The Tortoise’s 75 Book Reading List

I have only recently checked out the 75 Book Group. You seem to be a very lively and friendly group so I want to join in the fun. I was going to wait until 1st January 2009, but decided to participate for what is left of the rest of the year.

I have been a member of LT since July 08. I started my Reading List on my profile page on 1st Aug 2008 and for the three months to 31 Oct 2008 I read 26 books in 12 categories. So although I won’t post 75 books by the end of the year, my average exceeds 75!

I will post a few at a time. I look forward to your feedback and lively chat!

1. Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

After reading the blurb: “…their growing intimacy spreads tension and deception in the ordered household and, as the scandal seeps out, into the town beyond.” I kept on waiting for the scandal and how it spread to the town beyond. It just wasn’t that sort of book and so in that respect it was a bit anticlimactic.

I thought the story-line was simple: a young girl enters the Vermeer household as a maid and sits for Vermeer and becomes the Girl with the Pearl Earing. Each tiny episode was blown up as though it was of earth-shattering proportions – it wasn’t really. It was a simple little story, where little happens, but still very interesting. This was a quick, enjoyable read. It ended somewhat implausibly and abruptly. The most enjoyable aspects was the descriptions of the painter at work. I read this book while looking at the paintings it described.

It was a good read, but not great. The style was simple and quiet and will quickly fade away. (3 Shells!!!)

2. Recollections of the Last Days of Shelley and Byron by Edward Trelawney

Recollections of the Last Days of Shelley and Byron is a penetrating character analysis by one who knew both Shelley and Byron intimately. Trelawney was the one who cremated Shelley on the beach in Italy and sailed with Byron to Greece to take part in the Greek War of Independence in the early 1800’s.
Trelawney’s style is both lively and engaging. (5 Shells!!!!! )

3. Flashman by George Macdonald Fraser

Harry Flashman is a coward and a bully; always watching out for number one, without very much feeling for anyone else. He is a cad, a bounder, a thief, a liar, a scoundrel, a rapist, an unfeeling serial womaniser. This despicable character is written larger than life and with such elan that although you keep on wishing that he will get his come-uppance, which he does to a certain degree, he manages to escape from the jaws of death against insurmountable odds. Against one's better judgement, and because the story is so well written and historically well-researched it is an enjoyable and entertaining romp through Victorian military history. (4 Shells!!!!)

Welcome to the group--and yes, it's lively and friendly and very, very talkative in this coterie! I'm fascinated by the Trelawney book and will be checking it out. Looking forward to more from your list.

Welcome! I'm glad you're not waiting until '09 to join us. As you've seen, the numbers aren't all that important to us, but your thoughts on what you read are! I've seen several people have read Flashman recently (both here and in real life), so I'm thinking it needs to go on the list...

I'm so glad you joined us! I will really be looking forward to reading what you have to say about your books and I know I'll get good ideas from you.

I already added Recollections of the Last Days of Shelley and Byron to my "poets and poetry" category for my 999 challenge next year. I can hardly wait to start reading that one! (I will be posting my reads on both 75 and 999 challenges next year.)

Welcome TheTortoise
Any time joining here is allright :-)
This is a great and friendly group, I hope you will like it here as much as I do!

welcome!

Welcome to the group! We have lots of scintillating conversations and tons of questions!

I will definitely be on the lookout for the Trelawney book. Looks like it would be right up my alley. Thanks for the review.

Regarding the Flashman books - they are just fun. I hope you get a chance to read more of them.

Thank you everyone for your warm words of welcome. I know I am going to really enjoy being a part of this group.

>4 MusicMom41: MM & >7 alcottacre: alcottacre. I am sure you will find the Trelawney book as fascinating as I did - extremely well-written.

I am currently reading the second Flashman book - well I have started it, but I have two group reads and other books on the go as well! But Flashy keeps calling out to me! Look out for next three books tomorrow!

- TT

4. Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman

Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman is an enjoyable collection of essays on bookish subjects. The majority of them are delightful. Only a couple is less than brilliant, but there is probably something for every Bibliophile in this charming collection.

In the essay: You Are There, she writes about Macaulay – “When he read Livy at Thrasymenus – in latin, of course – Macaulay achieved a kind of Double Word Score whose peculiar frisson will be instantly recognised by anyone who has ever read Wordsworth at Grasemere, Gibbon in Rome, or Thoreau at Walden.”

I read this just before I was due to go to Grasmere for a holiday and I had already planned to take some Poetry of Wordsworth to read at his graveside. This is what I read at Wordsworth’s graveside:

Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood.

“There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight
To me did seem
Apparell’d in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore; -
Turn wheresoe’er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

The rainbow comes and goes,
And lovely is the rose;
The moon doth with delight
Look round her when the heavens are bare;
Waters on a starry night
Are beautiful and fair;
The sunshine is a glorious birth;
But yet I know, where’er I go,
That there hath passed away a glory from the earth.”
(4.5 Shells!!!!!)

5. The High Flyer by Susan Howatch

The High Flyer by Susan Howatch is a psychological thriller about Carter Graham a successful lawyer, the High Flyer of the title. She marries, in accordance with her carefully thought-out life plan, her ideal man, who turns out to have a hidden past, which torments and dogs him. Carter struggles to uncover this past and it leads to a terrifying ordeal.

Howatch can tell a story and spins out the suspense and kept me turning the page, but she did not make me feel sympathy towards her main characters, so she loses a star for that defect.

Neither did I warm to her style, especially her continual use of the following terms: flufette, Tiger-thumper, nutterguff, dinosaurs, whippets and fruity-loops. These terms were used by her ad nauseum throughout the story and I found them ultimately irritating. So she loses a star for that.

Once the thrill has been experienced and the curiosity of the suspense has been satisfied there is nothing left of any substance, so she loses half a star for that. If you don’t mind going along for the ride and enjoying it while it lasts then you will have your expectations met and you will have got your monies worth. But if you are looking for depth, fascinating characters and a pleasing style then this is not for you!
(2.5 Shells!!!)

6. Life With God by Richard Foster (Touchstone not correct)

Under three major headings Catching the Vision, Nurturing the Intention and Understanding the Means, Richard Foster in Life With God encourages practising the Spiritual Disciplines of which Reading the Bible is central. We need to read it on its own terms because it is not nice and neat. It is not organised in clear and obvious ways. He says that we need to read it with the heart and with the head and with the people of God, those who have gone before us on this pilgrimage and have given us their distilled wisdom in their writings. Throughout he reiterates that our aim is Life with God. I am not sure what impression I have overall of this book. I feel I need to read it again as it kind of washed over me. (3.5 Shells!!!!)

- TT

Ex Libris is one of my favorite books of all time. I read it at least once a year. If you have not read any of Fadiman's other books, I highly recommend both The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down as well as At Large and At Small, another book of essays, although to my mind at least, not as good as Ex Libris.

I have heard wonderful things about The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down from someone close who just read it. I will have to move on the recommendation.

And I forgot to add my welcome. Glad you started now. We will be starting another challenge site in 2009. drneutron has agreed to get us started in the new year.

>10 alcottacre: Alcottacre - The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down sounds quite fascinating and might be just up my street. However, it sounds incredibly sad and tragic. I will look out for it. Thanks for the recommendation.

- TT

I have The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down scheduled in my 999 challenge. In Central California where I live we have a large Hmong population who were resettled here when they were persecuted in Laos and I also love the way Anne Fadiman writes--so when this was recommended by someone on LT I immediately bought it. I'm having a hard time waiting until January to start it!

ETA I also agree with alcottacre about Ex Libris and At Large and At Small!

The Spirit seems very interesting, have to include it in my list. Thanks, alcottacre, for this recommendation.

This not directly related to the book, but I just thought of mentioning it since it too involves the Hmongs. I just recently watched in an international documentary festival, a new movie called The Most Secret Place on Earth -- CIA's Covert War in Laos, where in the 1960s, 40,000 Hmongs were brought together in the deep jungle to be trained and involved in covert operations by the US against communist guerillas. The fascinating thing is that nobody knew about it, not even about these people's existence... until 2003 when 2 Western journalists made contact with the Hmong resistance. They were the first white people they had seen since 27 years ago when the CIA abandoned them.

I don't know when it will be released in the US (or IF) --- in Europe, it will be shown in theaters towards the end of the year. Here's some background info http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43635, and last time i checked, trailer was available at youtube, for those interested.

Definitely interested here, deebee, thanks for passing it along. I will have to watch for the movie to come out on video, if not here, maybe I can pick it up from a European source.

BTW - the trailer for the movie is located here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_5yeCqcfaU on Youtube.com

One of the things I like about this group is the digressions that flesh out the background to whatever we are reading or discussing. Some threads discourage this approach and get very iffy about it. Personally, I think it makes the group very friendly and I welcome it. Thanks for your comments in >14 MusicMom41:, >15 deebee1: & >16 alcottacre: with the links.

- TT

Yes, we do digress, sometimes so far off topic that we forget what the original topic was. Oh, well, I am personally glad that I am not on one of the threads that frowns on digressions.

The digressions are half the fun!

When I digressed on another (not-to-named thread) with another LTer, we got "yelled at" by another member of the thread. Interestingly, though, he digressed when he was interested, but that, I suppose, is different. We were chatting, and he was passing on information.

I feel like I'm at home with a group of friends here because we talk about the books, we encourage each other, and we pass on recommendations for other reading or places to see. It's the bestest, as my nephew would say.

And I've added the Trelawney to my reserve list at the library. Thanks!

7. Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer: This is a book of six long short stories included in The First Rumpole Omnibus

Horace Rumpole, who was brilliantly played in the TV series by Leo McKern, is a defence Barrister at the Old Bailey in London. He is a wily old bird of 67 when he is introduced to us. He usually manages to outfox the prosecution. He loves to quote the Oxford Book of English Verse, from which he always manages to find an appropriate passage. He refers to his other half, Hilda, as "She Who Must Be Obeyed", as she rules the roost. He often tarries at the local wine bar for a glass of Chateau Fleet Street or Pommereys Plonk as he calls it, with his chambers cronies to delay his arrival home.

Horace Rumpole is a brilliant creation by an ex-barrister. The stories are a sheer delight to read. (5 Shells!!!!!)

8. One Day for God: Making Your Own Retreat by Anthea Dove

A very thorough and practical guide which covers the day in seven structured sections. It weaves a pattern of silence and Scripture-reading, reflection and prayer, as well as exercise and relaxation. A very well-balanced, flexible and rewarding approach. I found her instructions and advice very helpful.
(5 Shells!!!!!)

9. Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard Foster

This is a superb compendium of Christian prayer covering every conceivable type of prayer imaginable. It is a rich resource of 21 types of prayer from which I have learnt a lot. This book is not a book of prayers, but about different ways to pray. (5 Shells!!!!!)

