Favorites from the past

A World Lit Only by Fire

by William Manchester

Every Friday, Alyce At Home With Books features this meme inviting us to look back at a favorite book from the past.  Since this week, I'll be doing an Unfinished Friday post, I'm posting this one today while the memory is fresh like the snowflakes falling quietly outside.  It's amazing how the smallest things can trigger our memories.

This week's memory was triggered by a scene in a Louise Penny book I's reading: The Fatal Grace where Inspector Gamage walks into a room lit by oil lamps because a huge blizzard had knocked out the power.  He stopped and said to himself "...a world lit only by fire."  Instantly I remembered this book which I read at least ten years ago.  It was published in 1993, and it's going back on my re-read pile.  I don't remember details, but I do remember I closed it and said 'that was a good book!'  Here's how it's described on the Amazon site:

It speaks to the failure of medieval Europe, writes popular historian William Manchester, that "in the year 1500, after a thousand years of neglect, the roads built by the Romans were still the best on the continent." European powers were so absorbed in destroying each other and in suppressing peasant revolts and religious reform that they never quite got around to realizing the possibilities of contemporary innovations in public health, civil engineering, and other peaceful pursuits. Instead, they waged war in faraway lands, created and lost fortunes, and squandered millions of lives. For all the wastefulness of medieval societies, however, Manchester notes, the era created the foundation for the extraordinary creative explosion of the Renaissance. Drawing on a cast of characters numbering in the hundreds, Manchester does a solid job of reconstructing the medieval world, although some scholars may disagree with his interpretations.

Later, when Thomas Cahill started his Hinges of History series, I found my positive reaction to Manchester laid a great foundation for reading Cahill.  And here, in Maine in the winter, we quite often have short periods of time when the world is truly 'lit only by fire.'  It's magnificent.

New England Bloggers 1st Birthday

New England Bloggers Celebrate their 

1st year!

Tomorrow (January 27th) marks a big day in the calendar for the New England Bloggers.  This has been an exciting year for all of us as we get to know each other's sites and interests. A year ago, Elizabeth (AKA the Evil Overlord) began the daunting task of rounding up, listing and linking those of us in the blogosphere who lived and blogged in the glorious 6 state area known as New England.  We've had a great time finding out about each other: some of us do cooking, others crafting, sewing, art, and book reviews.  Our October mixer celebrating our reaching 100 members was especially fun as we went round visiting new sites and making new friends.

I've learned a lot about the diversity in the area, and am looking forward to visiting more of your blogs during the upcoming year.  Let's hope we grow some more, have some more "getting to know you" events, and maybe someday we'll find a village green, strike a tent, and all get together in real vice virtual space.

I'm not a native New Englander --I'm one of those people "FROM AWAY".  Hubbie and I fell in love with Maine's rugged coastline on our honeymoon, and decided 42+ years ago that we would someday have to live here where we could enjoy the lighthouses, the ocean, the wildlife, the blueberries, and the incredible seafood.  All of that is wonderful, but it's the people who make New England the place to be.  I've not yet met anyone here in Maine who would not stop and give me any help I needed if I asked --- and I probably wouldn't even have to ask.

There isn't a week that goes by that I don't see a church supper or benefit being held to help out fellow townspeople.  There isn't a week that goes by without some exotic wildlife sighting (exotic to me anyway), some new taste sensation being thrust at me, or some gorgeous sunrise or sunset bursting over the ocean here on the coast. 

This week for instance we get to escape our icy 1000 ft long driveway as the 'big snow' of last week finally melts.  Of course in New England we know to laugh at that because......come on........it's still January and we remember that this pile melts and that just means we're making room for the next batch.

So I'm not baking anything spectacular for the party--we had some crab for dinner and we're having hazelnut gelato for dessert (picked it up this afternoon at Hannaford's) with some Sweet Grass Winery (from nearby Union Maine)  Blueberry Beaujolais.  Life doesn't get any better.  What are you having?

No matter how you celebrate, let's all give a HUGE thank you to Elizabeth for being our fairy godmother.  She deserves a particular round of applause and a big virtual hug.

Elizabeth--this one's for you!

