All the Light We Cannot See

   It took the author ten years to write this book and it may take ten years for me to completely organize it in my head.  I believe it should have a warning: 

"Not for left-brain readers". 

   Last night, I read this quote: "Good order is the foundation of all things" (Edmund Burke 1729-1797, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher).

   This book has no order, at least not one that I can find.  It begins in 1944 and ends in 2014, but here are the section titles: Aug. 7, 1944; 1934; Aug. 8, 1944; June, 1940, August 8, 1944; January, 1941; August 8, 1944; August, 1942; August 9, 1944; May, 1944; August 12, 1944; 1945; 1975; 2014.

   Who does that make sense to? Can right-brain people make sense of this?
   There definitely are people who are able to appreciate this book.  It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015 as well as other prizes.
   I recognize that there are great characters and a fascinating plot, but without any order, I cannot appreciate anything in the book.  Frustration does not make for a good reading experience.

  The author has used two protagonists and the narrative flips back and forth.  The chapters are short- often only one page.

  Putting the story together is much like a puzzle and I love puzzles, so why not join those two pleasures?  Because puzzles are work and when I begin a puzzle, I am in 'work mode'- looking for a challenge.  However, when I read, I relax and  expect that the author has done the work  and I just have to jump in and ride along.
  No pleasure here- only frustration.

   I have not given details of the plot or characters, but my fellow blogger does a good job of that.  You can read Sue's blog here.

   This book was the focus of a recent book club and I asked if the others were comfortable with the time changes.  Of the 20 people attending, 9 were positive about the non-linnear method of storytelling.  We also learned that it can be called a "disruptive" narrative.  
  While discussing the book, I was reminded of the great themes and wonderful characters and it made me more annoyed that the book was not presented in a fashion that could be enjoyed by all.                

e-readers

I had a really good opportunity to make use of my kobo while I was reading 

"The Count of Monte Cristo".

I admit that I still have mixed feelings.  

I often talk about covers.  I love a good cover!  And the tactile aspect of the actual book cannot be matched by a machine.

But I have to admit that it was much easier to read a long book on the e-reader.

And...of course, it is so much easier to carry to appointments or other places where you need to wait.  So easy to tuck in your purse.

But I would be bereft without that pile of books beside my chair.  Glancing at the pile gives me a wonderful feeling of anticipation- part of the 'joy of reading'.

Isn't it interesting to look at the covers and imagine what the book will contain?

I am anxious to get into "When Books Went to War".  It tells about how outraged the Americans were when the Nazis burned 100 million books during World War II.  And so, the American War Department joined the publishing industry in a program to print small, lightweight paperbacks suitable to be carried in pockets and rucksacks.  There are two lists in the back of this book.  One list contains titles of books that were banned by the Germans and the other is the titles of books that were specially printed for the American armed forces.

"Books are weapons in the war of ideas".

Giller Prize- 2015

 

   I am always delighted to see literary events televised on mainstream T.V.  So I was looking forward to the Gillers.  But, sadly, I was greatly disappointed.  
   Rick Mercer has taken over hosting the show and I didn't find him at all entertaining.  The interviews with the authors were strange, the whole format did not appeal to me.  The background of the stage was blah and the speeches were almost non-existent.  I wish there had been more panning of the audience to at least remember authors that we love.
  And now to the books!  Well, here is what the Toronto Star had to say:
It’s also a year in which the Giller selections — culled from 168 submissions by five international judges — were not exactly in lockstep with the bestseller list. After all, two short-story collections, two works of philosophical literary fiction and, well, a book about a compulsive sexual deviant do not necessarily coalesce into a bookseller’s dream display.
   
 Enough said about the books. But I took a walk down memory lane and remembered when the books were more appealing.  
  I have read many of the past winners.  I didn't enjoy all of them but could, at least, see how other readers might consider them winners.

  Here are my favourites:
"A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry
"Mercy Among Children" by David Richard Adams
"Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures" by Vincent Lam
"The Bishop's Man" by Linden MacIntyre
"Alias Grace" by Margaret Atwood

P.S. There was one small pleasure in the award show.  Alexander MacLeod was one of the judges.  I enjoyed reading his novel "Light Lifting".  And I adored his father, Alistair MacLeod, who died last year.  Alistair wrote one of my all-time favourite novels, "No Great Mischief".  I also greatly enjoyed listening to Alistair talk.  He was a great author and an interesting man.

long books

book group in 2006  We tackle anything!