- TT

>10 alcottacre: & >14 MusicMom41:. I have ordered the other two Fadiman books from the library. Thanks for the recommendations.

- TT

#21 TheTortoise: Sounds like some great recent reads! I will look for both books 8 and 9.

I remember the TV series about Rumpole and loved Leo McKern as the lead character. I have not read the books, however, so I may just look them up as well.

Belated welcome from me too! I have become very lazy about checking the group page for new threads so only just spotted you.

Ex Libris is also one of my all-time favourite books. I have At Large and At Small on my shelf, purchased for myself as a Christmas present (signed copy!) last year, but it's one of those books that I have been "saving up" as a treat which probably means I will never actually get around to reading it.

What's that saying - "I was put on this earth to read a certain number of books. Right now I am so far behind I will never die."

As another newcomer, I was pleased to see your post with fewer messages -- I thought "I can read that one!" Glad you're here. Is there a story behind the choice of 'tortoise' ? I'll be back :)

Hey TheTortoise! Welcome aboard. You have read some very good books. I liked AND disliked The Spirit Catches You - it was a booclub read at the end of 2007. I have Ex-Libris and need to try to fit it into my 999 categories somehow.

Yes, I second #25 suslyn's question - why tortoise?

>25 suslyn: & >26 karenmarie:. Because "Slow and Steady often wins the race."

10. Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

Ross Poldark s the first in the Poldark series, which is set in Cornwall in the late18th Century.
The story opens with Ross returning from the American war, to find that his father has died and he has inherited his father’s house, lands and mines. His sweetheart has meanwhile fallen in love with a rival and Ross is bitter and takes to the bottle. Ross is a bit of an outsider and does not fit in with the hoi poloi. He makes things worse by championing the underdogs on his estate and by marrying Demelza a miner’s daughter. Winston Graham must have had a series in mind when he wrote Ross Poldark because it very much sets the scene and establishes the characters for the next in the series.

A very enjoyable story (4 Shells!!!!)

11. Bring on the Girls by P.G.Wodehouse

Bring on the Girls is the first in the Autobiographical trilogy by Wodehouse. He tells of his partnership with Guy Bolton and the more than 20 years they spent as musical comedy writers on Broadway and in London. A hugely enjoyable laugh-out-loud book as they send themselves up in hilarious style. (4 Shells!!!!)

12. Money, Sex and Power by Richard Foster

“Money, Sex and Power” is not subtitled: “How you can get lots of it!” Rather the author shows how our lusts for these things can be destructive and using the monastic vows of Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience he modernises them for secular use. He provides an alternative set of attitudes that will counteract the dark side of these obsessions. He shows how the use of Simplicity, Fidelity and Service are the right way to use Money, Sex and Power. This book provides a truly innovative and constructive approach, which puts these powerful things into perspective. Highly recommended.
(5 Shells!!!!!)

- TT

Holy Cow, or Turtle, your profile page is amazingly organized and tricked out!!!!

Noticed one of your favorites is Robert Service......cool!!

#27 TT: Have you read Foster's Celebration of Discipleship? It is a very good book if you are interested.

>30 alcottacre: Alcottacre: I just finished Celebration of Discipline on Wednesday!

>29 blackdogbooks: BDB: Thanks for your compliments - love Robert Service.

- TT

13. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is very interesting, original and strangely enjoyable. A pretend detective story by a young boy with Aspergers Syndrome. His psychological difficulties are delineated and are heartbreakingly sad. He is a maths genius but is unable to cope with life. A quick read. (4 Shells!!!!)

14. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

This is a delightful little book, and well worth a read.

Below are some gems spoken by HM the Queen.

“Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting.”
HM the Queen

How true! The more I read the threads on LT the more books I find that I simply must read!

“Reading is a hobby.” HM the Queen

I always thought of hobbies as making things or doing things of a practical nature. However, the dictionary describes a hobby as “favourite occupation as pastime.” And hobbyhorse as “favourite topic, preoccupation”.

Well, as reading is my favourite leisuretime occupation I have a hobby! And judging by all the enthusiastic Lters, we are certainly preoccupied with our favourite hobbyhorse!

“Can there be any greater pleasure than to come across an author one enjoys and then to find they have written not just one book or two, but a least a dozen.” HM the Queen

Spoken like a true Book lover! (4 Shells!!!!)

15. Energise Your Life:Overcoming Fatigue and Stress by Dwight L Carlson Touchstone not working for title.
ISBN 9 781857 928648

The book is divided into four sections.

Section One: The Problem
The author discusses Energy levels and Stress levels.

Section Two: The Drainers
The author discusses these under four headings:
External Stressors, Internal Stressors, Biological illnesses and Spiritual Illness

Section Three: The Cause of Illness
The author shows that illness can be caused by several factors combined:
Biological, Environmental, Spiritual and through unwise Personal Choices.

Section Four: Energisers
12 chapters on the how utilise various techniques to energise your life.

I will mention two:

The Power of Pruning
You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.
The author suggests listing all your activities under four heads:
Prime importance, Very crucial, Important and Good.

The author categorised the 26 activities he was involved with as follows:
3 of Prime importance, 5 Very Crucial, 6 Important and 12 Good.
Over a period of time he eliminated all the items under the Good heading.

The Power of Reserve
I found this chapter particularly helpful.

He recommends that energy needs to be kept in reserve like in a petrol (gas) tank. Don’t wait until you run out or burn out before replenishing the supply!

A reserve is defined as “the amount allowed beyond that which is needed.” It is something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations How do you do this in practice? By continuous, daily monitoring of your activities and keeping them well below your maximum capacity. Recognise that you only have a certain amount of energy, which varies with each individual. Recognise your energy level as discussed earlier in the book and live within it.
(5 Shells!!!!!)

Tortoise, #15 sounds like one of those books I have to read (but somehow never find the time to...). Thanks for the pointer, and the thoughtful review.

>33 FlossieT: Flossie, if you can't find the time you are definately stressed and need this book!

- TT

What a great review--I think I need to make getting and reading that book Prime Importance! I am dealing with serious overload and energy problems as we speak! Thanks for recommending it!

16. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

I always thought The Red Badge of Courage was a World War II story! Then I was browsing through the history threads and someone mentioned it was a Civil War story, so dug it out and starting reading it. What a fascinating take on the Civil War - bloody horrible, like all wars. The author takes you right into the battle, the feel, the smells, the sights, the confusion - enthralling and perturbing all at once. The author makes you see and experience all this in the battle zone through a young boy’s eyes. Excellent (4 Shells!!!!)

17. The Practice of Biblical Meditation by Campbell McAlpine

From this book I learned that I should take plenty of potatoes every day, and a little meat. Read many pages of the Bible every day - that is potatoes, it is filling. Meditate on one or two verses every day - that is meat, it is nourishing.

I also learned that the very best method of meditation is systematic, verse by verse meditation, starting at chapter one and verse one of the book that God shows me to meditate in.

A very thorough and useful little manual on the Practice of Biblical Meditation. I am still learning how to put the principles into practice, but I am sure if I persevere, I will get the hang of it. (5 Shells!!!!!)

18. Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult’s strength lies in her story-lines. But for me this is not sufficient to provide me with an enjoyable reading experience. Two other vital elements are necessary and they are lacking or inadequate in Vanishing Acts. Namely, fascinating characters that the author makes me care about, and writing style.

Jodi Picoult certainly can write and creates some original metaphors but her general use of language does not enthral me.
To be fair, this is probably due to cultural differences, but also because she is steeped in the current modern outlook, which in general does not subscribe to beauty, either of expression or description.

The main character, whose name even escapes me now! I found to be totally unbelievable and irritating. Her reactions are psychologically unsound from a fictional point of view because they do not reflect her supposed loving relationships with her father, her lover and her friend. I could form no real conception of the other main characters. The only exception was a peripheral character, a Red Indian woman, called Ruthan (see, I was paying attention!) who had some roundness to her character.

So, only because of the story-line I rate Vanishing Acts an unsatisfactory (3 Shells!!!)

- TT

#36 TT

I'm so glad you liked Red Badge of Courage--I read it this year also, after avoiding it all my life even when my son had to read it for school! I was astounded how powerful this was--it is what has gotten me into collecting books about the Civil War--which will be a 999 category for me. (I, too, always though it was a WII novel!).

I'm going to look for the book on Biblical Meditation because our church is doing a challenge to read the Bible in 90 days--which I will be starting in December or January. Since this won't be my first time to read it all I want to find a way to make it part of my daily devotion--and that book sounds the key! Thanks for the review!

I am currently attempting to read the Bible in 120 days, see my progress on my profile (category 12) but then I only read it five days a week, so I suppose it can be read in 90 days. Next year I am planning to read the Bible three times. I have a copy of The Message, a modern paraphrase. Not sure if I really like it, but I will give it a try. I prefer the NKJ. Actually, it was Biblical Meditation that inspired me.

Good luck with your challenge - it should be enjoyable and inspiring. I know my reading of it is.

- TT

I'm glad you reminded me about The Message. I own that too and use it quite a bit for just reading the Bible--but not for studying. I might use that version for this challenge--it is a seven day a week challenge to finish in 90 days--actually it is an 88 day schedule so you may miss 2 days. Our pastor is not going to quibble if we take a little longer, though. The idea is just to read it all! Most of the people in our church have huge chunks, especially the Old Testament, they have never looked at. I spent 25 years in the Deep South (Savannah, GA) where most of the adults in our church there had read all of it at some time and many had read it several times. I live in California now. Different culture.

Msg 20 -- Your review here reminded me of one of the best books I've ever read, The Mystery of Marriage by Mike Mason. Non-fiction musings of a would-be monk who finds himself married. Really superb. When I found my first copy it had a tired old blue binding. If I had seen it in its spruced up merchandized copy I would have passed it by. So, no matter its appearance, I hope you pick it up. :)

#36: I'm glad to hear you found The Red Badge of Courage so good. I picked up a copy in the second hand bookstore a few months ago and it's slowly filtering to the top of the pile to read.

I am going to have to dig out my copy of Red Badge as well. I do re-reads over December and January, so that one would be a good one to add to the stack!

#37 MusicMom: Sounds like a wonderful challenge for your church. I hope the Biblical Meditation book helps you out. That is another book I am going to have to add to Continent TBR as well.

>40 suslyn: suslyn: Which review are you referring to as message 20 does not contain a review!

- TT

19. One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer

Kaizen, or Small Steps for continual improvement is natural, graceful technique for achieving goals and maintaining excellence.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”

The author starts off by showing us Why Kaizen Works.

Take steps that are so small that you cannot fail.