Review: Lovely Bones

Author: Alice Sebold
Format: 328 pgs paperback ARC
Characters: Susie Salmon, her family, Ray Singh, Mr. Harvey
Subject: unsolved murder
Setting: Pennsylvania 1973 and forward
Genre: fiction
Source: ARC from Hachette Book Group


A wonderful read. Since this book was first released in 2002, it has been on the best seller list for years, has sold over 2.3 million copies.  Last summer, it was re-leased in a trade paperback format, leading up to the release of the motion picture just last week.  I can't believe I haven't read it before now.

As you probably know, this is the story of a 14 year old girl, Susie Salmon, who is murdered, but whose body is not found. Susie narrates the story from heaven and shows us what her parents, her siblings, her schoolmates, the police,and the murderer are doing as everyone searches for her body.
 
NO SPOILERS. It's actually a beautiful story of sorrow, mourning, forgiving, starting over, loving, and growing up. . I was afraid it would be too goulish, but it's not. Susie's description of heaven won't please everyone, nor is it so out of the ordinary to be thrown aside by those who don't believe in an afterlife. Sebold gives us real human emotion in simple, flowing prose.  I literally could not put this down.  At 328 pages, it took just about 6 glorious hours.  What a wonderful way to spend an evening.



Challenge: ARC

Review : Fireworks over Toccoa

Author: Jeffrey Stepakoff
Format: paperback galley proof 260 pgs
Characters: Lily Davis Woodward, Jake Russo, Andrew Woodward
Subject: love, duty, relationships, fireworks
Setting: Toccoa Georgia 1945, 2007
Genre: fiction
Source: Advanced Review Copy from St Martin's Press (Thomas Dunne Books)
Challenge: ARC

Married for just a few weeks before her husband Drew left to go overseas during the war, Lily Davis Woodward, daughter of a wealthy Coca Cola executive, has waited three long years to take her place in society. Now just a few days before his scheduled return, she meets Jake Russo, war veteran and pyrotechnic engineer. He is preparing a huge fireworks show to honor the returning servicemen.

When they meet, love happens-- slowly, tentatively, tenderly and then with same explosiveness of Jake's fireworks.

In understated, elegant, exquisite prose, Stepakoff presents us with a painful, tragic, gorgeous, affirming love affair. The character development of Lily and Jake, as well as the presentation of Lily's parents and other supporting characters, gives us a picture of longing, duty, relationships, and heartbreaking honesty. Lily's dad for instance says to her when he suspects she's conflicted about her husband's return:

"I have been married to the same woman at least five times. Marriage comes in phases. Some good, some not so good. But you work through things, and you grow, and you change, and you stick by the decision that you made, even when you were seventeen.  That is your duty." (pg. 178)

The searing anguish of these star-struck lovers reaches its peak when Lily must choose whether to leave her home and roam the world with Jake shooting fireworks, or stay with her husband.  The resolution of her dilemma is heart rending but almost inevitable.  I will not spoil it for other readers.

This is simply one of the best love stories I've read in my adult life.

Review: China Lake

Author: Meg Gardiner

Format: 12 discs , 416 pgs equivalent
Characters: Evan, Brian, Luke & Tabitha Delaney,
Subject: Cults, Naval Aviation, crime
Setting: China Lake Air Station California
Series: Evan Delaney mysteries
Genre: mystery- amateur sleuth, thriller
Source: Overdrive audio download from public library

A new protagonist for me.  Evan Delaney, attorney turned writer, has been given temporary custody of her nephew Luke.  Luke's father (Evan's brother) is a Naval Aviator who is deployed to keep the world safe for democracy.  His mother abandoned him because she could not abide the 'Navy way' of life.  Mom subsequently joins a cult, which cult subsequently tries to kidnap Luke.

Evan and her paraplegic boyfriend Jessie- another attorney become caught up in a series of rather 'suspend your belief' adventures as they try to return Luke to his father, now back from sea and stationed at China Lake Naval Base in the desert of California.

The book becomes a combination of good cop/bad cop, Rapture meets Hollywood, biological warfare meets Top Gun.  I enjoyed the story but found Evan's character really stretched my ability to believe any of this could really have gone down the way it is portrayed.





