or higher on Goodreads. The book must have at least 50 ratings (not reviews). The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

6. Read a book with a weather word for the start of hurricane season. Ex: snow, rain, thunder, hurricane, wind, etc.

7. Poll Nesties for your book (out of 5 you suggest) Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

8. Read a book to continue a series you have already started Anne of Avonlea by Lucy M. Montgomery

9. IHO Pet Owner Day (April 25): book about a pet or animal Animal Farm by George Orwell

10. Read a book about an author (biography, memoir, historical fiction) Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

15 pts

1. IHO of royal wedding, book about royalty or royal character The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

2. Holocaust Remembrance Day (May 2): book about/set in the Holocaust The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

3. Read a book of poetry

4. Read a book in a genre you don't normally read The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

5. Read a book by an author with your name (first, middle, maiden, or last) Bumped by Megan McCafferty

6. Read the April, May, or June NBC pick and participate in the discussion Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

7. IHO National Smile Month (June), read a humorous book

8. Read a popular book: a book that has at least 15,000 ratings (not reviews) on goodreads A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

9. IHO Mother's and Father's Days, get a suggestion from your mom, dad, or other family member from an older generation Different Seasons by Stephen King 10. Read a non-fiction book that isn't a biography or memoir Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

25 Points
Read a book about urban farming, sustainable agriculture, or American food policy (200 pages +, not an audiobook) and grow an edible plant. Post a 100 word response to the book and a picture of your plant. Recipes and photos of what you cook with your plant are encouraged but totally optional. If you can't grow a plant, read at least 3 children's books that are set on a farm or in a garden with a child of the appropriate age and post which one was your favorite, which was the child's favorite and why.

Read a non-fiction book about Africa or the Middle East (history, politics, geography, etc). The book can be about a particular country or the region in general. Post your thoughts on the book and whether or not the book impacted your impressions/opinions regarding this part of the world.

Many NBCers have their Goodreads shelves linked in their siggy. Pick a nestie and read one of her 5-star books and one of her 1-star books (or 2-star if she doesn’t have a 1-star). Report back on which nestie you picked, what you thought of the books and how your ratings compared to the nestie you picked.

This task is inspired by a Jeopardy category. You will have to read two books- the last word(s) of one title will be the first word(s) of the second.

Experience a book two ways.  First read a book and then either listen to the audio book, watch the movie based on the book, read the comic book based on the book, etc.  Write a short post on which medium you preferred. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help by Kathryn Stockett has been on my "to-read" list for a few months now.  Everyone has been raving about it.  I'm sure that if you haven't read it yet, someone has recommended it to you.  And you can add me to the list, because I'm about to as well. 

In the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, 1962, three women have decided they've had enough of "the way things are" in Jackson, Mississippi.  Aibileen, a middle-aged black nurse and housekeeper, has raised seventeen white babies, and finds it harder and harder every day to turn a blind eye to the unfairness of it all.  Minny, a smart-mouth who has been fired several times, struggles to keep her newest job, while trying to keep the secrets of her latest employers.  And Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a twenty-three year old white college graduate and writer, stifles her angry feelings and her dismay at what the world she grew up in has become.  Life has dissolved into one big pressure cooker with no vents, and the three of them are about to blow the lid off life in Jackson, forever.

I love this book.  Love it.  I love the three tones (Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter), and the way that Stockett manages to make three distinct "voices" in her writing (a testimony to how good it was -- usually I hate books told in multiple POVs).  Minny was probably my favorite character; I love how she wasn't portrayed as either sinner or saint, just a normal woman with a lot of pent-up anger (and some anger that she refused to pent-up, if truth be told).  

Stockett doesn't skirt the issue of racism in the book, and she doesn't sugarcoat it, either.  As a child of the 80's who grew up in New England, The Help is worlds away from anything I've ever known in my life, so I can't verify its accuracy personally, but the picture is so vivid.  It's amazing, and sad too, the way that some of the white people in the book claim to not be racist, while enforcing the Jim Crow Laws and even inventing some of their own.

At first, I wanted to write that I was disappointed in the ending.  But then I realized, it wasn't the ending, it was my own expectations, that were disappointed.  The book ended just the way it should have.  There really isn't anything that I would change.  I also have to add that I was moved to tears at one point.  This book is fantastic.  I don't know if the progression of the year is making me soft for the ratings, or if I'm just reading a whole lot of really good books.  I'm starting to think it's the latter.

Rating: *****

Review: Different Seasons by Stephen King

Stephen King is one of my favorite writers, and my favorite work of his is, surprisingly, not a horror novel.  It is not really a novel at all.  And it is number 54 of my books for the year.

In the afterword of the book, Stephen King states that Different Seasons, an anthology, rather than a novel, was created from four short stories (or novellas) that he wrote after finishing some of his hit novels such as Carrie and The Shining.  He writes about his concerns of being typecast in the afterword, and that the idea of the title "Different Seasons" was to show that he could write something "different", something that wasn't horror.  Each of the four novellas represent one of the four seasons, and all are strikingly different in nature and tone.  Three of the four have been made into films.  I just read the fourth one today for the first time.