  Reading "The Count of Monte Crisco" reminds me of 1998, when I first joined this book group. They were reading "Middlemarch" that month, and the next month read "A Suitable Boy" by Vikram Seth.  There was a stunning quote that I have never forgotten (in "A Suitable Boy").
  "I hate long books, the better, the worse.  If they're bad, they merely make me pant with the effort of holding them up for a few minutes.  But if they're good, I turn into a social moron for days, refusing to go out of my room, scowling and growling at interruptions, ignoring weddings and funerals, and making enemies out of friends..  I still bear the scars of "Middlemarch".
  What a coincidence that we read these two books one after another.
  Well, "Middlemarch" was 852 pages, but "A Suitable Boy" was 1400 pages!  Imagine an author who is writing a 1400 page book writing about a character who complains about 852 pages. Is that irony?

And so, back to "The Count of Monte Cristo".  1,272 pages.
I did turn into a social moron!   But, somehow, I was continually drawn into this complex story of revenge.  I found that it really stretched my mind to keep the narrative in focus, while following convoluted digressions from the main narrative.  I found some parts boring and wondered why they were included, but the ending brought everything and everybody together.  

I am reminded of this quote by Henry David Thoreau:
"Reading is a noble intellectual exercise- not that which lulls us, but what he have to stand on tiptoe to read".

"The Count of Monte Cristo" revisited

  Everyone knows the story of "The Count of Monte Cristo"- perhaps because of the movie.  It is an adventure story beginning with Edmond Dantes, who is sent to prison for relaying a message from Napoleon, living in exile, to his followers in Paris.   
   The three men who conspired to have Dantes imprisoned are then Dantes' targets for revenge.
  At one point, Dantes said, "In return for a slow profound, eternal torture, I would give back the same, were it possible; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."  He was not interested in a quick duel or guillotine.  So his revenge is well- thought out.
  But it is a long, long tale that winds its way along through 1,272 pages.
  My favourite part was the years of imprisonment, where he met a priest who was tunnelling his way to freedom.  The relationship between these two men was fascinating and Dantes' escape was exciting.  However, it was because of the priest's death that he was able to accomplish the complex feats of revenge.

The middle part of the book is filled with the story of two young men "belonging to the first society of Paris."  
The Carnival at Rome is quite spectacular, since it begins with beheadings.  And then:
"From every street and every corner drove carriages filled with clowns, harlequins, dominoes, mummers, pantomimists, Transteverins, knights and peasants, screaming, fighting, gesticulating, throwing eggs filled with flour, confetti, nosegays, attacking, with their sarcasms and their missiles, friends and foes, companions and strangers, indiscriminately, and no one took offence, or did anything but laugh". (Chapter 36)

The shortened version of the story gave me the basic structure of the story, but the actual novel is delicious in showing the long,  well-planned out retribution for each of the four characters who had a part in Dantes imprisonment.
The skill of the plot is really brilliant and I got very enmeshed and addicted to the action.

The climax is stunning when The Count of Monte Cristo is in a box at the opera and is confronted by the son of one of his 'targets for revenge'.  He is challenged to a duel, accepts, and then continues watching the opera- by William Tell!
  I immediately went to my computer and listened to the "William Tell Overture".  Listen to it here.
**************************************************************************************************************************

Alexandre Dumas lived from 1802-1870.
His books have been translated into 100 languages and have been adapted into 200 films.

This novel was written in serial form.
I have read that, although Dumas was married, in the tradition of higher social class, he had numerous affairs (about 40), resulting in a number of children.  One son, named after his father, also became a successful writer.

This is how Dumas has been described: "the most generous, large-hearted being in the world. He also was the most delightfully amusing and egotistical creature on the face of the earth. His tongue was like a windmill – once set in motion, you never knew when he would stop, especially if the theme was himself."

The Count of Monte Cristo

   Anyone reading my blog knows that I love book clubs.  I have belonged to many over the years.  Some of them don't last very long.
  

Well, I have belonged to one particular book club for 17 years.  This book club reads a classic novel every other month.  Since we meet 12 times a year, I have read over one hundred classics with this book club.
  Our choice this month: "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas.  This picture shows the library copy- 1,272 pages with no pictures and small print.

