Prime reading

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Really excellent. Written from the prespective of a 15 yo special needs boy, who has decided to investigate an neighborhood crime, this book perfectly balances story with point of view. With direct language, it moves through coping to self discovery, from challenge to personal strengths. An unusual novel, it offers a great change from everything else, a glimpse into a different kind of intelligence.

Summer means travel

Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
An excellent, slow paced journey with one woman as she fulfills her quest to row herself down the Nile. As a single woman acting in mostly Muslim Egypt, she faces resistence and challenges peoples' perpectives. A special delight was her meeting with a group of young women. I loved the reflection on other's writings about the Nile, esp Florence Nightingale.

Thanks Christine for this find.


View all my reviews.

Remember high school?

Dedication by Emma McLaughlin

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was surprised at the layers of story and perspective in what I picked up as a light read. The characters are well developed. Although many parts of the story took place in high school, it managed to not rely on simple stereotypes and victims. Relationships between the characters are realistically developed over time.

In all, I felt the ending(s) didn't quite work for me, it dragged on a little bit, so I didn't give it more stars. But I will read their other book.


View all my reviews.

reading about writing

On Writing by Stephen King

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Excellent book, hard to categorize. Definitely non fiction, it is equal parts reflection on personal events that developed his writing(without really being a biography), ideas about what writing tools he thinks are important(without being a grammer text), and thoughts about how and why writing happens, drawn from reflections he had during his recovery from a nearly fatal car accident.

I found his style direct without inviting too much fake intimacy, and helpful without trying to assume a sense of dominating authority. I think all who read this could improve their writing.


View all my reviews.

And now for something completely different

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
And now for something completely different....

I've been spending lots of time reading children's lit, then broke from that to read some non fiction and a sweeping tale of class and culture. Then I read this.



What an odd but engaging book! I enjoyed the character's simple acceptance of the increasingly bizarre happenings around him- he goes from regular guy to a Buffy-esque death merchant defending all of San Francisco against the Death Lords while raising a daughter and running a business.



Lots of different points of views of death here worth pondering, and watch for a surprisingly moving and real page describing nurses and the hospice movement.




View all my reviews.

Off to India

The Space Between Us: A Novel by Thrity Umrigar

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
An interesting study of class and coping, in a well drawn setting. I gained understanding by following these two women in Bombay through their respective life challenges.

My only quibble is I sensed the novels' eventual plot twist as early as page 40, and it somewhat spoiled my enjoyment of the otherwise engaging story.


View all my reviews.

Storytubes!

Well I am all about encouraging kids to read, and often it is about connecting the child with the right book. This cool contest invited kids of all ages across the country to submit a video featuring a book. Go to http://www.storytubes.info/
It is moving now to online voting of the judges finalists. Voting for videos with K-4th grade starts Monday March 9 and goes until the 12th.
I highly recommend voting for the video about the Westing Game. The boy in the tie is too cute and serious!!

Point of View

No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club: Diary of a Sixtieth Year by http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/182722.Virginia_Ironside">Virginia Ironside

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I hate to use the tired word 'refreshing', but this book actually was. Sort of a self reflective, real life day to day happenings in the life of a 60 yo woman. I have read many chick lit looks into the lives of 24 yo single gals, and 32 yo new mothers and their trials and tribulations, and the mother figure sort of drops in and out of their stories as convenient, without living their own story. This book was the whole other point of view.
It wasn't earth shaking revelations or anything. In fact it was rather ordinary. But the fact that it gave the main charater a voice without cliches, and tooled through life and death, control and choices, without judging was very satisfying.

Next victim?

I just finished speeding through Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer, and can not recommend it. It is the new craze among high school girls especially, with a movie and everything. A 17 year old high school girl in a new town falls for a guy who happens to be a vampire. But wait it is supposed to be ok, beause he and his group only hunt animals, and he is really good looking...
The thing I couldn't get over wasn't the simple passivity of the main character, but her active desire to become a victim. I kept picturing the poor girls you hear about on the news, who disappear with much older men they met on the internet. In fact I could imagine the dialogue from the book appearing in IMs- You shouldn't want to be with me, everyone will be against us being together, etc.
Yesterday I read about a 15 yo girl from England who left with a 49 yo man she met on the internet, to France. Tips and closed circuit TV images helped locate them, and she has now been returned home. Common enough story (sadly), but the British paper actually showed the cctv images, and they were disturbing, in that they looked SO normal. This girl obviously went willingly with this man, he probably told her they shouldn't be together, or else why flee the country?
So why would teen girls eat this book up with a spoon? Can't we embrace the opportunities life has to offer, rather than act helpless; learn that true love is one that lifts you up, not puts you at risk?
Even on the very last page of the book the main charater seems to dare, well really invite the others to destroy her. But as I understand twilight is a series, I suppose they did not. Shame. One volume of this was enough for me.