1. Hope Springs Eternal: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.  Andy Dufresne is a young banker who has just received a life sentence in Shawshank Maximum Security Prison for a crime he claims he didn't commit.  Told through the eyes of "Red", one of his fellow inmates, Shawshank Redemption is a tale about a human being who refused to let his hopes be killed, and who inspired many to follow along with his philosophy.  It is probably the most recognizable film adaptation of the four novellas, The Shawshank Redemption starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

2. Summer of Corruption: Apt Pupil.  The only one of the stories to be told in the third person narrative.  Twelve-year-old Todd Bowden discovers that his elderly neighbor is the fugitive Nazi officer Kurt Dussander.  Intrigued, Todd blackmails Dussander to tell him stories about the internment camps and the Holocaust...but over a period of months, Todd realizes that he is no longer the one in control.  Made into a film several years ago starring the late Brad Renfro and Ian McKellan.

3. Fall From Innocence: The Body.  Four boys strike out on a hiking trip in search of a dead body.  The most classic coming-of-age tale possibly ever written.  Made into a film in the 1980s called Stand By Me, starring the late River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Will Wheaton, and Jerry O'Connell.

4. A Winter's Tale: The Breathing Method.  The protagonist, a businessman named David, is invited to a gentlemens' club where the members tell each other tales.  One Christmas evening, one member, a doctor, tells a group of his contemporaries the story of a young woman's determination to triumph over the adversity she has encountered.  Not made into a film to date.

This anthology is a winner.  All four of the novellas are brilliantly written.  I couldn't pick a favorite, but if I had to, it would be a tie between Shawshank Redemption and The Body.  The first I think is just an incredible story of hope and justice.  The second I have personal ties to; it was the first of these stories I ever read.  The Breathing Method was difficult for me to get into before now (the first twenty pages or so are relatively dull), but once I got into it I had trouble putting it down.

Having read several of Stephen King's books (including Dolores Claiborne and 'Salem's Lot, to name two), I have to say that I like this anthology better.  I love King's prose and his open, imaginative style.  I would give five stars to Shawshank and The Body, four and a half to Apt Pupil, and four to The Breathing Method, so we'll put this in at four and a half stars.  Great book.

Rating: **** and 1/2

Review: The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

Warning: Spoilers.

Alison Weir is my favorite British historian, bar none.  I have many of her biographies (most of them) and I have read two of her three historical fictions.  But of all her books, this one, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, is by far my favorite.

Due in part to writers like Philippa Gregory and the Showtime series The Tudors, there has been a definite resurgence of interest in Renaissance England andTudor dynasty.  But especially in King Henry VIII, the man who virtually created the English Reformation and who was notorious in his married life, the only King to have six wives.  But Weir does not merely focus on the life of Henry VIII -- something colorful and occupying in its own right -- but chooses to tell the story of the six women who were bound to him in holy matrimony throughout his turbulent reign.  Because of a dearth of knowledge about the latter four queens (and also their shortened reigns and little influence on English history), Weir chooses to write the first two thirds of her book about Henry's first two queens, leaving one chapter for the third lady, and cramming the last three into the third part.  

Part One, entitled "The Princess from Spain", is all about Katherine of Aragon, the first queen, a princess from Spain who came to England to marry Henry's elder brother Arthur, who died just weeks after their wedding.  After swearing that the marriage was never consummated, Katharine was then betrothed to Henry, who took her as his wife for fourteen years before annulling the marriage on the grounds that she could not provide him with a son.  This part of the book is probably the happiest, and where we see Henry at his best, before age and intransigence made him a vicious tyrant.  Weir dissects English history up to this point, describing the English court and political stage, as well as the marriage between Henry and Katherine, why it began so successfully, and what lead to its ultimate failure.

Part Two is titled "The King's Great Matter" and is all about Anne Boleyn, the lady-in-waiting who aspired to the throne of England and who promised Henry a son if he married her.  Weir explains the religious schisms happening in Europe at the time and why it was ultimately so easy for Henry to break with the Roman Catholic Church when they did not give him his annulment, and how Anne's constant assurances that Henry had absolute power lead them all to disaster.  By the end of Part Two, Henry is no longer an affable and friendly monarch, he is a tyrant who stops at nothing to have his will and destroy those who oppose him.  And of course, by its end, Anne is dead, as is Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, whose short but memorable career as queen of England ended in death after the birth of Henry's son, the future Edward VI.

Part Three, "How Many Wives Will He Have?" focuses on Henry's last three marriages and the motivations behind each, as well as his attempts to fulfill his two very important needs: more sons for the assurance of the succession after his death, and his attempts to reclaim the youth he lost.  His marriage to his fourth wife, the German Anne of Cleves, was a dismal failure from the start (Henry is reported to have been displeased with her appearance) and was annulled after six months.  Henry's fifth marriage was to a mere English teenager, the 15-year-old Katherine Howard, whom he was reported to be deeply and passionately in love with (rather like Anne).  After Katherine's death, Henry married the widow Katherine Parr, who is his queen during his short but successful invasion of France and up until his last days.

Weir's biography explains Tudor England and Renaissance Europe during a time of incredible turmoil and change, through the lives of these six women who had the fortune (good or bad) to marry England's most notorious and irascible King.  Yet by the end, Weir almost has me feeling a modicum of sympathy even for King Henry, for surely the life she unfolded in her novel was not what he had anticipated.  The sequel, The Children of Henry VIII, is nearly as well-written and colorful, and picks up where Wives left off.  This book and others of Weir's are, IMO, a must for any Tudor fanatics, and much better than most historical fiction about the period.