But, I am in luck!  I found this edited version with only 140 pages!  Excellent!
It is very easy to read because it is written for those readers who are new to the English language.  The introduction adds: "it will be suitable, in fact, for anyone who finds the original book too long or too difficult".

And so, I read the edited version in very short order.  And I got the gist of the story.  However, I was not satisfied that I had really read the book.  In fact, it whetted my appetite for the real thing.  With 117 chapters, I figured that it would take between 20 and 30 hours to read the original novel.  And so I began.....




And then I remembered that I had a kobo that I hadn't used for years, and it was loaded with 100 classics when I bought it.  Sure enough, it includes "The Count of Monte Cristo"!  Yeah!
   
So, please don't disturb me.  I am busy reading about Edmond Dantes who was unjustly put in prison for aiding Napoleon Bonapart in 1815.  I am at 11 percent of the book, and Dantes is digging a tunnel in the wall of the prison, meeting with another prisoner.  I love the flavour of the actual writing of Alexandre Dumas, and plan to continue until.....

Rating novels

  Readers seem to enjoy rating a novel after discussing it.
I have written a blog about Harriet Klausner, an Amazon reviewer, who always gave books four or five stars out of five.

Preston Library Book Club

What do the stars mean?
I found this rating system:
*  awful
**  okay                     
***  good
****  very good
*****  excellent
But my book clubs like to rate on a scale of 1 to 10.  So I would expect that a 'very good' book would get 8 or 9 stars.
I gave "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter" a rating of 9.  In fact, I thought it was almost a perfect book.  If a book has everything I require for a good reading experience, I don't hesitate to give it a rating of 10.  But many people don't feel that any book deserves a rating of 10.

I look at the four experiential elements:
           character, plot, language, setting.
   
   I thought that "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter" had very interesting characters, a convoluted plot with some surprises, wonderful language including a little Southern drawl, and a clear sense of place.
   There were great themes in this book, especially friendship and guilt.  I would have rated the book at 10, except that the narrative was not linear.  Perhaps that is a better structure for a mystery story like this, but I don't enjoy constant changes in time and place.  It seems to be very popular but I enjoy the old-fashioned linear storyline where I can jump in and swim along!
*********************************************************************************************************************
My personal thoughts on rating are these:
   When a book has been chosen for a book club, hopefully someone has read and recommended the book.  Therefore, I would expect no ratings to be under 5.  Even though it does not meet every reader's personal requirements, the book must have value.  The purpose of book clubs is to bring to the readers' attention, books that they were unaware of.  However, it is a free country and any rating is fine with me.  One reader hated the snakes in the book.  Snakes were only involved in one scene, but it was a very powerful scene, and it must have revived old personal fears and that reader gave the book a 2 rating.  Actually, I think my husband also gave a book a 2 rating because of the killing of innocent people.  Emotional responses cannot be denied, and play a part in our enjoyment of a novel.

Maybe the point system is too complicated.  Could we simplify the process, to rating by words?
   awful, okay, good, very good, excellent.       What do you think?

"Crooked Letter Crooked Letter" by Tom Franklin

  With 23 people in our book club, we have to share the selected books.  So I had two days to read this book.  I had cleared my calendar so I could spend large amounts of time reading.  What a delight!
  I was intrigued from the opening sentence: "The Rutherford girl had been missing for eight days when Larry Ott returned home and found a monster waiting in his house".
   Rural Mississippi, in the 1970's.

The title: "M, I, crooked letter, crooked letter, I, crooked letter, crooked letter, I, humpback, humpback, I." - the way that southern children are taught to spell Mississippi.
  Rural Mississippi is really important in this novel- the racial tension, the guns, and there are snakes.
  The cover is ominous, showing two boys who love to be together in spite of the differences in their social status- one black, one white.
  It is a story of guilt, loneliness, sacrifice, murder, mystery, intrigue.
  I loved it- more than anyone else in the book club.
I will talk about rating books in my next blog.

Ken McGoogan

Ken McGoogan

I am so pleased that "Third Age Learning" has developed a chapter in Cambridge.  This week, we heard author Ken McGoogan talk about researching the eleven books that he has written.

This book was the focus of his lecture, since it is his most recent book, just published this year.
"Celtic Lightning: how the Scots and the Irish created a Canadian nation".
Ken travels wherever his research leads and one story seems to lead into another story.
  Isn't this a gorgeous cover?