The he tells us to Ask Small Questions such as “What is the smallest step I can take to be more effective?”

Then he tells us about Mind Sculpture in Think Small Thoughts. By using mental rehearsal you train your brain by small increments to develop the new set of skills it needs to actually engage in this task.

In Take Small Actions he explains how to put Kaizan into practice, for example:

Goal: Begin an exercise programme
Small Step: Do 60 second exercise.

Goal: Keep the house clean.
Small Step: Pick an area of the house, set the timer for five minutes, and tidy up. Stop when the timer goes off.

With Small Steps there is no risk of failure because they are so easy to do. Small Steps are patient steps that overcome the mind’s initial resistance to change.

In Solve Small Problems he encourages us to confront the difficult while it is still easy; accomplish the great task by a series of small actions.

In Bestow Small Rewards he shows how small rewards are more effective than large, flashy ones.
Small rewards encourage internal motivation because they are really a form of recognition, signalling appreciation of the internal desire to improve and contribute.

In Identify Small Moments he shows that Small moments provide consistent tending and nurturing.
For example, try to appreciate the everyday qualities and actions of your partner.

In Kaizen for Life he asks what more important task does this life hold than to draw out the possibility in each moment? Life is made of small pleasures. If you don’t have all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t mean anything.

This is an excellent little manual expounding a simple but workable philosophy. It provides motivation to tackle any situation, task or problem with the greater likelihood of success than by sheer will-power alone. (5 Shells!!!!!)

20. Reading Between the Lines: A Christian Guide to Literature by Gene Edward Veith

This is a fascinating book and one from which all readers can benefit not just Christians.

I have given some extracts from the book to give you a flavour of the text. The rest of the book is just as interesting and illuminating.

The author argues that the capacity to read is a precious gift of God. She states that Christianity and literature are mutually illuminating

The imagination activity provides both the pleasure and intellectual value of reading: Appreciation and enjoyment must come first.

When we read, we cultivate a sustained attention span, an active imagination, a capacity for logical analysis and critical thinking, and a rich inner life. Critical reading is the habit of reading with discernment and an awareness of larger contexts and deeper implications.

.She reveals that words and images promote two totally different mind-sets.

THE IMPORTANCE OF READING

Reading the Bible tends to lead to reading other books, and thus to some important habits of mind. The centrality of the Bible means that every act of reading can have spiritual significance.

Prayer and Bible reading are central to a personal relationship with God. As we read the Bible God addresses us in the most intimate way, as one Person speaking to another, thus a two way dialogue is created.

When ideas and experience can be written down, they are, in effect, stored permanently. People are no longer bound by their own limited insights and experiences, but they can draw on those of other people as well. Instead of continually starting over again, people can build upon what others have discovered and have written down.

Reading has shaped our civilization more than almost any other factor and that a major impetus to reading has been the Bible.

Is it possible for Biblical faith to flourish in a country that no longer values reading?

There is a connection between forms of human communication and the quality of a culture.

God is to exist for us in the Word and through the Word, a conception requiring the highest order of abstract thinking.

“Word-centred” people think in a completely different mode from “image-centred” people.

Reading demands sustained concentration, whereas television promotes a very short attention span. Reading involves (and teaches) logical reasoning, whereas television involves (and teaches) purely emotional responses. Reading promotes continuity, the gradual accumulation of knowledge, and sustained exploration of ideas. Television, on the other hand, fosters fragmentation, anti-intellectualism, and immediate gratification.

Language is cognitive, appealing to the mind; images are affective, appealing to the emotions.

It is the difference between symbols that demand conceptualisations and reflection and images that evoke feeling.

Electronic images create habits of mind that have monumental social consequences, to the undermining of authority, the loss of a sense of history, hostility to science, pleasure-centeredness, and the emergence of new values based on instant gratification and the need to be continually entertained. Electronic images direct us to search for time-compressed experience, short-term relationships, and present-oriented accomplishment, simple and immediate solutions. Thus it leads inevitably to disbelief in long-term planning, in deferred gratification, in the relevance of tradition, and in the need for confronting complexity.

The untrammelled emotionalism, the isolation, and the fragmentation of mind encouraged by electronic images lead to mental illness, suicide, and emotional collapse.

Articulate language is our chief weapon against mental disturbance – it is an integrating process.

Christianity is a serious and demanding religion. The priority of language for Christians must be absolute.

Thinking, planning, imagining, creating – processes encouraged by reading – remain essential to society.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CRITICISM

Books can engage the inner mind more deeply than the external images of television and film.

Pleasure and recreation are excellent reasons to read.

Our reading habits, as well as the other pleasures of our lives, need to be disciplined. That discipline must be based on knowledge, understanding, and a cultivated taste.

Reading provides mental training for empathising with real people,

Vicarious experience can be more enjoyable than real experience.

Insensitivity to aesthetic decorum is perhaps one of the worst weaknesses of contemporary literature.

The pornographic imagination is intrinsically limited.

Unless you understand that Christianity considers sexual love to be a sacred thing, you can never fully understand why it insists that sex be set about with exclusions and restrictions. All sacred things are.

In the Christian consciousness words are of staggering significance, underlying existence itself, defining personality and enabling relationships to occur.

This is an excellent book for all lovers of reading and I highly recommend it.
(5 Shells!!!!!)

21 The Trials of Rumpole by John Mortimer

This is another collection of short stories from The First Rumpole Omnibus

Rumpole is not always victorious in defending his clients, usually due to circumstances beyond his control. In “Rumpole and the Course of True Love” Rumpole is defending a teacher who is accused of statutory rape.

The Judge in the case is his old friend and ex-colleague George Frobisher, who is now a circuit judge, or as Rumpole calls him a circus judge. Rumpole wants to cut a deal for his client whereby he pleads guilty for a conditional discharge. The prosecution is in favour of the deal. Hilda, She Who Must Be Obeyed, tells Rumpole that he will wrap George round his little finger and Rumpole agrees.

However, now that George has donned the Robes, power has gone to his head and he refuses to consider such a deal until he has heard the evidence.

Rumpole puts up a spirited defence because the girl in question is just one month short of the legal age limit and both initiated the alliance and consented to it.

In fact, her boyfriend who hates the teacher for trying to expel him from school was the prime instigator of the girl writing romantic and inflammatory letters to the teacher which causes him to fall in love with her. It was only in a fit of anger with her boyfriend that she goes and sleeps with the teacher.The boy sends the letters that the two had exchanged to the headmaster leading to the court case.

Rumpole discovers all this, exposes the entrapment in court but in spite of this Judge George Frobisher sentences his client to three years in prison.

While Rumpole is angry at the verdict and believes his client should have remained free the Judge took the view that he had abused his position as a teacher and that temptation is one thing but to give into it is another.
(5 Shells!!!!! for the entire collection)

- TT

22. The First Part of Henry VI by William Shakespeare

I had almost forgotten how good Shakespeare is. In this his first play he shows an extraordinary maturity for a young man in his early twenties.
He tells the story of the War of the Roses against the backdrop of war with France and the energising force of Joan of Arc in that conflict. Joan is portrayed as a demon-inspired witch who is eventually captured and burned at the stake. The theme of the play is the testing of England, already guilty and under a sort of curse, by French witchcraft. England is championed by a great a pious soldier, Talbot, and the witchcraft is directed principally at him. Through the division among the nobles and their hesitation in helping him at a crucial moment Talbot dies and England’s ruin and the fulfilment of the curse is accomplished. (4 Shells!!!!)

23. The Golden Treasury by Francis Turner Palgrave - Book One

Book One of The Golden Treasury contains Elizabethan Poetry which contains poetry by Wyatt under Henry VIII to Shakespeare midway through the reign of James I. The style is lyrical in form and is characterised by simplicity and straightforwardness of thought.

Here is a simple lyric by Shakespeare:

Young Love

Tell me where is Fancy bred,
Or in the heart, or in the head?
How begot, how nourish-ed?
Reply, reply.

Is it engender’d in the eyes;
With gazing fed; and Fancy dies
In the cradle where it lies:
Let us ring Fancy’s knell;
I’ll begin it, - Ding, dong, bell.
- Ding, dong, bell.

Cute, but, not brilliant. (3 Shells!!!)


24. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible was The Highly-Rated Book Group’s first Fall read.

I was impressed with Kingsolver’s use of imagery: frogs “clutched in copulation” and “they resist affinity like cats in a bag.” I can just see the cats fighting in the bag! There are others equally as good.

In the beginning the author skilfully enlisted my concern for Orleana the mother of four very distinctive daughters and the wife of a Missionary to the Congo.

Orleanna feels that her husband doesn’t love her that he is wrapped up in his work. It must be difficult for a woman to come to terms with her husband’s neglect while he pursues his “grand passion”.

Orleanna and the four daughters are all given turns in relating their experiences in Africa as a missionary family and their distinctive voices are very skilfully written.

I found Leah’s “voice” very beguiling as she described how they overcame the problem of the excess baggage they were taking to the Congo with them. I loved her categorising her sister, Rachel as “trying to work in one more sin before leaving civilisation.”

They had to leave behind “some frivolous things” to take practical things with them. Leah said that their “journey was to be a great enterprise of balance.” My dear wife thinks that my reading is a “frivolous thing” unless it has a practical result. I like to think that it is not a case of either/or but that I can both read for pleasure and for learning.

Rachel is in need of some edification as she can’t spell proper and uses wrong worms! Overall poor Rachel is not a happy bunny.

Adah is very deep. She can see out, as it were, but no one can see in. She is highly intelligent, articulate, poetic and insightful.

I found myself absolutely loving this book. I laughed out loud three times reading about the corrupting of the innocence of Methuselah, a parrot, who swore like a Pirate.

We all felt that we had a wonderful book to discuss. However, we all felt the dark brooding of an impending disaster was looming over the horizon, so much so that we had to take breaks from reading the book to break the tension!

RACHEL became my favourite of the girls. I loved Rachel’s deliciously ironic wit.
Just one sentence out of many: “If big Daddy - O was going to blow his stack over a witch doctor, here’s one cat that wasn’t going to miss it.” Big Daddy-O is her missionary father who she thinks is mentally disturbed and in fact his behaviour is vile. There does not seem to be any transforming power in his religious beliefs – he is not informed by love or kindness, compassion or humility – all the qualities that one associates with Christian behaviour.He uses his religion as a cloak for his stubborn and unreasonable attitudes – the ugliest sin of all – pride!

Poor Orleanna, and poor children – my heart bled for them all – as I sensed disaster looming. The spectre of death hung over them.