Rating: *****

Review: My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva and E.M. Swift

In the 1980s and 1990s, the greatest names in pairs figure skating were Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, from Russia.  For nearly a decade, they dominated their sport, winning gold medals at the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Games, and turning professional to great accolades.  Gordeeva and Grinkov (or G and G, as they were playfully known) were the poster children for the "image" of the pairs skaters: the tiny, childlike female skater and the strong male partner a whole head taller than her.  They were skaters, they were best friends, they were lovers.  Their lives were a virtual fairy tale, until November 20, 1995.  On that day, while practicing a routine, Sergei suddenly collapsed on the ice and died of an undiagnosed heart condition.  He was 28 years old. 

A widow at age 24 with a two year old daughter, Ekaterina was left with the pieces of her shattered life, wondering how to move on and learn to live again without the partner she had had since the age of 11.  The result was this collaboration with E.M. Swift, My Sergei: A Love Story.

Ekaterina tells both her story and Sergei's, intermingling stories of their childhoods, of growing up in the Soviet Union, learning to skate and their pairing together.  The book truly is a "love story", living up to its subtitle -- Ekaterina brings the reader through their courtship, marriage, and foray into parenthood with their daughter, Daria.  Their brief but illustrious figure skating career is described throughout; the book would be incomplete without it.  

But Ekaterina's real purpose in this collaboration is the "celebration of a life" -- finding a way to move past the pain of Sergei's early, tragic death and find joy in the life left to her and her daughter.  She expresses her fear and grief at the prospect of living the rest of her life without him, yet by the end, she has learned to accept her future.  

As a figure skater, I read this book as a child, barely knowing who Gordeeva and Grinkov were.  This book has the distinction of being the first volume to ever make me cry -- and I must confess that I cried again in reading it now, for the first time in probably ten years.  It is a beautiful memoir, something that would touch even someone who has never laced up a pair of skates.

Rating: **** and 1/2

Review: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Sometimes, we expect books to be brilliant masterpieces, they are talked up consistently to us, they hit the bestseller list and ricochet up for weeks or months at a time.  Or a friend lends us a book, promising us that we "won't be able to put it down."  Sometimes we expect it.  And sometimes, it catches us completely by surprise.

This was one of those times.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, is a book that I picked up as part of a book club that I'm involved in.  I ordered it from Amazon and didn't think too much of it when it arrived.  I read other books first.  Then today I picked it up.  And just finished it a little while ago.  I could not put it down.  This is a book that does not allow for you to have an outside life while you read it. 

In July 1942, little ten-year-old Sarah is awakened in the middle of the night by French soldiers who have come to round up the Jews in Paris.  She hides her four-year-old brother in a secret cupboard, locks him in, and promises to return to free him soon.  Sixty years later, Julia, an American journalist, stumbles upon Sarah's story as she is investigating the roundup of the Jews and their incarceration at the Vel d'Hiv before their deportation to Auschwitz.  Her curiosity, partnered with the revelations of some ancient family secrets, lead Julia on a mission that will change her life forever.

When I finished it, I didn't hesitate about what rating I would give it.  Generally, I think about this very carefully.  Not this time.  I went to Goodreads and clicked on "five stars", because I felt I had no choice.  This book is magnificent.

It is told, originally, from two points of view -- Sarah's and Julia's -- until a certain point in the novel.  The writing is stunning and fluid, the chapters are short, you can't put the book down because there never is a good place to let it go.  The stories of both women are heartbreaking in their own ways -- Sarah, a child of the Holocaust determined to rescue her little brother, and Julia, an American-born Parisienne who is struggling with a difficult marriage and a harsh decision that will change her life, one way or another, forever.   Some of the scenes are extremely difficult to read about, especially the days before the deportation, when hundreds of French Jews were crammed into the Vel d'Hiv without adequate food, water, or sanitation, and the days of the deportation itself, when families were separated.  Heartbreaking.  I feel like that might be the only word for this book.

And yet, there's something truly redemptive about it, as well.  About people discovering what is important to them, why the past cannot remain dead and buried, why some things must be dragged up and analyzed and discussed.  About two women realizing what they truly need, even if it is not the easiest, or obvious thing to do.  About the consequences of our actions, or inactions, advancing far into the future.

This became one of my favorite books instantaneously.

Rating: *****

Review: Animal Farm by George Orwell

The 50th book!  My goal was to complete 50 by the end of June, and I made it with two weeks to spare!  And what better way to start off the second half of the year than with the book that has been #1 on my "to-read" list on Goodreads: Animal Farm, by George Orwell.

The animals of Manor Farm are tired of being under the tyrannical rule of their alcoholic master, Mr. Jones.  Spurred on by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, the animals rise up in revolt, banish their incompetent master, and rechristen their home "Animal Farm" -- the first farm to be managed, owned, and controlled solely by animals.  The animals come up with the "Seven Commandments", condemning human behavior, and seek to create a complete society where everyone works and everyone is equal.  But over time, as the pigs (spurred on by Napoleon) encroach more and more on the rights and privileges, the other animals begin to wonder if their glorious revolution paved the way for something much worse, and if they weren't better off before.

I heard about Animal Farm many years ago, but for some reason, never picked it up.  I read the whole thing in about two hours (couldn't put it down), and enjoyed it immensely.  Orwell was writing a satire of the infamous Russian Revolution and the years of developing communism in the Soviet Union.  Jones is a parody of Tsar Nicholas II, Napoleon is Josef Stalin, Snowball is Leon Trotsky, and so on.  It is amazing to watch as Napoleon, the other pigs, and the dogs gradually seize total control of the farm, simply by insisting that if their orders are disobeyed, then Jones, the "evil" former master, might come back.  It's scary to see that just propaganda and fear can propel people (or animals, in this case) to allow their rights and freedoms to be taken away.