The book that interested me the most was written a few years ago and is a compilation of Canadian biographies.  
"50 Canadians Who Changed the World"
He writes about activists, visionaries, artists, humanitarians, performers, scientists and inventors.  This is the first book that I will be reading.

Ken's wife was looking after book sales and was mentioned often in his talk, since she accompanies him on his research travels.
Sheena Fraser McGoogan is an artist who works from a studio in the Beaches in Toronto.

Book Reviews

Harriet Klausner

   Because I was reading so much in October, I didn't get any time for blogging.  Some people can do both.  My friend Terri, gave me an article about Harriet Klausner.  Actually it was Harriet's death notice.  She had been a self-appointed star Amazon critic who wrote 31,014 reviews.
                 31,014 reviews!!!
   I became interested in learning more about Harriet and found lots of interesting articles. 
   Harriet was born in the Bronx, but lived in Atlanta.  She had a degree in library science and had been a librarian. According to Wikipedia, "ailments kept her home and insomnia kept her up". 
  Harriet claimed to have read 2 or 3 books a day- but her profile in Time magazine reported that she read 4 to 6 books a day.  She gave every book a rating of 4 or 5.

  She was the #1 ranked reviewer on Amazon.com until 2008, when they began a new ranking system, based on feedback from the readers, rather than how prolific the reviewer was.

   BUT, there are interesting thoughts on whether Harriet actually read the books or not, since she wrote so many reviews.  One person called her a 'shill'.  Interesting word. 

  Author John Birmingham wrote a book called "Designated Targets", and deliberately included a character named Harriet Klausner.  She made no mention of this in her review.  Bingo!
  However, her fame brought her boxes of advanced readers copies from editors and publishing houses.  She became part of a move from professional reviews to amateur online reviewing.  There were people who would be thinking, "I wonder what Harriet would think of this book".
  But sometimes she wrote 10 - 20 reviews in one day and a backlash began.  It was called the Harriet Klausner Appreciation Society but it really was mocking her.  People were complaining about being misled by her positive reviews.  They no longer believed that she read the books that she wrote about.
   Perhaps she was a shill.  Hmmm
*************************************************************************************************************************

October

  October has been a fabulous month for weather!  I have loved the beautiful colours.

  I have also read 8 books.  And what a variety they have been!

  Some were for book clubs, one was inspirational, and one was a conundrum.  That would be "Stoner", a book that I have already blogged about.  When I was finished reading that book, I had to call my friend Penny because I knew that she had read it.  I begged for a chat over lunch.  I love the experience of chewing over a book and trying to get to the 'meat of it'.  I knew there was a lot more than appeared on the surface.

   I have mentioned that fall is the season for giving out book prizes.  I did a blog on The Man Booker Prize, which gives 50,000 pounds to the best book in the English language.  I was reminded yesterday that the winner has been announced and here it is:

  "A Brief History of Seven Killings" by Marlon James

Neither the title nor the cover invokes a smidgeon of interest in me.

  But apparently it is brilliantly written.  And I expect that is the reason for the choice.  The subject matter is another thing.  It is a fictionalized account of the life of the Jamaican reggae singer/song writer  Bob Marley.  

    To quote an Amazon reviewer: "It is a flaming hot stew of language, Jamaican history, politics, gangs, drug wars, fear and loathing in Kingston ghettos."  Interested?  The chair of the judges said that it was a unanimous decision.  Apparently it is very funny, very human, very exciting, very violent, and full of swearing.  Now does it sound interesting?

  So that is the winner of one of the book awards, now I am waiting for the Giller and, my favourite of all, Canada Reads.

************************************************************************************************************************

The coloured leaves in the fall remind me of the abundance of reading choices. The variety is spectacular!  The human condition is so complex that there will always be  more variety than we can imagine.

I hope you find some comforting books as we head into November, a more somber month.

"Stoner" by John Williams

This book was recommended by the same English professor that recommended "The Good Soldier".
However, being a linear story, it was much easier to read.

William Stoner is an ordinary man, born into a poor farming family, intending to take some college courses in agricultural studies and return to the farm.  However, he falls in love with literature and begins a life of academia. This life gives him great intellectual highs, but also many personal lows.
It is painful to read about his marriage to a most strange lady.  He stays in the marriage because of his love for his daughter.
His career has some bright points, but also it is filled with challenges and boredom, not to mention the run-ins with the college administration.
He has one romantic fling that has to be cut short because of his fear of losing his job and his daughter.
The novel is short and bleak- life sucks and then you die.  wow!
However, there is such beauty in the telling!