In conclusion, this was a marvellous book for a Group Read. Towards the end Kingsolver allows her authorial voice to take over and the ending was not quite satisfactory. I wanted to hear more about Nathan, the missionary father – there was a whole segment missing from this book that left me feeling dissatisfied – I wasn’t particularly satisfied with book 7 either. The end of book 6 felt like the proper ending

So, I think this is a four star, rather than a five star.
I don’t usually re-read four star books. But I will definitely re-read Rachel’s segments again because she speaks with a clear voice. And she is so deliciously witty. (4 Shells!!!!)

- TT

>10 alcottacre: alcottacre: I have just started reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall down and At Small and at Large. I have read two chapters of each. Absolutlely loving both! Thanks for the recommendation.

- TT

Glad to know that you are enjoying them and hope you continue to do so.

Stasia

25. Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw

Challenged by an existentialist, I decided to read this famous play to see if I could understand his point of view.

Jack Tanner is the antihero of Shaw's 1905 classic drama Man and Superman, who reveals Shaw's philosophical and social concerns: the state of the English working class, the arms race, women's rights, unwed mothers, the evils of industry and capitalism, and English morality in general. The seriousness of the discussions is tempered by delightful Shavian wit which prevents the dialogue from becoming too pretentious. The four-act play begins in the English countryside and ends in the mountains of Spain after a curious detour to Hell, where, in act 3, the famous dream sequence unfolds and the main characters take on such roles as Don Juan and the Devil to further hash out the meaning of existence, the definition of life force, and the power of the female sex. This is an imperfect but intellectually challenging work. I enjoyed it as I have enjoyed other plays by Shaw, but this is by no means his greatest play. I enjoyed his lengthy stage directions, which, although they were not intended to be, I thought were very amusing! (4 Shells!!!!)

26. Goodbye, Mr Chips by James Hilton

This is the delightful story of an English Schoolmaster who falls in love with a younger woman in his middle age. She transforms his outlook and the crusty old Latin teacher becomes something of a wit and social favourite. Her early death from that hazardous illness childbirth! adds a certain poignancy to the story. After retirement he is called back into service as acting Headmaster during the war. This book was made into a marvellous film with the wonderful Robert Donat in the title role. Utterly enchanting. As I read the book I pictured Robert Donat and it added to my reading of the story. For both book and film: (5 Shells!!!!!)

27. Beyond Our Selves by Catherine Marshall

Catherine Marshall relates tales from her childhood and marriage to Peter Marshall. Beyond Ourselves is a record of her questioning and journey. Along the way, Marshall offers thoughts on topics such as forgiveness, suffering, miracles, healing and unanswered prayer. Personally, I have absolutely no problem with unanswered prayer – In my relationship with my Dear Father there is no such thing! I talk to my Dear Father and he reveals Himself through my reading of His Book, which he has caused to be written for the purpose of communicating with me. The result is a relationship. Marshall’s journey is a poignant revelation of her authentic search for a meaningful life, a practical faith, and a closer relationship with God. I enjoyed Marshall’s style of writing and her explorations of the life of faith. (5 Shells!!!!!)

- TT

28. The Patience Strong Omnibus by Patience Strong

The Patience Strong Omnibus is a selection of more than 150 poems from the 20, 000 that she wrote during her poetic career as a writer. Her poetry is inspirational and devotional. They are arranged under 14 subject sections, which is convenient for reading a section each evening. Patience Strong has her own unique style and poetic arrangement. I enjoyed her poetry, and although it is didactic in places it has charm and speaks to our human condition.

Here is a typical example of her work:

Autumn (Fall)

The first hint of what is yet to be – a pinkish tint upon the cherry tree – The old Virginia creepers turning red around the timbers of the garden shed – Lovely in its dying, yet how beautiful. – September’s golden leaves: the autumn miracle.

As sure as clocks and calendars – the year when growing old – cloaks the woods in glory – bronze, crimson, amber, gold – The fires of Nature’s making, the flames no man can stay: the mighty conflagration that runs from day to day – Like torches blaze the branches in wood and garden bower – September fades but not before it lives its finest hour.
(5 Shells!!!!!)

29 .The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

This is an interesting book. The Daughter in question is the fictional daughter of Errol Flynn, May Joseph. When her mother, Ida was sixteen years old she began an affair with Flynn after he he bought the Caribbean island of Navy Island off Jamaica where Ida lived. The first half of the book concentrates on Ida and the relationship with Flynn and her early years as an unwed mother after Flynn callously abandons her. The second half of the book focuses on May and her coming to terms with her being the offspring of a famous father. This is a surprisingly enjoyable book. Not great literature but deftly handled and it comes to a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed it. (4 Shells!!!!)

30. Royal Flash by George Macdonald Fraser

In Royal Flash, Flashy poses as Prince Carl Gustav whose doppelganger he is, and marries the princess of xxx in a “Prisoner of Zenda! like story. Bismarck blackmailed him and forces him into it in an attempt to further his political ambitions. Flashy in true cowardly style encounters various hair-raising adventures in which he tries to extricate himself, with varying degrees of success. Several near-death experiences induce in him a feeble attempt at repentance for his many sins. But, of course, he is totally degenerate, and fails miserably at this also.

He gets a fine come-uppance at the end as he thinks himself too clever by half as he steals the crown jewels but is outwitted by the beautiful but unscrupulous Lola Montez.

A rollicking adventure with the despicable but irrepressible Flashy.

Flashy gets zero Shells for morals, but for being and an enjoyable page-turner: (4 Shells!!!!)

- TT

I love Stephen Vincent Benet's writing and The Red Badge of Courage is the one that started me. I found I enjoyed it more as an adult than I did reading it as a teen, but I laughed out loud for your "recollection" of it as a WWII story. That's probably because the best film version of the story was one of the first made by Audie Murphy, the "most decorated soldier" of that war. It's a good film version of the story and worth watching. Goodbye Mr. Chips is another one that caught me--only this time from film to book as a teen. Although there's a slight time shift for the film, the story is beautiful. Thanks for the reminder.

31. Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

In Celebration of Discipline Richard Foster lists 12 disciplines in three categories: Inward, Outward and Corporate. He argues that although it is God who transforms us by his Grace yet there is something for us to do. The disciplines he argues brings us before God in a way that enables that Grace to operate in our lives.

The most intriguing discipline because it is so unexpected is the Discipline of Celebration, the final one in the book. He argues that celebration brings joy into life, and joy makes us strong. I read somewhere else that “joy is the elusive fruit”. I have found this to be true. Foster says, Celebration is central to all the Spiritual Disciplines. Without a joyful spirit of festivity the Disciplines become dull, death-breathing tools in the hands of the modern Pharisees.

So he advocates celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, marriages, thanksgiving, finishing a project, (75 Books challenge!) securing a job, getting a raise. In fact he suggests celebrating everything possible in life. It is a way of being grateful and joyful. We can be grateful and celebrate art, books, music, and creativity of all kinds. So let us celebrate! (5 Shells!!!!!)

I am now posting in real time, having caught up!

- TT

I am now posting in real time, having caught up!
a reason to celebrate?

I loved the Flashman books, I started reading them a long time ago and stopped when I got to Flashman's Lady, the library didn't have it and I was young and poor. I think I need to pick up where I left off.

>52 FAMeulstee: FAM: I think a nice glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry when I get home this evening is definately called for, don't you?

> 53 stgbigg. Flashy is very addictive. I must add a couple more to my reading list for 2009. Glad to hear you are now old and rich!

- TT

>54 TheTortoise:: I've never tried a Flashman book. I'll have to find one at the library and see how I take to them.

Msg 43 -- sorry I think it was msg 21, Foster's book that prompted the earlier msg.

54: TheTortoise
Cheers!

>54 TheTortoise: - Just older and less poor.

Hi TT. I'm so glad you joined our 75 book challenge group. Your reviews are great!

32. The Best Short Stories of Bret Harte

This is a delightful collection of stories set in the Old West. They are told with a sure and deft hand. Harte creates memorable characters in very few words, putting them into situations that make them stick in the mind. The stories are a satisfying length and can be read in about 30-40 minutes. Ideal for lunch-time reading! They are bristling with wit and mischievousness, making them hugely enjoyable. (4 Shells!!!!)



>59 Whisper1:. Thanks Whisper - it makes it worthwhile when someone appreciates your efforts!

- TT

Sounds like you have had some great recent reads, Tortoise, and several are making their way to my Continent TBR! Thanks for the reviews and recommendations.

I haven't read Bret Harte in years--I just put in a request for your book. My library actually has access to that very edition--from another county, of course. But I'm patient.

I really do get good ideas from you for stuff to read. Love your reviews, too!

Bret Harte and O. Henry--absolute masters of the short story form! Brilliant!

I've been wanting to get a picture of a bone and use like you are with your shells, but I am stumped over how to do it. It looks cool on you thread here.

Post the picture on the Internet somewhere, then refer to it:

<img src="full URL here">

>64 blackdogbooks: BlackDog I have sent you a message.

33. At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman

At Large and At Small is a delightful collection of 12 familiar essays, or rather 9 delightful essays and 3 boring ones. They are a combination of the personal reflections and factual analysis of Fadiman’s obsessions.

Even when I did not share her obsessions, she writes about them with such enthusiasm that I found myself enjoying reading about them.

For example, while I enjoyed Anne Fadiman’s enthusiasm for the beauty of butterflies, I prefer them on the wing. I have never liked looking at them dead and fixed to a board stuck through with pins. In that state, they are a mixture of beauty and the grotesque. After all, they are insects and in their dead state it is their insect-ness that is primarily the focus of my bemused attention.

I do not share her enthusiasm for Charles Lamb – to me he is a literary curiosity and I find his prose dull compared to the sparkling prose and intellectual acuity of William Hazlitt.

I found her essay on “Coleridge the Runaway” interesting and her enthusiastic praise for Richard Holmes’ 2 volume biography of Coleridge has prompted me to read my own copy.

I was amused by Fadiman’s essay on the American flag, but I suspect it was for the wrong reason! That America thinks it necessary to have detailed constitutional laws about the size, colour, method of display, and a plethora of do’s and don’t’s concerning it, reveals a very anal attitude. As an Englishman, who has a more detached view of his country’s flag, I found this highly amusing. I had better not come to America as I might have to join the poor soul who was given 20 years penal servitude because he refused to kiss the American flag because it might be covered with microbes!

The first nine essays were very entertaining and if she had stopped while she was ahead her book would have been little short of perfection. Essay 10, “The Arctic Hedonist” was so excruciatingly boring that I couldn’t read it. “Coffee” is only slightly less so.

The last essay about a boy drowning on a canoeing trip is a climactic anti-climax, which merely disturbs and it seems out of keeping with the spirit of the rest of the essays, which were meant to entertain. It’s a mystery to me why it was included. Maybe it was added as filler to bring the collection to a round dozen? Or was it just editorial misjudgement?