The turning point, I felt, really came when Napoleon forces the animals to turn on Snowball.  Until that point, there is some balance of power, and the hope that the animals' equality might continue.  But once Snowball is chased off, it's the end of hope for the animals, and the last breath of fairness is gone.  My favorite character was Boxer, the horse (and I won't mention what happens, but I will say that it sucks), who represents the working class, always hopeful that if they work hard and do their best, and toe the line, that things will work out for them.

I thought as a satire, this book was brilliant -- something that even a young person could follow and understand.  Orwell writes a fantastically chilling story about what happens when people -- or animals -- try to create a utopia, and why it is always doomed to failure.

Rating: **** and 1/2

Review: The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

I've frequently written of my love-hate relationship with Philippa Gregory.  On one hand, she gets people interested in history.  That's a huge plus.  On the other hand, she twists and distorts the history she writes about so much that one can hardly recognize it.  I got this book free on PaperbackSwap, so I didn't go into it with many illusions of greatness, and figured that, if it did suck, I wouldn't mind any lost money.

So let's begin.  Note: spoilers ahead.

The Boleyn Inheritance takes place five years after the ending of The Other Boleyn Girl.  King Henry had Anne Boleyn executed so he could marry her lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour.  Jane's short career on the throne of England ended with her death in childbirth with Henry's only son and heir, Prince Edward.  Now, two years after Jane's death, Henry has decided to marry again, this time to German duchess Anne of Cleves, a withdrawn, frightened young woman who has spent the majority of her life closeted and abused in her brother the duke's court.  Desperate for a new life and freedom from this oppression, Anne is thrilled to accept the King's proposal -- until she arrives in England and sees she has traded one tyranny for another.  King Henry is no longer the handsome, enchanting, virile young man he once was.  At nearly fifty, he is an old, fat, wounded, pompous tyrant who kills anyone who displeases him.  Also at court are Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, the wife of George Boleyn and sister-in-law to Anne, who is well-known for producing the evidence that sent both husband and queen to their deaths, and little Katherine "Kitty" Howard, an empty-headed lady-in-waiting only motivated by material possessions.  All three ladies arrive at court with their former queen's death hanging over their heads...wondering if their fates are to be anything like hers.

In The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory told the story in first-person POV, and there was only one heroine and speaker, Mary Boleyn.  This time, Gregory employs three female speakers -- Anne of Cleves, Jane Boleyn (Lady Rochford), and Katherine Howard.  IMO, not a good move.  Anne of Cleves' disastrous marriage to Henry VIII lasted six months.  While she makes for an interesting heroine throughout the book (and the only truly likeable character!), she does not have enough influence after her marriage to make her a heroine, and Gregory (again) resorts to fabricating history in order to give her more of a story.  I must say though that I am a fan of Gregory's explanation for the King's instant dislike of Anne of Cleves, something that has never really been proven.

Jane Boleyn was a confusing choice of character as well, in the beginning.  Again Gregory falls into the trap of repetitive writing, and in Jane's case, it doesn't even make sense.  She is one of the great villains of TOBG, the shrewish wife who constantly shadows her wayward husband, and repays his infidelities by giving the evidence that will condemn him to death.  Yet she opens Boleyn Inheritance with constant mooning about her late husband and sister-in-law, and how she loved and worshiped them, and how sad she is that they are gone.  This didn't make an ounce of sense to me, and over time, became so incredibly monotonous that I found my eyes glazing over through most of Jane's chapters.  However, it's worth it when she has the final showdown with the devious Duke of Norfolk (the man who shoved Anne Boleyn and, later, Katherine Howard onto the throne), where the Duke exposes her for who she really is.  That was the serious bright part of the book for me.  Then it all made sense.  Unfortunately, this began on page 493, and is a serious case of "too little, too late."

Katherine Howard.  Dear God, I know that history has shown her to be nothing more than a wanton skank who flirted constantly, would do anything for a new dress or a pretty jewel, and had multiple lovers when she was in bed with the king.  But she is so fundamentally stupid in this book that it really boggles the mind.  I was amazed to see, in the Author's Note, that Gregory claims she tried to look past the convention that Howard was considered stupid, but I saw none of that in her writing.  Her goal was to make Katherine appear child-like and innocent, and she did succeed at that.  But she also succeeded in making her a complete idiot.  The majority of Katherine's chapters begin with her amassing all of her presents, trinkets, and belongings -- apparently, all that is important to her.  Even her "love affairs" are all superficial; she thinks nothing of the men who die for her after their deaths.  Her spoiled stupidity doesn't go far towards making her a sympathetic character, and it is there that Gregory fails.

But the part that irritated me most of all -- most of all -- is the scheme Gregory cooks up between the Duke of Norfolk and Jane Boleyn to entice Katherine Howard to commit adultery in order to produce an heir.  What an idiotic notion.  After watching Anne Boleyn go to the scaffold on the same charges, the Duke of Norfolk would never have deliberately lead Katherine astray into the bed of another, even for lands, titles, and prestige.  He was ambitious; he was not stupid.  Katherine's affairs with Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham were the product of the reckless flirtations of a teenager, not of a plot contrived by an ambitious courtier.  I marvel that Gregory can claim this is "historical fiction" at all; even Jane Boleyn in her feigned "madness" would never have contrived such nonsense.