Challenge: Audio Books, Thrillers & Suspense, Support Your Local Library

Mini-Review: The Black Echo

By now most of the literate western world is aware of Michael Connelly's Harry (Heronimous) Bosch-- a rugged individualist with great detective instincts.  I finally got around to reading him last fall when I got an ARC of The Brass Verdict and decided I wanted to go back to the beginning of this fascinating character.  Black Echo is the first of what is now up to fifteen adventures.

With still vivid memories of his days serving in Vietnam, Bosch is called to investigate the murder of someone who served with him. In a plot with many twists, and indelible characters who keep us guessing as to who is on which side of good or bad, Connelly presents us with a protagonist who shows humanity along with ingenuity. Paired with a female FBI agent, Bosch is soon on the trail of bank robbers who seem to be tied to his homicide victim. There are Internal Affairs investigators, pompous Police Captains, and officious FBI operatives, but somehow Connelly avoids stereotyping. Definitely recommended.



Challenges: , Audio Books, Thrillers Suspense, Support Your Local Library

Review: Death of a Valentine

Author: M.C. Beaton
Format: Hardback, 246 pages
Characters: Hamish Macbeth, Josie McSween
Subject: murder, romantic entrapment
Setting: Scottish Highlands
Series: Hamish Macbeth Mystery
Genre: mystery- cozy, police procedural
Source: ARC from Hachette Books

Hamish Macbeth finally goes to the altar??  

The story opens with Hamish standing before the altar as the minister asks the familiar "If any amongst you know of any reason why this man should not be joined to this woman...."

After being assigned a wee lassie female police constable as his assistant, Hamish is confronted with a series of murders, and he suspects they're related.  While he tries to avoid the amorous advances of Constable Josie McSween, he manages to investigate, and solve the crimes. Throughout the story though the reader anxiously waits to see.  Does Josie get her man?

Hamish Macbeth fans would lynch any reviewer who tells!  If you are a fan of this wonderful cozy police procedural series set in the Scottish highlands, you will surely enjoy this one.  If you've not read any before, it works as a stand alone.  And I'll never tell............


Challenge:ARC

Unfinished Friday --- Or is it?

The italics are the beginning of this post that I started earlier this week:
 
 For the past 9 months I've been picking this book up, trying to read it (or figure out what the premise is, or asking myself what it's all about, etc., etc.), and it's just not singing out "finish me, finish me." In fact, each time I've tried reading it, the other side of my brain is going "why are you wasting your time.?  I'm not liking this...."

I'm sure Shakespeare buffs are falling on their swords right now, but sorry, this one is going onto the abandoned pile--since it's a clearly marked NOT FOR SALE ARC, I can't even donate it to the library for its annual book sale. If you are interested in more objective assessments, BOOKLIST and Publisher's Weekly have blurbs you can read here.
Now...
At this point, I began paging through to see how far I really got, and my brain clicked on again.  "This book is downright funny" I thought. "Some of this is finally making sense.  I think I understand what the author is trying to do here"...So I planned to finish it over the weekend, and then give you the final review.  In the meantime, I thought it would be worthwhile to admit that sometimes it takes a time or two for something to 'click' and we ought not be too hasty to toss something aside. I was really settling back, and actually got about 95 of the 320 pages done, but realized that while there are sections of this book that are genuinely funny, and the premise is terribly clever, I just cannot take the abundance of sex, more sex, drugs, and more drugs needed to tell the story the way the author presents it.   It is hereby permanently consigned to the abandoned forever pile. Sorry Will, but this book is not for me.

I appreciate the opportunity offered to review the book, and will point out that no body can read every book and have a favorable opinion.  Others, including some very well known authors, have rated it highly. If you're a Shakespeare fan, a humor fan, and like satire, you might want to give it a try.