Four Shells

34. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the story of a Hmong child from Laos who has severe epilepsy, and her treatment in the American Medical system. It is a tragic story of miscommunication and cultural misunderstanding which leads to misdiagnosis and horrendous drugging of the child which eventually ends in her becoming a brain-dead vegetable.

The early chapters telling, as they do, the story of Lia’s illness, being removed from her parents and becoming a ward of the state and then being returned to her parents is heartbreaking and intensely absorbing.

When Fadiman inserts herself into the story, the interest breaks down and becomes repetitive and boring. When Fadiman gets back to the narrative and tells the story of Lia and her parents the story is immensely fascinating if emotionally disturbing. The parents were absolutely amazing in their love and care of this lovely but tragic child.

After chapter seven, she alternates between the personal story and factual analysis of the political and social aspects of the Hmong people. It became obvious that Fadiman’s strengths lie in the personal narrative, which could account for her success as an essayist. As an historian and social commentator she is less effective. Frankly, I found these chapters deadly dull and boring. Partly, because her skills in making these chapters interesting was lacking and partly because of the material which related to American/Hmong political matters which left me cold.


Four Shells for the personal story.

TT

I was interested in your comments on the two Fadiman books. My favorite of hers if Ex Libris. My Chicago son gave me At Large and At Small for Christmas last year and I agree almost entirely with your assessment of it--except I like the coffee essay better than you did because I'm an addict! However, it was not my favorite in the book.

The Spirit Catches You is on my "must read" list for next year. I live near Fresno, California which was one of the areas which received a major influx of Hmong's when they had to be "resettled" because they were being exterminated for having helping US forces during the war. I'm somewhat familiar with the tragic story of the child--and there have been other, although perhaps not quite so devastating, culture clash encounters in our area similar to the one in Fadiman's book.

(WARNING: RANT AHEAD!)

California is infamous for thinking that the State is Omniscient and "knows" what is best for everyone! Anything the California legislature is unable to outright ban (such as smoking in any public place any where is the state) they require public places to post warning signs. It is a joke--if there were to be something actually dangerous that we need to be warned about, no one would read the warning, they are so ubiquitous! Every public place in California has a sign warning that "this place contains substances known to California to cause cancer" and every wine bottle has a warning that 1) drinking alcohol can cause birth defects and 2) will impair your ability to drive a car and operate machinery, and may cause health problems. I wonder that they think we are smart enough to be able to read these warnings. Some day every time you open a door or a bottle of wine you will hear a recorded warning!

(END OF RANT--SAFE TO PROCEED)

As I was saying, I am particularly interested in this book and part of the reason is because I've heard she does a good job with the political aspects of the situation.

Perhaps they could save money by just posting one big sign that said "Life is dangerous. No one gets out alive."

>70 TadAD: Tad. I laughed out loud. Life is a terminal illness!

TadAD & TT

Thanks--I need to laugh about it--and I am!

Actually, the no smoking ban helps me because I'm allergic--but it seems unfair to owners of business who would like to allow customers to smoke.

If you really want to laugh about the California laws, you should listen to Bill Cosby's decades-old routine about driving in San Francisco. It involves that crooked street and the fact that stop signs exist. Oh, and a general comment on speed bumps. To tell more would be to destroy the fun of listening.

35. Demelza by Winston Graham


Demelza is the second book in the Poldark series. Demelza, the miner's daughter that Poldark rescued from a fairground rabble, is now his wife. In this book she begins to mature into a country squires wife. Some of her rough edges are smoothed off and she is introduced into society. Demelza's efforts to adapt to the ways of the gentry bring her confusion and heartache, despite the joy in the birth of their first child. She schemes to bring together her friend Verity and Captain Blamey, who five years earlier had been rejected by her family because he had accidently killed his first wife while in a rage. Her brother blames Ross for this and they are at loggerheads.

Meanwhile Ross is developing his mining interests and making both friends and enemies. In particular, the seeds of dispute with Warleggan the Banker are sown. Warleggan is the fourth book in the Poldark series.

Ross champions the cause of one of his tenant’s who was caught poaching but the magistrates commit him to prison for three years. He is moved to a hell hole of a prison where he contracts some foul disease in the crowded and unsanitary conditions. He dies from a botched attempt by one of the prisoners to bleed him. Ross is bitter and it further fuels his contempt for the local magistrates.

When another of his tenants murders his wife because of her unfaithfulness Ross helps him to escape to France, even knocking down several soldiers in the attempt. Fortunately for him he manages to return home undetected but suspected by the local Captain. The Captain gives him a friendly warning.

Ross faces some financial difficulties and even bankruptcy. He takes desperate measures to avoid his mine being bought by Warleggan.

The pace and interest has really picked up in this page-turner.


Four Shells

Poldark was made into a television series in Britain - maybe you can get it through your local library.
You are bringing back memories for me. A boyfriend introduced the Poldark series to me in the late 70's. I picked up a second hand copy of Ross Poldark last year - it's on the TBR pile - or the "Second Time Around TBR Pile".

#64-66

I boned up on your suggestions!!



Thanks to The Tortoise and ronincats.

>69 MusicMom41: and >70 TadAD:: I just finished reading How to Live Dangerously. About the UK, but it sounds like he should have had a chapter or two about California.... all about the dangers of state intervention in "what's good for us".

>75 dihiba: Dhiba. I saw the Poldark series on TV in the 70's and have been wanting to read the books ever since - I now have the whole series, 11 books I think. The final book says quite clearly on the cover that it is the last in the series but I believe there is another one that is also the last in the series! Haven't come accross that one yet.

>76 blackdogbooks: Blackdog, and a very pretty row of bones they make!

- TT

#77 FlossieT

I just put How to Live Dangerously on my wish list--to give to some of my paranoid California friends!

I have found the Poldark books in order with that sneaky twelfth one! It was published 11 years after the Twisted Sword, which is why it was thought to be the last in the series. I haven't seen Bella on my travels, I will look out for it now.

Ross Poldark - (1783-1787) 1945
Demelza - (1788-1790) 1946
Jeremy Poldark - (1790-1791) 1950
Warleggan - (1792-1793) 1953
The Black Moon - (1794-1795) 1973
The Four Swans - (1795-1797) 1976
The Angry Tide - (1789-1799) 1977
Stranger From The Sea - (1810-1811) 1981
The Miller's Dance - (1812-1813) 1982
The Loving Cup - (1813-1815) 1984
The Twisted Sword - (1815) 1991
Bella - (1818-1820) 2002

- TT

I am sure I posted this review before but I can't see it above!

36. The Thirteenth Tale by Dianne Setterfield

I really enjoyed the first three chapters, 40 pages of The Thirteenth Tale.
Then, absolutely hated Chapter four, Meeting Miss Winter. I wanted to give up after this vile chapter but LTers encouraged me to continue. Unfortunately, my love/hate relationship continued. As I read I was partly interested and partly bored. I did not find the character of Miss Winter interesting. The twins, of whom she was one, did not engage my sympathy. Also, I just could not comprehend any of the other characters in the book. I even started getting bored with Margaret with whom I was sympathetic in the beginning.

As I continued reading I found myself becoming bored and impatient with the whole thing and started skipping, a sure sign that the author has lost my interest. At about page 200 I thought: “Just tell me in a couple of sentences what the conclusion is, so I can go on and read something else!” On page 256 Mrs Winter asked: “MY story isn’t boring you, is it?”
“YES! YES! YES!”

After page 256 I lost interest completely and skimmed to the end.

The Thirteenth Tale is one of those books that I thought I MUST like because everybody raved about it and it comes so highly recommended. I feel churlish not to have liked it.

It is a strange phenomenon this relationship between author and reader. I am afraid we just didn’t get on. I put it down to either temperament, a clash of personalities or possibly that I was just not in the mood for this sort of story. Or could it have been that I never got over how awful chapter four was? Or could it have been that I couldn’t bear seeing the stupid names of the twins: Emmeline and Adeline? They sound like the names of drugs! Take two of these and you will feel better. I did and I didn’t!


2 Shells

37. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

“Heart of Darkness is one of his most universally admired works”, says the introduction. For what?

The style is discursive, the story is non-existent, I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to understand by Marlow’s aimless meandering and there is absolutely nothing interesting about the characters. I found it utterley dreary. Does anyone have a clue what it was about? If so, don’t bother to tell me as I don’t really care. Lord Jim, the other Conrad book I have is going to the bottom of the pile and it can stay there forever as far as I am concerned! I hated Nostromo as well.


2 Shells for being able to string words together!

Oh, TT - I really liked The Thirteenth Tale. It was a bit OTT with the mad twins and all the twisted dark family secrets, but I thought it was a good read, and I did like all the bookish stuff to do with the narrator's But admittedly not so good that I was sorry to post it back to the person I borrowed it from...

Don't feel bad, I gave up on The Thirteenth Tale after about 20 pp. Just thought it was dumb. I then found a econdhand copy at Value Village and put it on Book Mooch - wow, it went fast! I hope the person enjoyed it.

38. What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey

In What’s so Aamazing About Grace, Philip Yancey, instead of telling us what grace is shows us grace in the lives of individuals through true life stories. So we see grace demonstrated and also its opposite: ungrace.

However he does attempt a definition which I think is so good that it is worth quoting in full:

“Grace makes its appearance in so many forms that I have trouble defining it. I am ready, though, to attempt something like a definition of grace in relation to God. Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more - no amount of spiritual callisthenics and renunciations , no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries and divinity schools, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less - no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love.”

Another quote from the book: “Truly it is an evil to be full of faults, said Pascal, but it is a still greater evil to be full of them, and to be unwilling to recognise them.”

Here is another fine quote from this excellent book: Repentence, not proper behaviour or even holiness, is the doorway to grace. And the opposite of sin is grace, not virtue.”

Yancey argues that God is a God of love and not hate, of freedom and not of rules, of grace and not of judgement. However, less you misunderstand he is not advocating lawlessness, merely that grace is unmerited and cannot be earned by the good things we may do. He says: it is relatively easy not to murder, hard to reach out in love; easy to avoid a neighbour’s bed, hard to keep a marriage alive (how true!); easy to pay taxes, hard to serve the poor.

In the final analysis Yancey advocates the two principles that motivates the AA: radical honesty and radical dependence. That is when I begin to see myself as a sinner who cannot please God by any method of self-improvement or self-enlargement and then realise it is my human destiny on earth to be imperfect, incomplete, weak, and mortal, and only by accepting that destiny can I escape the force of gravity and receive grace.

Finally, he says, “A graceful Christian is one who looks at the world through ‘grace-tinted’ lenses”.