John Williams

I was mesmerized by the emotion of the novel and couldn't put it down.

The novel was written in 1965 and was modestly received by the public.  However, it was reprinted in 2003 and gained more readers.  In 2007, it was called "a perfect novel, so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving that it takes your breath away".  In 2013, it began to take off in sales and was called "the great American novel that you've never heard of".

The Mistress of Nothing

I love this book!
I love the cover, I love the title, I love the concept.
I also love the setting, the characters, the language and the plot.
This is not my top favourite novel, but it is surely in the top ten.
It has everything that I enjoy in a novel.

  It is so rare to find a cover that reflects the themes in the book, but this cover does it well.  The woman on the cover, Sally, is a lady's maid in the 1800's.  She is taken for granted by her mistress who believes she can control Sally's life. 
 Sally does appear to be 'the mistress of nothing' and is the central character in this novel.  The country of Egypt is the setting and a market is also pictured on the cover.
  

"Letters from Egypt" by Lady Duff Gordon

  This fictional character of Sally is based on the real maid of Lady Lucie Duff Gordon, Sally Naldrett.  Sally did, in fact, travel down the Nile with her mistress, Lady Duff Gordon, in the 1800's. Lady Gordon had developed T.B. and decided to live on the Nile, so she needed a maid with her.
    The author got the idea of writing this book from reading Lady Duff Gordon's book of letters that she wrote home to England while living on the Nile.

Kate Pullinger

The author: 
Kate Pullinger was born in British Columbia but now lives in England. She teaches creative writing and has written several books.  I have read that she writes for film (she was involved in the novel "The Piano"), but she also writes for digital media.  I have no idea what that is- digital media- computer programs?  video games?
But this author is fascinating.  She was the lead writer on a project to write, edit and produce a novel in 24 hours.  Now, that sounds interesting and I understand that!

"The Mistress of Nothing" won the Governor General's award in 2009.
I will be leading a discussion of this book tonight and hope that the other readers enjoyed the book as much as I did.

The Handmaid's Tale

   Dystopian novels are not particularly interesting to me.  One exception is "The Giver".  I loved that book and felt that it had a great message:  a world with no choice means that people never make a bad choice.  Would that be a better world?  Great question to discuss with teenagers.

Margaret Atwood

   Now I can add another favourite dystopian novel.  "The Handmaid's Tale".
I had previously read five novels written by Margaret Atwood.  I really enjoyed "Alias Grace" and "The Blind Assassin".  They were not dystopian.  Actually, Margaret Atwood prefers the term "speculative fiction".
  Atwood sees this difference between science fiction and speculative fiction: "Science fiction has monsters and spaceships: speculative fiction could really happen".
  Dystopian novels are presently categorized as 'science fiction', but really should have a separate category.
 
The protagonist is Offred.  All names for the 'handmaids' were patronymic, composed of the possessive pronoun (of) and the first name of the 'man of the house'.  If this Offred was not successful in providing a healthy child, there would be another Offred, until there was a child to be raised by the Commander and his wife.

In the novel, the U.S. is being run by an  totalitarian fundamentalist Christian military dictatorship.  Many things are banned, including magazines.

This quote is explaining women's magazines:
"What was in them was promise.  They dealt in transformations; they suggested an endless series of possibilities, extending like the reflections in two mirrors set facing one another. stretching on, replica after replica, to the vanishing point.  They suggested one adventure after another, one wardrobe after another, one improvement after another, one man after another.  They suggested rejuvenation, pain overcome and transcended, endless love.  The real promise in them was immortality".

This writing is amazing!  I am surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did, because it is far from linear.  It moves back and forth in time and place, but the language is so fantastic that I had to stop and read some sentences more than once.  

"The Good Soldier" by Ford Madox Ford

  During the summer, I attended a lecture on Canadian literature.  I have heard this speaker many times and he really does know literature.  So I decided to read a book that he recommended.  It is not by a Canadian and I am struggling to understand how it can be called 'literature'.  It seems like ramblings.
   But it is often included among the great literature of the 20th century, including the Modern Library 100 Best Novels.  It can be found on many list such as: 100 greatest novels of all time and 1000 novels everyone must read.