Rating: **

Raise the Cup!

Wednesday night, we got to watch the unthinkable, the almost unimaginable, happen.

It's good to be a Boston hockey fan.

My father and husband live and die with Boston sports teams.  My husband worships the Red Sox and the Patriots, with the Bruins coming in third.  But my father, first and foremost, will ever be a Boston Bruins fan.  More than the Patriots, more than the Red Sox.  More than anything else.

I didn't get to watch the World Series in 2004 with my father, or in 2007.  I know my husband when the Patriots won the 2001-2002 Super Bowl.  But Wednesday night, I got to be there, right there, with both of them when they saw this happen.

And it was amazing.

Yarn Along! June 15, 2011

Every week, I participate in the Yarn Along over at Ginny's blog, small things.  This week, I'm still waiting on a shipment of books that I ordered from Amazon, but I'm still keeping busy!

Look, it's an almost-finished sock!  I am LOVING Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight.  I bought this skein from WEBS in Northampton, MA, back before Christmas, and it is seriously a treat to knit up.  It's going super fast, and I'm hoping to start the other one today.  

While I'm waiting for my books to come, I'm treating myself to one of my favorite books, and my favorite biography of all time, The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir.  For the Tudor fanatic, this book is PHENOMENAL.  It reads, in parts, like a novel instead of a biography, and the detailing in research is fantastic.  This was my first Alison Weir read, and it is by far my favorite.

Tonight: Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  David and I are cheering on Boston (of course).  Hoping for a win!

In My Mailbox -- June 10, '11

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted over at The Story Siren, giving those of us who read a chance to AW the books that we receive in the mail, at the store and on our e-readers.

I am almost ashamed to produce the lengthy list of books I've acquired in the past week.  But, as my grandmother used to say when I was a kid, a book is never a waste of money.  Therefore, here we go.

From Paperback Swap, I used one of my last credits to request The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory.  I know, I know...my relationship with Philippa Gregory's "historical fiction" is definitely not a loving one.  But I love historical fiction -- particularly Tudor historical fiction -- and so I keep coming back.  I go into this book with no aspirations.  I'm fairly certain it's going to be terrible.  But.  It was also free, so I have no qualms about spending any money.  The story continues where The Other Boleyn Girl left off.  After the death of his third wife, Henry marries German princess Anne of Cleves, but is dismayed with her appearance and dislikes her almost immediately.  He begins a flirtation with commoner Katherine "Kitty" Howard, who he falls desperately in love with.  But Kitty is engaging in some intrigues of her own, spurred on by Anne Boleyn's treacherous sister-in-law, Lady Jane Rochford.  As much as I know this will probably suck, I am looking forward to it.

From Amazon, the following books:

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.  (From Goodreads): Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life. 

I purchased this book for a book club I'm involved in.  I look forward to reading it -- I've read quite a bit of Holocaust literature this year, including Heidigger's Glasses and The Reader, both very good.

Animal Farm by George Orwell.  (From Goodreads): Animal Farm is the most famous by far of all twentieth-century political allegories. Its account of a group of barnyard animals who revolt against their vicious human master, only to submit to a tyranny erected by their own kind, can fairly be said to have become a universal drama. Orwell is one of the very few modern satirists comparable to Jonathan Swift in power, artistry, and moral authority; in animal farm his spare prose and the logic of his dark comedy brilliantly highlight his stark message.  Taking as his starting point the betrayed promise of the Russian Revolution, Orwell lays out a vision that, in its bitter wisdom, gives us the clearest understanding we possess of the possible consequences of our social and political acts.



Animal Farm has been #1 on my "to-read" list since I began my GR account.  I'm very interested to read it, since it was (surprisingly) not on my required reading list in high school

My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva and E.M. Swift.  (From Goodreads): The Olympic gold medalist offers a poignant, loving account of her life with her long-time partner and beloved husband, Sergei Grinkov, from their first introduction and successive world pairs skating championships, to their storybook romance and marriage, to the fatal heart attack that took Sergei's life.

This book is a re-read for me.  I was a figure skater from age 7 - 16, and I followed the Olympic Games religiously.  Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov were two of the most beautiful, perfect pairs skaters to ever win gold.  This book also has the distinction of being the first book to make me cry.  I lost my copy during one of my nine million moves, and scored a new hardcover copy for $3.  Not bad!

Legacy, by Susan Kay.  (From Goodreads): Beloved for its stunning storytelling, Legacy offers an exquisite portrait of the queen who defined an era. Tracing the unlikely path from her tragic childhood to her ruthless confrontations with Mary, Queen of Scots, and capturing in all its glory her brilliant reign as Europe's most celebrated queen, Legacy peels back the layers from a mysterious monarch and satisfies the questions of history.  Winner of the Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize and the Betty Trask Award, Legacy gives us Elizabeth the woman: proud, passionate, and captivating in her intensity. She inspired men to love her with bewitching devotion, no matter what the cost, but the depth of her love for England required a sacrifice that would haunt her to the grave.

Anyone who hasn't read Phantom by Susan Kay -- please get on that right now.  I have never read anything else of hers, but this book seems to have it all.  Amazing author?  Check.  Historical fiction (my favorite genre)?  Check.  Racy story about the beautiful, talented, and regal Queen Elizabeth I?  Check, check, check.  Done and done.