I highly recommend this excellent book. The stories are interesting, as mini-stories in their own right but illustrate perfectly the author’s thesis. The style is pleasing, non-preachy, but didactic through illustration rather than through a holier-than-thou unapproachable self-righteous attitude. Yancey writes as one who has been there, experienced sin and grace and is sharing that with us. I think this book is incomparably fine.


5 Shells

#85 TT: Sounds like another great book. Thanks for the review and recommendation - on to Continent TBR it goes!

Have you read Yancey's Disappointment with God? (typo city)

> 87 No suslyn, I haven't read that book yet. Have you read it and what did you think of it? I have resolved my own issues and so am not dissapointed with God anymore!

39. A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: The Life of William Dampier by Diana Preston

In attempting to assess William Dampier it is necessary to address the reality of the contradictory impressions that reading about him gives rise to.

Was he “ a pirate ruffian that ought to have been hung” or an intellectual genius whose navigational and scientific achievements were unparalleled in history. The answer, of course, is both.

It was this very contradiction in his character that created the title for this book: “A Pirate of Exquisite Mind,” and which led the author’s to write about this fascinating personality.

Dampier had the heart of a pirate throughout his life but his immense intellectual curiosity and his brilliant mind led him to record his acute observations and to thus gain a reputation as a man of natural science.

Dampier’s intellectual and scientific contribution and legacy has been immense and for this he is to be esteemed, but like all of us, he had “a heart that was deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” It is just that he lived in a time when he could find full expression for his ambitions and was able to express the dark side of himself more easily and more overtly than we are able to.

Who knows, if we had lived then, we too may have been pirates or at the least have approved his actions. After all, many pirates became privateers another name for legalised pirates and providing they attacked England’s enemies they were exempt from punishment.

But one thing is certain, we would not have been able to equal his accomplishments.

This book was remarkably well researched. The author’s retraced Dampier’s routes, they have provided extensive notes and sources, and there is a comprehensive bibliography and an index. Apposite illustrations appear throughout the text in this very well written book. It is an enjoyable read and highly recommended.


4 Shells

40. Jane Eyre The Graphic Novel by Charlotte Bronte

Because the Graphic Novel format tells the story mainly in dialogue you lose all the commentary, all the fleshing out of the characters, all the description and all the beauty of Charlotte Bronte’s language.

What the Graphic novel format gives you is imagery, dialogue and a précis of the story, which can be read in a couple of hours.

The artwork is produced on good quality artpaper, the text has been cleverly selected to give the flavour of the book and it does form a coherent storyline.

At times I found the transitions a bit abrupt and I had to turn back to reread to get the flow of the story but this is a minor quibble.

For what it is, I think it is very well done and the artwork is excellent given the nature of the text. There are only a few highly dramatic incidents in Jane Eyre that would allow for spectacular artwork and these have been utilised effectively.

I am not at all sure that the Graphic novel of Jane Eyre would provide a satisfactory introduction to reading the full text, as the publishers say. My impression was that I needed to have read the text to fully appreciate the truncated version. I can only compare the Graphic novel to a film version which of necessity has to tell the story in pictures and dialogue but which leaves out all the descriptive elements. However, a film and also a Graphic novel can no doubt be enjoyed on its own terms. On that basis it definitely rates as a satisfactory experience.


4 Shells

Message #85.
Hi TT
I read some of Yancey's books including The Jesus I Never Knew If you haven't read this one, I recommend it.

I also appreciated his book What's so Amazing About Grace. Thanks for your well-written synopsis. This prompts me to go back and re-read it (hopefully in 2009.)

I haven't read any Yancey except bits and pieces of the books he's co-authored with Paul Brand. Hmmm my dad's just written a piece entitled What's so Great About Salvation? that he wants me to edit/proof. I wonder if there is a lot of overlap with What's so Amazing About Grace?, might have to look into that.

I just looked it up on amazon (love that "peek inside" feature). Dad's is more a look at salvation, the Bible and evolution from a scientists' standpoint. Good stuff, but not an easy, as in comfortable, read.

>91 Whisper1: Whisper, I have read The Jesus I Never Knew. Planning a reread of that in 2009 as I raced through it and need to reread it slowly.

>92 suslyn: suse, I would be interested in reading your dad's piece when it is finished. Is it a book or an article?

I did not like The Thirteenth Tale. I left it in bookshelf in a hotel in Hoi An, Vietnam last November .Maybe some traveller will read it on a rainy day.

#89 TT: I have read several of Diana Preston's books, including A Pirate of Exquisite Mind, and have found them all to be well researched. You might give some of her other books a try, if you are interested.

>94 torontoc: torontoc - ending up in a hotel in Hoi An, Vietnam - seems a worthy fate! Pity the poor traveller who is confined to his hotel room on a dreary, wet, miserable day and then has The Thiteenth Tale inflicted on him!

> 95 Thanks for the recommendation Stasia.

- TT

Hmmm. Pirate certainly seems like a fun book. Yet another for the TBR list...8^}

>93 TheTortoise: Dad's work is very rough atm and is 89 double spaced Word doc pages. Once he get's rolling it is compelling, but the first paragraph doesn't work at all. I'm not even sure how to begin to tackle it. Maybe I should pray about that!

I'll let him know. He's a brilliant guy. One of his fellow scientists at Glaxo told me that a discovery of dad's was as foundational to the future of medicine as Salk's work is. In this day and age things like that often get swallowed up in the corporate structure. The fun thing is that it is because he is a creationist that he was able to pursue the path which led to the discovery. It was outside the possibilities for the evolutionist. Cool.

okay -- i figured out how to start italics correctly, but, obviously, not how to end them! hmmm I just wanted the word "because" in italic

Use to start and to end the italics. That's the basic pattern for all html formatting codes. Except, take the spaces out before and after the i and /i, of course.

</i>

Attempting to end the #98 italics that are continuing.... :-)

Edit: Well, that didn't work. suslyn, can you edit your message and close the italics so that the rest of the messages in this thread aren't in italics?

Well, it only took six months for me to "get" touchstones, so I figure italics and bold are somewhere in the next year!

Your comment in #81 about the relationship between authors and readers was interesting because that discussion was at the heart of Hallucinating Foucault by Patricia Duncker. I thought the book ended poorly, but the discussions on that topic were fascinating.

Edited to say Italics are ON and I didn't do it!

I tried to turn 'em off in #99 as well, but it didn't work...Also tried yet again here and it didn't work...

ETA: Aha! I added several more /i's and it worked. Apparently, there were several nested commands to turn on italics...

thx and sorry!

No worries! I'm an engineer. I *have* to fix it. Even if there are parts left over when I'm done putting things back together...8^}

Book No:41 Who Moved My Blackberry
Author: Lucy Kellaway
Read: Dec 1-7
Category: Humour
Pages: 375

My Review

Who Moved My Blackberry is written entirely in emails. The anti-hero is Martin Lukes. Director of Marketing for A&B Global (UK). He is totally self-obsessed, vain and egotistical. While pretending to be caring he is utterly selfish. In other words a hypocrite and a toady.

The book is a satire on modern business practices, which I found to be amazingly true-to-life. I recognised my own global companies’ business practices in this book: rebranding exercises, lunch and learn sessions, marketing initiatives, living the values and sloganeering. These are acutely and hilariously observed by Lucy Kellaway in this very enjoyable book.

The email format is necessarily repetitive but once I got used to it I was able to ignore the email headings and sign-offs and to get the flow of the incidents that unfold through the emails.

My Recommendation: A good easy read that provides an amusing take on big business.

My Rating:


3 Shells for the creation of the brilliantly observed obnoxious Martin Lukes.

Lucy Kellaway's columns in the FT are genius, but I have to admit to being just a wee bit disappointed by Who Moved My Blackberry?. I would concur with your rating - it's just, I was really hoping for four-star writing. Ordinarily she can make me cry with laughter, whereas I found this book to be more in the "hearty chuckle" zone.

I agree it's well worth a read, though - especially for anyone who loves Dilbert.....

Book No: 42 Lost Horizons
Author: James Hilton
Read: Dec 1-7
Category: Classic English Fiction
Pages: 190

My Review

Lost Horizons is about Shagri-La, the Utopia in the unexplored mountains of Tibet. Without drama or high adventure Hilton’s wonderful story is told in simple measured prose that is pleasantly seductive.

Conway, his hero, is a fascinating and highly complex character as is the High Lama who reveals the secret of Shangri-La to Conway.

Quote from the Book: “I can face it, like any future, but in order to make me keen it must have a point. I’ve sometimes doubted whether life has any; and if not, long life must be even more pointless.” I found this a fascinating viewpoint and it made me think that life without purpose is truly pointless. Fortunately, I believe that life does have a purpose and long life is not necessarily required for the fulfilment of that purpose.

In Shangri-La they adopted a philosophy of moderation in all things “avoiding excess of all kinds – even excess of virtue itself.”

Rejecting the so-called virtues of hard work and ambition they pursued the gentler pastimes of reading, contemplation and music. Sounds good to me!

Lost Horizons has the three qualities that make for a truly satisfying read: a fascinating central character, a gripping story and a pleasing style in which nothing jars.

My Recommendation: Lost Horizons is excellent and I highly recommend it.

My Rating:


5 Shells

I love Lost Horizons, too - both the book and the movie version with Ronald Coleman!

Me too! If you haven't seen the movie, TT, it's a definite must see classic from Hollywood's early list of great films.

Oh goodness...you have just added another to the TBR pile....now I guess if I'm going to remain a member in good standing of this group, I'll have to find a category or a group or a something to put it in. In case you all haven't noticed, I am NOT one of those OCD people. I think it will just be put on the list that keeps growing and growing and growing.....

#105

Who Moved My Blackberry--I love epistolary novels but have never seen one done in emails! I will have to look this one up and check it out. I could also use an "easy" read this time of year!

ETA I loved Lost Horizon when I read it as a teenager! I think I will read it again and see how it "wears."

Book No: 43 How To Read The Bible for All It is Worth
Author:Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart
Read: Dec 1 - 11
Category: Christian Non-Fiction
Pages: 224

My Review

How To Read the Bible for All It is Worth provides an approach to a study of the Bible that is sensible, practical, balanced and wise. The authors argue that before attempting to apply the biblical text to the “here and now” (which is how they narrowly define the principle of hermeneutics) it is important to perform exegesis (how the text was understood in the “there and then”).

The authors provide exegetical guidelines for the various types of biblical texts that will be encountered in reading the Bible. For example the prophets need to be understood by recognising and delineating the various oracles they record, the epistles need to be broken down into paragraphs, the psalms into types, etc. The authors show how to do this using common sense and Bible helps such as dictionaries, commentaries and Bible Handbooks. So, this is not just a book to read but to be used as a textbook for study.

The authors also give guidance on the types of Bible translations and their various strengths and weaknesses, whether the translation is literal, dynamic equivalence or paraphrase, and how to use these types of translation.