Review: The Postmistress

Author: Sarah Blake

Format: paperback galley, 322 pages
Characters: Iris James, Harry Vale, Emma Fitch, William Fitch, Frankie Bard
Setting: Franklin Mass, London 1941
Genre: literary fiction
Source: LibraryThing Early Review program

Set on both sides of the Atlantic during the early months of WWII, this is a compelling novel that pulls us right into the lives of Iris James-the Postmaster at Franklin Mass on Cape Cod; Emma Fitch-new bride of the town's doctor; Harry Vale-a WWI vet who is convinced that the Germans will land a Uboat on Cape Cod; and of Frankie Bard, the radio reporter working in London with Edward R. Murrow during the Blitz

Miss James is determined to maintain order and discipline in her life. The mail will be stamped and delivered on time without pause.  Harry Vale wants her to lower the Post Office's flag pole by several feet, claiming it serves as a beacon to Germans off-shore.  Iris balks at that suggestion, but agrees to petition the postal department for permission.

Emma, still recovering from a feeling of being abandoned by parents who have died, clings to her husband trying to establish an identity in this small town. After listening to Frankie Bard's emotional broadcasts about the hardships being endured by the British during the bombing of London, and after other events I'll leave to the readers (I DON'T DO SPOILERS), Dr. Fitch leaves behind his practice, his town, and his bride to go to London to help the many victims of the bombings.  He writes to Emma every night, and she mails him a letter every day. He promises he will return after six months.  When his letters suddenly stop, Emma becomes more detached, and Iris, as she watches her continue to mail her daily letter, becomes more concerned.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Frankie meets Dr Fitch in an air raid shelter one evening, and emerges to find her apartment destroyed and her roomate (who had been covering the Jewish story) dead. She convinces Murrow to let her go behind the war lines into Germany to find out what is really going on with the Jews.  She goes through France and Germany, gathering stories but not sure how (or whether) she will be able to tell them.

It is difficult to write about this story without spoiling the ending.  It's not necessarily a mystery, but this is a nuanced, evolving study of the impact of trauma, callousness, abandonment, death, and cruelty on the human beings who must live through war, and whose ability to survive, whose very humanity is constantly tested.  Frankie's stories of horror and personal suffering are particularly poignant and her mental anguish as she struggles to find a frame in which to report them, and deal with her meeting with Dr. Fitch,  are a cogent and mesmerizing thread pulling us along to an inevitable and powerful ending.

I encourage the reader NOT to read the cover blurb.  The 'hint' there about what is going to happen is overplayed, and comes so late in the story, that it is better left behind.  The forceful march to the inescapable ending, and Blake's exquisite character development and prose make this a compelling page-turner. It is a five star read, and the reader needs no road map to enjoy the journey.

many many thanks to LT Early Review program for making this copy available.

Review: The Body in the Cast

Author: Katherine Hall Page

Format: 275 pages, hardback
Characters: Faith Fairchild, Penny Bartlett, Tom Fairchild
Subject: murder, catering, movie making
Setting: fictional town of Aleford, Massachusetts
Series: Faith Fairchild Mysteries
Genre: mystery- amateur sleuth
Source: public library


A well-developed mystery featuring amateur sleuth, Faith Fairchild.  This is the fifth in the series, but the first I have read.  Although there are references to previous episodes, the story stands alone quite well.

Faith Fairchild, married to the local minister, mother of two pre-schoolers, runs a catering business "Have Faith."  She is hired to provide food to the cast and crew of a big Hollywood movie being filmed in their small town outside of Boston. The film is to be a modern take on The Scarlett Letter. At the same time, the town is having an election with an unheard slate of three people running for one vacancy on the town select board.  One of the candidates is royally detested by most people in town.

As the filming begins, bodies start turning up, discovered by Faith.  Her black bean soup seems to be the culprit in a mass food poisoning that hits the entire crew. And everytime these incidents occur, filming must be delayed, and the director goes into a frenzy over his budget.

There is a cast of typical hollywood divas, under-appreciated crew members, spoiled children, all harboring enough secrets to keep NSA busy decoding for a year.

I enjoyed this book and will certainly look for at least one more in the series.  Faith seems to be a tick above the standard amateur sleuth.  She is helpful, thoughtful and quite intuitive, but does not strike off on her own, put herself in danger, or forget to involve the local police.  A thoroughly pleasant book with the added feature of recipes for several of the offerings from "Have Faith" catering.






