Monday 29 October 2018

Great American Read- results


  The results are in! And the winner is "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Here are the top five:


To Kill a Mockingbird
Outlander (series)
Harry Potter (series)
Pride and Prejudice
Lord of the Rings

   Interesting! A combination of modern and classic.
   I was interested in "The Book Thief" because I think it is 'great literature'.  But this contest was to find the 'best read', which may or may not be 'great literature'.
   "The Book Thief" was number 14, just after "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"(no. 13), which I also enjoyed.  Preceded by "The Grapes of Wrath" (no.12) - wonderful!  Preceded by "Anne of Green Gables' (no.11) -hooray Canada!  Preceded by "Jane Eyre" (10), also a great read.
   Well, I could go on.  Lots of great books and we really enjoyed the final countdown.  Many great classics, but sadly missing Thomas Hardy, another of my favourite authors.

Sunday 21 October 2018

Kate Morton

  Last week, John met another favourite author, Kate Morton.  John has read all her books, and she is on a book tour with her newest book, "The Clockmaker's Daughter".  Our daughter drove us to the Kitchener library where John immediately bought the new book and settled to listen to Kate's presentation.  It was fabulous!
  Of course, he wanted his book autographed (he also brought earlier books to be signed) and here is the lineup for the book signings.
   It was a very popular event!
Kate Morton
   Kate was extremely personable and kind, taking time to chat and sign and pose for a
photo.  I can't imagine how long it took to get to the end of the line.
  But this was a dream for John.  Kate lives in England and he never expected to meet her personally.
  
  Jeff Shaara writes war stories and Kate writes love stories.  I find this an interesting combination.  However, they are John's two favourite authors and he has met both of them!
  We drove to Poughkeepsie, New York to see Jeff Shaara, but Kate came to Kitchener.  How lucky!



Jeff Shaara

Friday 12 October 2018

"The Queen of Katwe"

book club choice


Phiona Mutesi as a child
   This non-fiction book is the biography of Phiona Mutesi.  She was born in the slums of the town of Katwe, near Kampala, Uganda. Her father had died and her mother and siblings lived in extreme poverty.
  One day, searching for food, she met Robert Katende, also from the slums.  Robert introduced Phiona to the game of chess. 
  Sports Outreach, an organization from the U.S., had established a mission, initially using soccer and then chess, "as a catalyst to offer the guidance of religion to the country's most impoverished people".  Robert connected Phiona to this mission and it was discovered that she had a sharp brain, well-suited for chess.  She won championships.
  Many people found this biography to be inspiring.  However, the flashes of inspiration were quickly halted by the reality of the slums.  The detail of the poverty and lifestyle of these Ugandans is explicit and it is heart-breaking.

Phiona today
    Quote: "For Phiona, chess is like a torch that can take her out of the slum to     people who may be able to look after her."
    This book was written in 2012, and it leaves you wondering whether this actually     happened.  Google tells us that yes, she is now attending university in the U.S.
   In 2016, the Walt Disney Company made a movie of Phiona's life and she attended   premiers in Canada, U.S. and Uganda.
   





Tim Crothers
 Author Tim Crothers has said, 
 "To be African is to be an underdog in the world. 
  To be Ugandan is to be an underdog in Africa. 
  To be from Katwe is to be an underdog in Uganda. 
  And to be a girl is to be an underdog in Katwe.  
  The Queen of Katwe is the ultimate underdog story".




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  My nephew is involved in a mission in Uganda- not in the slums.  The school they are building includes a beautiful library.  Here are some pictures from that mission.















Sunday 7 October 2018

The Great American Read, part 5


   In June, I wrote four blogs on the first program of "The Great American Read"- a television special.  It seems that there are three parts to this program, hosted by Meredith Viera, shown on PBS.
  The second part was broadcast recently and it highlighted books that are on the dark side.  This seems to be a broad category.  The dictionary definition of 'the dark side' is: 'the negative or troubled part of someone or something that is usually concealed'.
  Included in this category are the 'thrillers' that I have never appreciated.  Dean Koontz and Stephen King are both masters of this genre. 
  'The dark side' focuses on emotions like fear, hatred, anger, aggression.  They don't work for my psyche. But many people find these books 'thrilling'.  Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" was at the top of this list, as was a more recent popular book "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn.  Also mentioned was "Beloved", "Jurassic Park", and "Frankenstein".
   One of the books mentioned on this program that I did enjoy- "The Picture of Dorian Gray".  It had such an interesting premise.
   Then they talked about gothic novels and I have enjoyed some of those- particularly "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier and "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte.  Even Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" was discussed.  Oh, yes, how about "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"?  That was included in books on the dark side.
  I did not enjoy this program as much as the first, but on October 23, the show will focus on the many faces of love- more my style.
   I'm not sure if that will be the last show.  This is a contest and there will be an announcement of the winner of the Great American Read- perhaps on the next show.
  You can see the top 40 in the voting as it stands right now, if you check the website.  My vote is for "The Book Thief" and it is ranking in the top 40.  Hoorah!