My Recommendation:

Overall this is an excellent book for providing a common sense approach to Bible study, I highly recommend it.

My Rating:


5 Shells

#112: Sounds like another good book, TT. I will have to look for it.

Have you read How to Study Your Bible? I've found this method to be the fasting way to growing disciples and grounding them. Wonderful stuff -- and perfect for readers -- the main thing is reading and re-reading the text. fun fun

ETA: Another must read in this vein is Robertson McQuilkin's Understanding and Applying the Bible. Wonderful stuff.

The problem I often encounter is that folks make studying the Bible hard. It doesn't have to be. The method outlined in these two, but most easily implementable (a word?!) in Arthur's, is not hard. Long to longish, yes. Hard, no. Good? you betcha

(A bit of my background: before I married I was a church planting missionary with emphasis on training folks in how to study (Bible) and networking. Doesn't make me an expert, but did give me wide exposure to a lot of approaches et al.)

Book No:44 Cold Comfort Farm
Author: Stella Gibbons
Read: Dec 11-12
Category: English Classic
Pages: 233

My Review

To review a long-established classic that has been described as “Brilliant…very probably the funniest book ever written” (Julie Burchill, Sunday Times) and by an Lter as “better than Wodehouse” one would appear to be labouring under a severe handicap. When I was much younger than I am today I would have been intimidated to assert my opinion in the face of such overwhelming endorsement. However, I am of mature years and I have a sound judgement and have formed my own tastes based on long experience.

So I will venture to give what I consider to be my honest opinion of this book.

First let me deal with the comparison between Gibbons and Wodehouse. Wodehouse writes with all the scintillating brilliance of a many faceted diamond – his prose fairly crackles and sparkles with witticisms, his plotting is faultless and his characters are delineated memorably. By comparison I found Gibbons merely clever with her naming of her characters and animals. The characters lacked depth and are mostly forgettable and none of them were likeable, especially not Flora her main character. I could detect no motivation for her actions throughout the book.

As for the plot, it purported to be a merciless parody of rural melodrama. Well, it was certainly merciless on this reader, but the parody for me lacked any true comic depth or wit. The fairy tale ending of a couple flying off into the sunset was a complete cop-out. The underlying issues were not dealt with and wrapped up i.e. the wrong done to Floras father and the subject of Flora’s “rights”.

The “something nasty in the woodshed” parody was done to death and of course, was never brought to light as this is the big joke in the book. I, for one, did not laugh.

On the positive side I did smile four or five times and I especially liked the name of the religious group: The Church of the Quivering Brethren.” But to have to read 233 pages to end up with that is just not my idea of a good read.

Overall, as I read I was waiting for the pleasure to kick in and unfortunately, it never did. This book does not even make it into my top 250 books, whereas Wodehouse is in my top ten!

My Recommendation:
If you like this sort of book then this is the sort of book you will like. I found it dull.

My Rating:


3 Shells

>115 TheTortoise: TT ~ I recently listened to Cold Comfort Farm as an audio book read by Anna Massey. Her rendition of the various character voices was funny in itself. But I agree with you that Wodehouse is vastly superior!

Book No: 45 Heavy Weather
Author: P. G. Wodehouse
Read: Dec 13-15
Category: Humour
Pages: 234

My Review

The “Heavy Weather” of the title is a case of jealousy which leads to a brilliantly complex plot to equal Shakespeare’s “A Comedy of Errors.”

The literary allusions in this story are used to great effect. For example: Ronald Fish, the hero of the story, is in the grip of jealousy when his aunt enters the room. Ronald has not yet changed his tie for dinner.

“’My dear Ronald! That tie!’
Ronald Fish gazed at her lingeringly. It needed, he felt, but this. Poison was running through his veins, his world was rocking; green-eyed devils were shrieking mockery in his ears and along came blasted aunts babbling of ties. It was as if somebody had touched Othello on the arm as he poised the pillow and criticized the cut of his doublet” Sheer Genius!

With a cast of eccentric, likeable characters Wodehouse weaves his magic from page one with verve and gusto. He creates a feeling of such wonderful pleasure until he brings his plot to a satisfying and beautifully worked out conclusion.

My Recommendation:

Excellent plot, likeable characters and a superb style. Sheer pleasure!

My Rating:


5 Shells

>117 TheTortoise: A great review, TT. I shall have to add Heavy Weather to my Wodehouse TBR list! I recently enjoyed Bill the Conqueror and am now reading Something Fishy.

I have never read any P.G. Wodehouse. I obviously need to correct this gap in my reading repertoire.

I've only read a few Jeeves and Wooster stories which I have enjoyed. I got started on them because my older son introduced me to Jeeves and Wooster played by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie on BBC. (I really love those shows--great acting and really funny!) We may to pick TT's brain and find out how to really appreciate Wodehouse!

(Hugh Laurie is currently pretending to be an American doctor named House on Fox TV. He's good on that show, too. And this is a recommendation from someone who doesn't watch much TV--this is one of two shows I watch)

>119 alcottacre: & 120 Wodehouse writes the most stylish nonsense - he is a master of the humorous phrase - a fine intelligence, witty, urbane, extremely well read in English Literature, Shakespeare and the Bible. His literary allusions abound and he uses them to absolutely marvellous effect. Stasia, try Heavy Weather to sample his mastery of plotting or any of the Jeeves and Wooster stories to sample his wit and sheer joie de vivre.

You could probably polish one of his books off in a couple of hours, they are so deliciously easy to read and enjoy. Best read between something heavy and sombre like Kafka or one of the Russians!

ETA: Touchstone corrected!

- TT

Heavy Weather--try this touchstone to get to the Wodehouse book!

I've never yet read any Wodehouse either, but he's one of those writers (like Gerald Durrell) that my in-laws are totally immersed in and struggle to understand why I've never read any. I've put Wodehouse on Wodehouse: Send in the Girls on my TBR list as a result of an LT comment (can't remember where now!) as it sounded very entertaining.

>123 FlossieT: Flossie, that was me! See Msg 28, Book 11 above.

- TT

To all my new friends on the 75 Books Group you are cordially invited to join our new Generic Book Group and to take part in our group reads:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/thehighlyratedbookgr

The Highly-Rated Book Group is currently being co-chaired by TheTortoise and vintage_books. We look forward to welcoming you as a new or continuing member.

- TT

Book No:46 New Testament: New King James Version
Author: Various
Read: Sept 01 – Dec 23
Category: The Bible
Pages:146

My Review

Four Gospels tell the story of Jesus: His birth, life, miracles, teaching, death and resurrection as foretold by the Old Testament Prophets.

The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the birth of the New Testament church in Jerusalem, its Judaic beginnings and its spread to the rest of the Roman world through the missionary activities of Paul.

The Epistles detail the New Covenant that God promised through the Old Testament prophets, that salvation would be by faith in Jesus Christ through the grace of God. Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews explains to them how the Old Covenant of sacrifice of animals in the Temple was in process of being abolished (this was completely abolished in 70AD with the total destruction of the temple as foretold by Christ.) He explained that the New Covenant had now super ceded the old one. Christ, he explained, was the perfect sacrifice and no other was now required. Through his death and resurrection Christ had reconciled us to God once for all, and by expressing our faith in Him and trusting in God we have eternal salvation from sin and spiritual death.

The book of Revelation continues this theme and in it we are promised that there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain. This is the hope and future for all mankind, we are assured.

My Recommendation:

Absolutely indispensible for understanding the meaning and purpose of life and God’s intentions for all mankind. Some passages may be difficult to understand without consulting Bible helps, dictionaries and commentaries. The Book of Revelation in particular is a difficult book to fathom because of its overtly symbolic nature, even with help!

My Rating:


5 Shells

An excellent help to Revelation is the Precept course available through Precept Ministries International (https://secure2.convio.net/pmi/site/Ecommerce/1139190849?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=4199&store_id=1101)

This is another topic which spurred to write. A Precept studies leader himself, he found the list of things which were clear to be so astounding that he wanted/wants to write it up :)

Great review TT

Book No: 47 Shantaram
Author: Gregory David Roberts
Read: Dec 6 - 25
Category: Autobiographical Novel
Pages: 933

My Review

Shantaram is an autobiographical novel of a gangster on the run. Serving twenty years for armed robbery in an Australian jail he escapes and using a forged New Zealand passport he makes his way to Bombay. With a new identity he is assimilated into the Bombay slum of 25,000 people where he establishes a free clinic and becomes well-known as Linbaba.

Linbaba is a remarkable mix of saint and sinner. He is a hardened criminal with a heart of gold. The extraordinary experiences which are based on Roberts own life are told with an incredible command of words. His craft as a novelist has been honed to perfection over many years. With lush detail he describes the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feel of Bombay. With great power of expression he took me into the teeming mass of the people of Bombay – his novel is as sprawling as the city.

He describes with loving attention to detail the characters, conversations and appearances of everyone he meets. This detailed analysis is both his strength and his weakness. A strength because he took me there and I saw, heard and felt everything. I came to understand the people of Bombay and the Indian character as never before. He made me love them as he loved them. His guide and friend in Bombay is a truly lovable and utterly charming character called Prabaker or Prabu for short. It was a delight to make his acquaintance and Linbaba captures his speech patterns in loving and hilarious detail. A real joy.

The detail is also a weakness because he made me feel and experience the depth of degradation of the slums, the horrific violence that he both experienced and inflicted as a gangster, and the despair of his own lawless and drug-addicted life. It also makes the novel very long, but this may also be its strength!

After two years as a medico in the Bombay slum, Linbaba became a mafia gangster involved in illegal currency transfer, gold smuggling and passport forgery. He also becomes involved in gun-running to Afghanistan.

The Mafia Don, for whom Linbaba works as a Mafia soldier, is a strange character; he is a Muslim given to philosophical musings about suffering and the meaning of life. He is a moral criminal, who refuses to get involved in prostitution and drugs, who thinks that murder is evil but is not above using violence and murder to achieve his aims. I cannot imagine what he prays about when he goes to the Mosque! I suspect he gives honest Muslims a bad name.

This book is both powerful and disturbing. The writing is accomplished, the subject matter deals with the underbelly of Bombay – its depiction of criminal activities and man’s inhumanity to man. It caused me deep feelings of despair of the human nature that is depicted in all its awfulness. On reading this book my heart cried out to God: “Father, may Your kingdom come!”

My Recommendation:

Recommended for the sheer exuberance, richness and brilliance of the writing with the caveat that the book portrays violence vividly and in minute detail and the F word is used liberally in places.

My Rating:


4 Shells

For the vividness and power of the descriptive writing. But I wouldn't want to read it again!