 Okay...so none of these books have made it to my mailbox quite yet.  But I am anxiously waiting!  And I can't wait to get them.  The difficult part here is going to be deciding which to read first.

 

Review: Shine by Lauren Myracle

It's really hard to believe that I'm already almost halfway to my goal!  In December I decided to set myself a goal of reading 100 books in the year 2011.  This averages to just a little under 2 books per week, every week, for a year.  There were many times in the early months that I thought is this possible?  Am I going to fall ridiculously short?  I don't mean to get cocky (after all, I'm not even halfway, let alone close to finishing)...but I'm doing better than I thought I would!

Btw, kudos to those fine ladies who are already wayyyy ahead of me in this area!  You are an inspiration.

Book #48 for the year is quite popular lately, and I managed to snag it from Amazon.com for $2.99 during their Sunshine Sale.  I believe the sale ends on June 16th, so if you haven't gotten to it yet, go snag yourself something good for your Kindle!

Lauren Myracle's Shine is set in Black Creek, North Carolina -- a backwoods, rural community near Asheville.  A teenage boy is discovered brutally beaten at the local gas station where he works, with a gas nozzle rammed down his throat -- the victim of a hate crime.  His former best friend, sixteen-year-old Cat, is determined to weed out the culprit who did this to her friend, especially since the authorities are doing next to nothing.  Her odyssey takes her around and outside their little backwoods town, into a web of lies and drugs and whispers.  Cat realizes that in order to find her best friend's assailant, she must confront her own demons -- and possible enlist them in the search.

I was surprised, at first, to discover that although this book is listed as "Young Adult", it deals with some very harsh and adult topics, such as sexual orientation, prejudice, hate crimes, drug use, and sexual abuse.  The story takes place in an area I am not familiar with (although I have been to Asheville, NC, it is only used for one scene in the book) and in a culture that I am also ignorant of.  Many of the townspeople in Black Creek, NC are ignorant of the gay culture, failing to understand that Patrick, Cat's friend, is not flawed or "deserving" of the abuse thrust upon him.  They judge him for his sexual orientation, even if they admit that he was a great guy and a good person.

In Shine, the futures of most of the characters are bleak.  Even Cat admits that she does not believe she will ever leave Black Creek, or the stereotypical backwoods people that inhabit it.  The language is common and the accents stressed.  Cat is the only young woman in the book with morals or standards -- the other girls depicted in Shine are common, ignorant, self-absorbed, and deceptive.  The boys -- with the exception of one or two -- are no better.  There are so many characters introduced early on that I wondered where they were all going and what they had to do with the story.  But Myracle ties them all together beautifully (in the end, there was only one character who I felt was truly irrelevant to the plot).

The book is well-written and beautifully sad, in parts, and the uncomfortable feeling of entrapment and futility is woven through the book artfully.  A good read, and perhaps a re-read in the future.

Rating: ****

Yarn Along! June 8th, '11 edition

Ginny over at Small Things is hosting her weekly Yarn Along, celebrating reading and knitting (her two favorite things -- as well as mine!).  This week, I'm finally showing something new.

And it's NOT a baby item!

With all the baby knitting finally off the needles, I'm knitting something grown-up (well, sort of; don't let the color fool you).  This is a sock (56 stitches on US 2 needles) made of Socks that Rock Lightweight in Cattywhompus.  This is my first time using STR lightweight, and I LOVE IT.  I'm definitely going to be buying more of this yarn in the future.  Best of all, it's not splitty.  I hate splitty yarn when I'm knitting socks.

I'm reading Shine by Lauren Myracle, the story of a small town's reaction to the brutal assault of a teenager.  It's good.  Not grabbing me in like Divergent did, unfortunately...but you can't win 'em all.  It's still good.

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

I have a confession to make.  I told it to my husband last night, and he gasped out loud (mockingly, I might add, because he is not a reader and probably never will be, to my great sorrow).

My name is Megan B., and I enjoy YA dystopian fiction.

I gotta admit it at this point.  I just finished reading my fifth YA dystopian book last night, and I liked it...and five is getting to be too big a number for me to keep saying that I don't read YA, or I don't like dystopian fiction.  Gotta embrace it, as our IT guy at work says.  A lot of people have laughed at me for liking Megan McCafferty's Bumped, I know.  But this...this book, I truly loved.

Veronica Roth's Divergent takes place in Chicago, years into the future, where the government has divided itself into sectors, factioning people by their natures and the attributes they feel are most beneficial to society.  The factions are Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peacemakers), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the fearless), and Erudite (the intelligent).  At the age of sixteen, all members must make a very public choice -- to follow the faction in which they were raised, or to join a new faction and leave their old world behind.  Their choices are influenced by a pre-test that indicates where each individual would be best-placed.

The hero of Divergent is Beatrice Prior, an Abnegation-raised young woman who chooses to leave her faction and start a new life for herself as "Tris."  In her new faction, Beatrice struggles to find her true identity, while dealing with the residual emotions of the selfless community she chose to leave behind.  Underneath the surface of this new life lies the secret she took with her, and a gathering political storm that will change everything about Tris and the world she lives in.

A lot of people on Goodreads have been comparing Divergent to The Hunger Games trilogy, and although Roth has only published part I of her trilogy, I can see the similarities (somewhat).  Both are told from a first person POV, both feature female protagonists, and both are set in a futuristic dystopian society with a predilection for violence.  But.  I can also see where they (excuse the pun) diverge.