Challenges: Audio Books, Thrillers-Suspense-Mystery,  Support Your Local library,

Review: True Blue

Author: David Baldacci
Narrator: Ron McClartey
Format:  12 discs (hrs) - equivalent 372 pgs
Characters: Mase Perry, Beth Perry, Roy Kingman
Subject: murder, national security,
Setting: Washington DC
Genre: Thriller, suspense
Source: Hachette Audio contest prize

This is a scary book.  The plot is scary, the characters scare the living blankety blank out of me, and the premise is nightmarish because it is so real.

It has a well developed, tightly written plot with many twists, surprises, and heart-stopping developments. Within the first 5 minutes of this audio, we have a US attorney murdered and his body stuffed in a dumpster by ??? --- are they good guys or bad guys??? This question will drop to the bottom of the dumpster with the body and only reappear much later in the book.  In the meantime we have a female prisoner being molested by a guard and threatened by other inmates while she's trying to hold on for 3 more days until her release.  And we have a high powered, big money corporate attorney discovering the body of a colleague in his office refrigerator when he goes for cream for his morning coffee.  So much for trying to come in early to get work done!

It has characters whose actions sometimes require us to suspend belief, (what would you do if you were facing a gang of hoodlums with automatic weapons??---I won't spoil it, but I'm not sure my choice would have been the one written). Our heroine is constatly ignoring common sense, speeding off on her Dukati, and getting into all kinds of trouble, but like WonderWoman, she manages to extricate herself---all without a gun, and often without the help of her sister the Police Chief or her buddy the lawyer !!

The good guys are almost stereotypical--the blond female Washington DC police chief Beth Perry; her sister Mason (Mase)--a cop wrongly accused of dealing drugs who has recently been released from prison and is trying to clear her name and get her badge and gun back; Ron Kingman, a college basketball star turned corporate attorney who befriends a homeless Vietnam vet by giving him shoes, twinkies, and keeping tabs to be sure he's ok.  Cap'n (the homeless vet) is one of the most fun characters in the book.  He provides a few sad but comic moments in a very intense book.

The bad guys are numerous and often masquerade as good guys.  The good guys aren't above a little law breaking if it serves their purpose.  In fact, one of the scariest aspects of this book is that it's hard to tell who's who----good guy? bad guy?

The story is almost a political commentary on the state of US national security today and the scariest premise of all is that this kind of activity is going on in the name of national security, and none of us will ever know, or could do a thing about it if we did know.

As an audio, it is well served by Ron McClartey's crime reporter voice.  I just wish that Hachette would not have included all the sound effects that seem to be de rigeur in today's MTV world.  I listen to audio books because I find it difficult due to physical limitations to hold books for long periods of time, and my eyes are getting 'old' and tired.  So I want to listen to the book.  I don't want a stage production.  My mind still works and I want to be able to IMAGINE the bullets zinging, the motorcycles zooming, the cars crashing.  And  Please............the "dum dah, dum dah, dum dah" music used to fade into and out of scenes reminds me of JAWS.  I almost expected a shark to pop up.  It will be bad enough when they make this a movie (and you know they will!) and we have to see all this.  Until then, I'd rather paint my own mental pictures thank you.





Challenge: Books Won, AudioBooks, Thrillers and Suspense

Many thanks to Hachette for making these available for blog contests.

Review: Key Lime Pie Murder

Author: Joanne Fluke

Format: audio - 12 hours, 374 pg equivalent
Characters: Hannah Swenson, Norman Rhodes, Mike Kingston
Subject: murder at the country fair
Setting: Lake Eden, Minnesota
Series: Hannah Swensen myseries (#9)
Genre: cozy mystery- amateur sleuth
Source: public library



These stories could never be described as great literature, but by this time (#9) in the series, the characters are like old friends, and we now read them as much to find out if Hannah will ever make up here mind and choose between the two gentlemen vying for her hand: Norman, a suave, gentle, geekie, cat-loving dentist, who normallytreats Hannah like a china princess; and Mike, the local sheriff, who manages to come and extricate Hannah from the traps she gets herself into trying to solve murders that seem to occur on a regular basis in Lake Eden Minnesota.

Norman's tendency to play knight errant to Hannah means that he often finds himself being rescued by his rival.  Hannah's mother and Norman's mother (who are in cahoots to marry their offspring to each other) also continue to muddy the waters, and her sisters continue to help out.  Nothing new, but still fun and easy to read.  And the recipes still make the series worth owning....like a set of cookbooks.