My reading pal in France was completely enthralled by Shantaram. However, with her belief system being different than yours, the fellow became some kind of hero for her.

Nice review -- thanks. Blessings of the season to you and yours TT

I'm really glad you enjoyed Shantaram as it blew me away when I read it and I got so much from it that I have read it a few times more, none of the times all the way through though, just picking out the bits I want.

I would definitely recommend it to someone who I felt could cope with that amount of description and epicness and detail!!

#128: Great review of Shantaram, TT. Thanks for all the info!

great review, TT. since reading an interview with the author some time ago this book has intrigued me. now, with ur comments, i'm more than convinced it has to go on my 2009 pile!

Book No: 48 Rebel
Author: Bernard Cornwell
Read: Dec 1 -26
Category: Historical Fiction
Pages: 435

My Review

Rebel is the story of Nathaniel Starbuck, a preacher’s son from the North who joins the Confederacy as a Rebel soldier.

In Starbuck, Cornwell has created an engaging character that is all too human. With his father’s sermons ringing in his ears he becomes a thief, a fornicator, a liar and finally a murderer and a traitor to his Northern roots by turning Rebel.

Rebel is full of fascinating characters. In terrific detail Cornwell takes us into the first battle of the Civil War at Manassas (or Bull Run as the North called it) on July 21, 1861. All the confusion, heat, dirt, blood and horror of battle is delineated with consummate skill.

Cornwell engages the attention with fascinating incidents and his style is captivating, energetic, lively and satisfying. He is a first-rate historical writer and is immensely readable and ultimately satisfying.

This was the first book I have read by Cornwell but will certainly not be the last. There are three more books in the Starbuck series.

A Quote from the book: “ ‘You look lovely,’ Ridley said, though in truth he had found her company ever more grating in these last few days. She had no education, no subtlety and no wit. What she had was the face of an angel, the body of a whore, and his bastard in her belly.”

My Recommendation:

Thoroughly recommended as a thrilling and satisfying historical narrative.

My Rating:


5 Shells

Book No: 49 The King and Mrs Simpson
Author: Erin Francis Schulz
Read: Dec 27
Category: Biographical Sketch
Pages:136

My Review

The King and Mrs Simpson is a short biographical snapshot of the events surrounding the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936. Any one expecting a sweeping romantic narrative has got hold of the wrong book. This is a very short book, which in spite of 136 numbered pages is actually about 100 pages long as there is an enormous amount of white space within the book. So you don’t get much for the price of $13.95 which is approx 13 cents per page. It took me about two hours or less to read it.

The story is told in bare bones outline, so what you have is a précis of the events. It is as though the author had submitted a synopsis of the story and the publisher decided to publish it, without realising it was synopsis!

The main point I got from the story is that Edward was so infatuated with Wallis Simpson that against all sound advice he was totally determined to abdicate and marry her. She was not to blame at all.

My Recommendation:

If all you want are the bare facts then this is for you – otherwise you pay your money and you takes your choice.

My Rating:


3 Shells

Great review of The King and Mrs. Simpson. I agree with your comments. As mentioned before, it wasn't a book that captivated attention. It was dry, dull and boring.

Book No: The Old Testament: New King James Version
Author: Various
Read: Sept 1 – Dec 31
Category: The Bible
Pages: 505

My Review

From the majestic opening: “In the beginning God created...” we are brought into the presence of the Lord of creation. In sweeping dramatic statements the whole of creation is brought into existence by a word from the mouth of the Creator. In its stirring narrative sweep we are captivated and carried along into a story filled with dramatic incidents and written with great poetic power.

The whole family of man is begun with a single couple. (I hope I am not giving the plot away here!). After the great flood God begins to separate the nations into distinct ethnic groups through the three sons of Noah. At the tower of Babel further distinctions are made through the separation into language groups which causes people to disperse throughout the middle and far eastern regions of the earth.

Many years later God chose a single individual through whom he would begin to unfold his purposes. Abram, later renamed Abraham, the Father of many nations, was called out of an idol worshipping city to the land of Canaan. His son, Isaac was the father of Jacob whose name was later changed to Israel. It was through him that God created the nation of Israel and later the nation of Judah.

One of Jacob’s sons, Joseph became a slave in Egypt. It was through Joseph that God brought the other 11 sons of Jacob into Egypt to save them from starvation. After Joseph died they became slaves to the Pharaoh. After 400 years God created Moses to bring judgement on idol-worshipping Egypt and through a series of ten plagues delivered the whole nation of Israel from slavery and brought them into the Sinai Wilderness where he gave them His perfect laws, and entered into a marriage contract with them.

Under Joshua God brought them back into Canaan and they became an established nation under the rule of David and his son Solomon. Unfortunately after Solomon, the nation became divided into two distinct groups, Israel and Judah. They reverted to idol worship and practiced immorality to the extent of sacrificing their children to pagan gods.

God sent them a series of prophets to warn them against those abominable practices but they refused to listen and over the course of many years they became entrenched in such practices until it became impossible for God to reach them. He had no alternative but to punish them with captivity and transportation which He had said He would do if they refused to listen.

God created a fierce nation, the Babylonians, and He gave their King, Nebuchadnezzar, the rulership of the whole earth. He conquered the nation of Israel and Judah and they were taken into captivity. Jerusalem the capital of Judah was destroyed. God created Cyrus and made him send them back to their own land. So after seventy years, God permitted them to return to Jerusalem.

Under wise and faithful priests the nation of Judah were restored to the worship of the Creator and idol-worship was completely banished. They began to keep the sign of the covenant which was resting on the seventh day from all labour. This was the Old Covenant, the marriage contract that God initiated, but which they broke by practicing idol-worship.

Through the prophets God promised them that he would raise up a deliverer who would establish a kingdom that would never be destroyed. He also promised them a New Covenant that would not be based on trying to keep laws which they found impossible to keep, but that he would write His law in their hearts and put it in their minds. This was to be a new marriage contract which would never be annulled because it was to be based on better conditions.

My Recommendation:

This is the most thrilling and dramatic story of all time. A story created by God to reach the heart and mind. Its impact is so far reaching and is so life-transforming that I had to yield to its majestic narrative power. Throughout the whole sweeping panorama of God’s dealings with Israel and Judah I could sense Him reaching out to me with a message filled with incredible heart-stopping love, hope and salvation. It brought tears to my eyes as I read words filled with beauty, power and love. I thoroughly recommend it. Some parts may be difficult to understand but read it for its narrative sweep.

My Rating:


5 Shells

So I have read 50 books in 5 months!

Actually I have read half of another book on Shakespeare's History Plays and a couple of essays in another book and I have skimmed through another book but I won't count those becasue 50 is such a lovely round number that I don't want to spoil it!

Hey Tad, your number thingy works - thanks!

- TT

Dagnabit, TT, you gave it all away in paragraph 2! Everything was fine on Earth until the people showed up!

Seriously though, I love your review of the Bible. Even for people who do not believe it is wonderful literature and history. In 2009, I plan on reading it through at least twice.

>138 alcottacre:: Stasia, is it really 4.40 where you are?? No wonder you get so much reading done...

#139: No, Rachael, it is actually 3:40am where I am in Texas, and yes, I have one eye glued to LT and the other planted firmly in a book!

It is 9.59am here in the UK.

So you are only 6 hours ahead of me. I thought it was more than that.

We put the clocks back in October, or was it forward?! No I'm sure it was back - or it could have been forward. It was definately one of those, forward I think, or maybe back. Now I come to think of it, it was definately back, or was it definately forward. No, it has to be back. Or forward. No its got to be back otherwise the time difference would be longer, or do I mean shorter? No it must be longer, so we put put them forward, no, I mean back!

- TT

Spring forward, fall back, TT :)

I wish I could cope with fewer hours of sleep - went to bed at 2 last night and am suffering for it this morning (eurgh).

#144: I never get in bed before 6am, and most mornings it is after 8am. I am not, nor have I ever been, a morning person, lol.

>145 alcottacre: Thanks Flossie - Now i will never get confused - I will spring forward and fall back from now on! Only problem is we have Autumn in England!

- TT

Year-end wrap-up

Since Aug 1st I have read fifty books:

Fiction: 28 Books
Non-Fiction: 22 Books

I am surprised to see how fairly well-balanced my reading was between fiction and non-fiction. I was expecting fiction to predominate much more.

I read 17 recommended book by LT members:

Fiction:11

0 were excellent
6 were good
3 were OK
2 were Clunkers

Non-Fiction: 6

3 were excellent
2 were good
1 was OK
0 were Clunkers

Draw your own conclusions!

- TT

TT

Love the review of The Old Testament in KJV. I've read the Bible through in both the KJV and the NIV and I prefer KJV even though I know there is much controversy about this translation now. But the KJV was the Bible of my youth and the one from which I memorized all those verses. I love the language and how it flows. (I also love Shakespeare.) This year I'm planning to read The Message. I've read most of the NT in The Message but not the OT. My first copy was NT only.

Stasia--

True--that's when the "trouble" started. But don't a lot of married couples say that the trouble started when the kids came along--and yet would never consider wishing they hadn't had them. We would be lonely without them--even when they drive us to distraction. We are God's children.

>148 MusicMom41: Carolyn, it ws only when I read How to Read the Bible for All it is Worth that I discovered the inherent weaknesses and strengths of the various versions. I was surprised that the authors championed the NIV above the KJV for example.

The KJV or NKJV is a literal transalation
The NIV is dynamic equivalence
The Message is a paraphrase.

The best type of translation is dynamic equivalence apparently but the other versions have their uses for reading and comparing. I have read many versions but kept coming back to the NKJV. However I plan to read and study the NIV in 2009 and to read The Message.

- TT

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth has just been added to my wish list.

I have been a Bible reader all my life and we own several different "versions" of both translations and paraphrases. The Message is the only paraphrase I have ever been able to put up with--to me Peterson really does seem to "get the Message!" But I've only read the NT so don't know if I will agree with that view when I read the OT.

Have you ever read The Five Books of Moses by Dr. Everett Fox. His translation tries to preserve the style and rhythm of the Hebrew language and I find it a pleasure to read.

>150 MusicMom41: Carolyn, No, I have never come across the Everett Fox translation. I will look out for it.

- TT

For study I use the NASB. I was going to say when I want a smoother read I switch to NIV but I realized it isn't true. There are some translation choices in the NIV which are just plain wrong and it irks me enough to mar the purpose of the choice. I have tried a couple of the other translations but mainly I just use NASB.

Right now, however, I read them online as the movers shipped the wrong box to storage. I was thrilled to find a Good News Bible at a sidewalk sale in Bucharest. I remember using it in Sunday School when I was a kid -- I still like their illustrations.

Great review of the OT TT (I like that - ot tt!)