Tris is not Katniss, not by a long shot.  Katniss does not willingly throw herself into violence for no apparent reason; her motives for doing so are completely selfless.  Tris, on the other hand, has lived a whole life being selfless, and feels stifled doing so.  She knows when she leaves her faction that she is doing it for selfish reasons -- she wants to "be herself" -- and although she feels the pull back towards her selfless roots (almost constantly throughout the novel), she realizes that this was a change she had to make.  Their skill levels are much different as well.  Katniss is already a skilled archer and hunter when she goes off to the Hunger Games.  Tris is a small, weak-looking teenager with no survival skills whatsoever when she leaves her faction.  She still needs to learn everything she will need.

The testing scenes were similar (both Katniss and Tris must prove their worth and be ranked during an "initiation period") and I could see where people would draw those conclusions.  But Katniss' initiation period takes place over a couple of chapters, whereas Tris is struggling to better herself throughout the entirety of the book.  In Hunger Games, the initiation is a build-up to the action; in Divergent, it is the action.

The male protagonists in Hunger Games are eminently more likable than in Divergent (to a point).  Many people argue "Team Gale" or "Team Peeta" but there are no teams in Divergent.  When it comes down to it, Tris is a one-man woman (and I won't say anything else for risk of spoilers).  When it comes down to it, I really like the lack of a romantic triangle, which I feel has been beaten to death since the Twilight saga came out.  I'm really hoping that Roth doesn't introduce another male love interest in the second or third books...but I have a feeling she will.

I loved Divergent.  Loved it, and I can't wait until the next book comes out.  In 2012 *cries*.  I don't want to wait that long.  

Rating: *****

FO: Yet Another Baby Hat

I'm finished with the LAST baby hat (so far) this year, and excited about doing grown-up projects for now.  There's David's sweater, and the Lady Bertram shawl...and a new sock...But today I have the FO entry for yet another baby hat (you guys are going to think that's all I can do!).

This hat started out as a unisex hat, until last Wednesday when we found out that the expected baby was going to be a boy.  There was a little pink in this yarn, but the mama didn't mind a bit when I gave it to her yesterday.

 

Yarn is Manos del Uraguay Silk Blend in color 3019 Dove.  It's mainly a nice ivory tone with a little pink and a lot of green.  I love this color and the yarn, although it is not exactly baby-friendly.  What mom wants to spot clean or hand-wash?  I certainly wouldn't make a sweater or a jumper out of this.  But a hat somehow seems okay.  

As for wrapping, I took an idea from the fabulous Grumperina and made a swing tag for the hat, which included yarn content and washing instructions.  

The hat seemed to be a hit at the baby shower yesterday.  But for now I am done knitting little things.  I have a hankering for a bigger, more substantial project.  Like David's sweater.  But as the sweater is now becoming to hot to do in a place devoid of A/C, I started a pair of socks.

And I can't put Divergent down.  It is becoming a problem.

In My Mailbox -- June 5, '11

It's another "In My Mailbox"...or more appropriately, "On My Kindle".  "In My Mailbox" is a weekly meme based at The Story Siren, and it's a chance to give those of us who participate a chance to AW the new books we've got waiting to be read. 

 

I haven't bought any new paper books (I've been good) but I've been downloading!  Two books made their way to my Kindle for this weekend.

Divergent by Veronica Roth.  (From Goodreads) In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.  During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

I'm reading this as part of an online book club.  It was June's pick, and I got it offline on Friday afternoon.  Unfortunately, my weekend was really busy, so I didn't get as far into this as I had hoped.  But I am loving it so far!

Next up:

Shine, by Lauren Myracle.  (From Goodreads) When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice.  Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

 

This book caught my eye before when I read someone else's review.  I was planning on buying it if and when it went on sale, and this Saturday it went on sale at Amazon for $2.99!  So now it's mine, and it's next on my reading list.

Tomorrow: a finished knitted object.

Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

I love Renaissance art.  I took a class on art history in college and I definitely fell in love with both the architecture and the art of the Renaissance period.  One of my favorite pieces is "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Johannas Vermeer.  I loved this painting because it is so striking -- the girl staring out from the frame, not beatifically like the Mona Lisa, but with almost a question in her face. as if she's almost surprised to be caught off-guard, and found someone painting her. 

Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier, is my favorite kind of historical fiction.  Chevalier takes a painting with an unknown history -- we know nothing about who the subject is, or what inspired Vermeer to paint her, or why she is wearing that particular headgear -- and creates a story around it, to explain the whos, whys, and hows of the painting's existance.

Griet is sixteen years old when her father is blinded in an accident and she is forced to take up work as a maid in order to assist her family financially.  She is employed in the home of the painter Johannes Vermeer, where she quickly discovers that the only bright part of her life is tidying the studio where he works.  Griet is enamored, first of the colors and the paintings, and then slowly, over the years, of Vermeer himself.  Yet, when Vermeer's hands are tied by a wealthy patron into painting a portrait of Griet herself, she realizes she is caught between two worlds -- the one to which she has always felt she belongs, and the world of Vermeer's paintings, which only he can see.