Challenge: Audiobooks; Thrillers, SuspenseMysteries; Support Your Local Library

Review: The Book of William

Author: Paul Collins

Format: hardback, 247 pgs
Subject: Shakespeare's First Folio
Setting: England, New York, Washington DC, Tokyo
Genre: non-fiction
Source: Bloomsbury Publishing, review copy

Paul Collins writes an entertaining and enlightening tale of the First Folio of William Shakespeare. I am by no means a Shakespeare scholar, although like most educated Americans, I've been exposed to his works both in high school and in college. So I was unsure whether this would really interest me or not.  I am however interested in books, and how they are printed, published and distributed.

The story of how his works were published, and the tortuous journeys of these volumes is fascinating and presented with a clear and somewhat humorous narration.  Collins follows the folios throughout the world, tracking ownership, explaining the differences in different editions, and painting word pictures of these archival masterpieces, including the gravy stains and tea cup circles left on the (now) precious pages. I was especially interested in two aspects, the collection at the Folger Library in Washington DC, and the collection owned by the Japanese and held at the Meisei University in Tokyo.

I did my library science graduate work at Catholic University in Washington DC, growing up in that area, and living there for over 20 years of my adult life.  Shamefully, I must admit that I have never been to the Folger, and felt the loss as I read Collins' descriptions of the physical plant, and the incredible holdings.  The Folger is at the top of my list for places to go the next time I visit the area!

We lived in Japan for almost 5 years, although before the Meisei's massive collection of Shakesperiana was begun.  I found the descriptions of the area quite true, and also was intrigued by his descriptions of Japanese theatre and how Shakespeare has been adapted to it over the past hundred plus years.  I am familiar with kabuki, and with the marvelous Japanese puppet shows: Bunraku.  He explains:

Along with such alien notions as soliloquies, the poetry, the English system of meter and accent, didn't make much sense in Japanese. ...Japanese words are consonant-vowel, and because of the confoundment of R and L, Hamlet became Hamuretto, and Shakespeare himself turned into Sheikusupia.

Puppets provided an excellent solution to the problem.

Collins' love of early printing, and the Folios in particular, is evident throughout the book.  It is well researched, and provides additional resources at the end. I just wish he'd presented a bit more framing up front so I could have figured out earlier what he was attempting to tell us.  It took me almost 100 slowly dragging pages before the light went on and then the story snowballed. For book lovers and students of Shakespeare this volume will provide hours of enjoyment.

Challenge: ARC


My thanks to Bloombury Publishers for the review copy.

Mini Review: STOP IT!

This is a dynamite little books sent to me by the publisher, Sally Lee Books.  In today's world, the story of George the bully, his  sister Anabel, and her cat Lulubel will resonate with children and the adults who guide them.  In simple words and pictures, children hear a story of how to deal with a bully.  Anabel uses her temper to yell STOP IT.  George feels bad, and by using the cat as an example, both of how bullying hurts people, and how people can make up and feel better, the reader learns the valuable lesson of self-worth and love.

These books by Sally Lee are favorites with the pre-school group in our library.  They make wonderful gifts for kids and grandkids.  Many thanks to Sally for sending us a sample.

Mini Review: Simon's Cat

If you are a fan of Simon and his cat, this compilation will certainly resonate.  For us other cat lovers who are only peripherally aware of the role of this human and feline in the universe, the stringy, black and white scribbly cartoons don't add much to our life.  This one either works for you or it doesn't, and for me, no words, no color, no familiarity equals no go.  The best I can say is it was a quick 'read.'

I won  this book in an online blog contest sponsored by Hachette Book Group.