Ford Madox Ford

Ford Madox Ford is a British author, who wrote "The Good Soldier" in 1914.
Actually, he titled the novel "The Saddest Story". His editor changed it.
The first line is: "This is the saddest story I have ever heard".

It was perceived to be about society's changing morals and loss of strict social rules.
The author is challenging the norms- in morality, in social structure, and in literary forms.

Plot:
Two couples meet at a German spa where they visit yearly for a 'cure'.  One couple is British- Captain Edward Ashburnham and his wife Leonora.  The other couple is American- John and Florence Dowell.  John is the narrator of the story and he tells about Captain Ashburnham's affairs.  Simple plot.

Quote from the book:
"I have, I am aware, told this story in a very rambling way so that it may be difficult for anyone to find their path through what may be a sort of maze....When one discusses an affair- a long sad affair- one goes back, one goes forward.  One remembers points that one has forgotten and one explains them all the more minutely since one recognizes that one has forgotten to mention them in their proper places and that one may have given, by omitting them, a false impression."

Wikipedia says this about the form:
 "The novel is told using a series of flashbacks in non-chronological order, a literary technique that formed part of Ford's pioneering view of literary impressionism.  Ford employs the device of the unreliable narrator to great effect as the main character gradually reveals a version of events that is quite different from what the introduction leads the reader to believe.  The novel was loosely based on two incidents of adultery and on Ford's messy personal life."

My problems:
1.) The subtitle is "A Tale of Passion".  I saw no passion - just moral confusion and sexual tension and frustration.
2.) Not one of the characters is likeable enough to care about the novel.
3.) The same thoughts are analyzed and reanalyzed with complete confusion.

The Virtues of Aging

   I have become obsessed with all things "Jimmy Carter".
   When Carter was 70, he was interviewed by Barbara Walters.  She asked him what were his best years.  He answered ,"Now is the best time of all". She asked, "Why?"   He wasn't happy with the quick answer that he gave her, so he wrote this book to answer this question. Why are his senior years the best years?
   When Carter talks about the 'virtues' of aging, he is talking about two things: having opportunities for more gratifying personal experiences, and being able to do things for other people.  So he is using the word 'virtues' to mean 'benefits'.   I am fascinated with this man.  He is known for promoting peace, but his family background was rather volatile.  Both his grandfather and great grandfather were killed in violent arguments.

   When talking about his bond with his wife, he says, "There is no doubt that we now cherish each day more than when we were younger.  Our primary purpose in our golden years is not just to stay alive as long as we can, but to savour every opportunity for pleasure, excitement, adventure and fulfillment."

"Go out on a limb.  That's where the fruit is".

Carter points out that, in retirement, we can choose to live a passive and inactive life.  But there is a riskier alternative- we can take advantage of our freedom and embark on new and exciting adventures.

Very American content but thoughts that are good for everyone:
"We worry too much about something to live on-
and too little about something to live for."
"Finding a way to live the simple life
 is today's most complicated problem."

"The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend"

   I discovered this book while wandering the shelves at the local book store.           Covers really speak to me and this one shouted, "Buy me!"
               A book about books!
Does it get any better than this?
The protagonist is a young woman named Sara who LOVES books!
She lives in Sweden and just lost her job in a book store.
Quote: "Sara couldn't help but think that she had somehow missed the moments when life was meant to begin.  For a long time she had simply been drifting through it, reading, and while everyone around her had been teenaged, unhappy and foolish, this hadn't been a problem.  But then suddenly she realized that everyone had grown up around her and she had done nothing but read".
   And so... she has a chance to visit her elderly penpal in the United States.  However, her penpal died before she arrived, and Sara is taken in by the small Iowa town of Broken Wheel.  And that town had very interesting characters!
  The chapters of this book are interspersed with the letters that had been exchanged between Sara (in Sweden) and Amy (in Iowa).
  There is mention of many, many books- from "Little Women" to "Harry Potter".  Lots of authors are discussed.  I loved that aspect!  And, I put some titles on my 'to read' list.
  The first half of the book was delicious and compelling.  I was fascinated.  But I lost interest in some of the storylines towards the end of the novel.
    Overall, I had a great romp through this book!
"The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend" by Katarina Bivald.