Griet is a unique character.  She is stern, upright, honest, and proud, although she states numerous times that her family's tragedy and her lowly employment give her no reason to be.  She is not a sympathetic character because she does not allow anyone to pity her.  She is a lady unsure of what she wants.  Although she has more gravity and self-reflection than her betters, when it comes to seeing the world around her, Griet is very uncertain, not as to where she should go or what she should be, but of how much she wants it.  She baffles everyone around her, for many reasons -- Vermeer's wife because she is suspicious of her motives; his mother-in-law, who grudgingly accepts her though she feels Griet does not know her place; the butcher's son, her beau, who does not understand why she does not leap at the chance to marry him and free herself from a maid's life.  The only person who asks nothing of her, who says nothing about her future, is Vermeer himself.  And while this enamors Griet, she begins to wonder if he truly cares for her, or if she's just a pretty face in his painting.

As part of the Nest Spring Book Challenge, I watched the 2003 film adaptation of the book.  The film stars Scarlett Johannson as Griet and Colin Firth as Johannes Vermeer.  It is a good film, when taken by itself, free of the novel.  Scarlett was made to play the part of Griet, and she is perfectly matched to the book's description both physically and vocally.  I love Colin Firth as an actor, and I think he looks great for the role, but the part of Vermeer is over-stressed in this film.  The relationship between Griet and the painter is so delicate, so barely stressed in the book, that you wonder whether or not it's even there.  Does Vermeer have feelings for Griet, or is it all in her own mind?  Or is it based on the painting?  There is no question as to this in the film.  Even the movie poster (left) is indicative of this.  Griet's face is not the gentle look of surprise that the original painting boasts.  Instead, she looks shocked, almost trapped.  Firth is touching her as he would a lover -- this does not happen in the book.  There is only one instance where Griet and Vermeer touch, and it is nothing as erotic as the poster would lead the viewer to believe.  The ending of the film also goes unexplained, and seems hurried, almost rushed.  There is zero character development for Griet in the film.  Where in the end of the movie, every decision made is her own, she is an adult who is finally ready to seize her destiny, in the film, it is thrust upon her, and she has no choice in the matter.  I think the film would be a lot more enjoyable if taken on its own, rather than in comparison to the book.

Rating: **** and 1/2 (book), ** (film)

Review: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Warning: There may be spoilers in this review.

I almost didn't read The Memory Keeper's Daughter.  It was something I picked up on PaperbackSwap, and I debated for a few days before requesting it.  I wasn't sure about the subject matter, it was an author I was unfamiliar with, etc.  But I finally requested it, it came in, and I read it from cover to cover in 24 hours.

I love this book.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter begins on a winter evening in 1964.  When a freak snowstorm derails his colleague, Dr. David Henry is forced to deliver his own children with the aid of a nurse, Caroline.  With his wife in a drug-induced sleep that leaves her with no memory of the birth, David safely delivers twins -- a healthy son, and a daughter with the symptoms of Down syndrome.  Anguished, David makes a hasty decision that will haunt him the rest of his life.  He hands his little girl to Caroline and tells her to take the child to a home for the disabled, so he can spare his wife from years of heartache.  Caroline, in turn, makes her own decision.  Instead of taking the baby girl to the home, she leaves town and adopts the child as her own.  Decades pass, and the decisions leave indelible impressions on the two families involved.

This book hit home for me in a number of ways.  When I was fourteen I found out that I was "missing" a sibling (I won't go into it here, since the story is personal), and it's truly amazing the impact such a thing can have.  In the past thirteen years I've found myself wondering a lot of "what ifs", and how would my life have been different, and what would have changed, if this person had been a part of my life.  When I found out (as an emo teenager), I was stunned into crying, and wondering how the hell my parents had been able to keep this a secret from me for over a decade.  The pain that David Henry goes through in Daughter is palpable on every page.  Although he tries many, many times to finally confess to his wife Norah that their daughter didn't die at birth, that she had Downs syndrome and he gave her away, he always gets cold feet at the last minute and can't bring himself to do it.  I found myself practically screaming at the pages Just do it!  

The writing style was beautiful and completely rife with sadness.  I could relate to Norah the most at the beginning, but her character development turned me off later on.  I liked her most in the first few years after the birth of her children (and supposed loss of her daughter) as she constantly comes to grips with the loss of someone she never even truly knew.  I loved Paul (the son)'s character.  I pitied David so much throughout the book, as he goes through the years of struggling between leaving his life the way it is, and wondering constantly if he made the right decision.

I'm not going to lie; I'm sure that my own personal history has colored my view and love of this novel.  But it is really a masterful piece of work, altogether haunting and tragic and beautiful at once.  Loved it.

Rating: **** and 1/2

Yarn Along! June 1st Edition

Happy June!  Memorial Day weekend is throwing off my whole schedule -- in a good way!  I keep thinking that it's earlier in the week than it is (I will totally accept that).  I even forgot that today was Yarn Along day!

The parade of baby hats continues!  This is five of five -- the last baby hat (at least for awhile, thankfully -- I almost wrote "baby hate" and that pretty much sums up how I'm feeling about baby garments right now).  At least hats go quickly.  The yarn is some Manos del Uraguay Silk Blend (70% merino, 30% silk) in 3019 Dove colorway.  I love it, it's so soft and squishy!  Perfect for a baby.

I'm waiting on one of my book clubs to come to a decision about what the June pick is going to be, so after finishing a book last night, I picked up one that I've read quite a few times, but that I love -- Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.  I read this for the first time in the summer of '04, between my junior and senior years of college, and I fell in love with it.  It's a great piece of historical fiction that I highly recommend.

This is going to be a rare two-post day, since I just finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter and want to give it justice with a full review.  Look for another post later!