Goodreads says this about the author:
Katarina Bivald grew up working part-time in a bookshop. Today she lives outside of Stockholm, Sweden, with her sister and as many bookshelves she can get by her. She's currently trying to persuade her sister that having a shelf for winter jackets and shoes is completely unneccessary. There should be enough space for a book shelf or two instead. Limited success so far. Apparently, her sister is also stubbornly refusing to even discuss using the bathroom to store books. 
  Katarina Bivald sometimes claims that she still hasn't decided whether she prefer books or people but, as we all know, people are a non-starter. Even if you do like them, they're better in books. Only possible problem: reading a great book and having no one to recommend it to.

Jimmy Carter

   Jimmy Carter was a guest on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday.  I was enthralled!  I have always appreciated this man and his contribution to the world.
   We visited the Presidential Library and Museum in 2002 and found the buildings and gardens beautiful and peaceful with lovely sculptures, connected to the work of the Carter Centre.
  Because Atlanta is so large, we didn't want to tackle driving in the city and the only solution was a limo.  It seemed extravagant at the time, but we have always been grateful for that fascinating tour of Atlanta with a knowledgable and interesting driver.  And the Carter centre was the highlight for us.  We spent some time there, soaking up the atmosphere.  Jimmy Carter was sitting at a table of well-dressed people, both men and women (and security nearby).  We were told that we could speak to him (obviously it wasn't a formal meeting), but I wasn't comfortable interrupting him- just delighted to see him.
  I believe he has done amazing humanitarian work in the world.  He received the Nobel Peace Prize in the fall of the year that we had visited there.  But I don't feel that his accomplishments have been truly appreciated by the United States.  He wasn't the kind of president that they wanted.  I hope some day his efforts for peace will be recognized by American citizens.
  He has written many books, and many other books have been written about him.  I am putting some of them on my Christmas list (it's never too early).
  I only own one book by Jimmy Carter- "Living Faith".  I admire his Christian faith because it is lived and not preached.  However, he certainly can and does preach in a Sunday School class in Plains, Georgia.  This is a small town - only 376 residents. But I have read that a thousand may show up on Sunday morning. People line up all night to get a place in the small church in order to hear his lesson for that
week.  It must be a nightmare with traffic, secret service, bomb-sniffing dogs.
  Rather than visit his home church, I enjoy reading his books.  I went to buy his latest book, "A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety", but it is not in paperback yet. I'll wait.
  Yesterday was Carter's 91st birthday and he is battling cancer.  With his strong spirit, he has said that he is looking forward to the next stage of his life.  A great man!

Reading on the Road

   When we are driving in the country, I often read to John.  Is this against the law?  Distracting the driver?   Hope not, because we both enjoy it and it makes the time go quickly when you are on a long trip.
   Lately, I have been reading "Hearts Come Home", a collection of short stories by Pearl S. Buck.  Wow!  Is she a good storyteller!  She writes the type of story that I love- a simple, linear story that touches your heart.  Beautiful writing!
I must admit that this is a rather salacious cover.  It really doesn't  reflect the stories that are in the book.  They are more about relationship and dilemma.

  Pearl's best-known book is "The Good Earth".  It won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of my all-time favourites. 
  I read this book while we were on the road in 2004- driving through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. It was rainy and dull and it really made the drive more enjoyable. 
  Pearl S.Buck lived from 1892 -1973.  She was the daughter of missionaries and, although she was born in the US., her parents took her to China when she was 5 months old.  She returned to the U.S. in 1910 to study philosophy, but returned to China when her mother became sick.
  She was universally respected for her stand on human rights.  I have read some information about her life on the internet, but it has made me interested in reading her biography.
What a great author!

Books with a view

Book chats with friends!  How wonderful is that?
And Gayle is as obsessed with reading as I am. We have read many of the same books and, actually, we met at a book club. Since Gayle can't get to book clubs any more, we take book talk to her.  We did that when she lived nearby, and so why not continue when she moves 140.7 kilometres away?  

Click here for a previous blog about my friend Gayle.
It mentions the house that her husband was building on the lake.
Well, here it is.  Utterly spectacular! 
And what a view!

Much of our book talk was about "One Book One Community".  Gayle has read 13 of the 14 books that have been chosen for our region.  So we had lots to discuss there.




Can't think of a better place to talk about books.
Many thanks to Gayle for her hospitality and wonderful conversation!