Review: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Author:William Kamkwamba with Bryan Mealer
Format: ARC paperback, 347 pgs
Subject: growing up, famine, science experiments, building windmills
Setting: Malawi Africa 2000-2008
Genre:  memoir
Source: Review copy from Harper Collins


At the age of 12, William Kamkwamba is literally dying of starvation. His country, Malawi, a small land-locked slab of sub-saharan Africa is suffering raging famine exacerbated by totally corrupt and inept rulers.  The Kamkwamba family (parents and 4 children) has been reduced to eating one small meal a day consisting of a small handfull of a grain concoction and sometimes the addition of a pumpkin leaf.  William, the only son, has been forced to drop out of secondary school because his farming family cannot afford the tuition. The erratic rain patterns (too much, then too little) of the past year have meant that their tobacco and maize crops failed.  No food, no money to buy food, no crops to sell to make money, malaria and cholera adding to the mix, and no work for William or his father.  Life could have been very dismal.

But William is a curious and basically happy child.  He returns to the local grade school where the village library is housed.  There he spends his days reading everything he can get his hands on so he won't be too behind if the chance to return to school ever happens.  He finds books that came in a shipment from America, among them Integrated Science and Explaining Physics.  His world expanded, and he immediately realized that if they could have electricity, his father could run a pump that would allow them to manage their water supply and have not only one, but two harvests a year.  His family would not have to spend money on kerosene to have light at night, nor would they have to go to bed when it got dark at 7pm if the kerosene were running low.

Inspired by his reading and by seeing bicycle lights glowing from the energy generated from the dynamos run by pedals, he set about to build a windmill to generate that electricty for his family.  It never occured to him that this was something many would consider impossible.  The story of how he scavenged, begged, borrowed or found enough work to pay for parts and tools, and then built a working windmill is only the beginning of this inspiring story. Once the windmill became reality, and his house was 'wired', his family became the local cell phone charging outlet, and visitors began arriving to see this strange contraption made of a bicycle wheel, a bamboo tower, melted PVC pipes for blades, and hundreds of feet of bare metal wires.  My favorite part was the 'insulated' light switch made from a discarded flip-flop.

The story of his adventures out of his village after he was 'discovered' by scientists and philanthropists is even more endearing.  His first airplane ride, sleeping on a real bed in a hotel, and most of all discovering computers and the internet are joyfully related. Now in his 20's, and a university student, William is determined to bring electricity and education to his entire country.  I can't wait to see him succeed.

This is a book that can be enjoyed by readers from about age 10 through adulthood.  It is an uplifting tale that affirms our belief in human nature.  It would make great extra credit reading for a basic high school physics class.

Many thanks to Harper Collins for the review copy.

Challenge: ARC

Review : Starburst

 

Author: Robin Pilcher
Format: audio 11 discs - 13 hrs (474 pg equivalent)
Characters: Angelique Pascal, Jamie Stratton, Leonard Hartson, Rene Brownlow, Thomas "TK" Keene, Gavin Macintosh, Albert Dessuin
Subject: various characters working through life problems
Setting: Edinburgh "festival"
Genre: Fiction
Source: Public library

It's been quite a while since I read anything by either Rosamunde or Robin Pilcher. I had forgotten how incredibily character dependent their work is. It wasn't until I was half-way through that things started to "happen". I had almost given up by then.

In this story, set against the backdrop of an annual arts festival held in Edinburgh every August, Pilcher presents us with a beatiful and talented young female violin prodigy and her rather unlikeable teacher/manager; an absolutely down on his luck, but if you're a mother you have to hug him, recovering drug addict car thief who only wants to be a movie maker; an elderly retired filmaker called out of retirement to film a Japanese dance troupe performing at the festival; a young recent university grad trying to get his flat cleaned up, repaired and on the market so he can leave Edinburgh in September for his new job in London; a pyrotechnic genius designing and producing his final show (the "starburst") before he retires; a thoroughly delightful standup comic from a pub in the burbs, whose local patrons take up a collection to book her act into the festival; and a young newly-wed assistant to the festival director who is fending off an obnoxious ex-lover and trying to keep everyone happy.

How these people all come together and resolve all their individual issues begins to build in the 2nd half of the book, and doesn't completely finish until the very end.  It is a somewhat soupy, sachrine story, in that in the end we don't have a lot of surprises, but it is a well written and gentle read.



Challenge: SYLL, Typically British, Audio

Unfinished Friday

Marie, the Boston Bibliophile has a wonderful new meme I'm going to participate in periodically. Unfinished Friday is designed to provide a way to blog about books that for whatever reason just don't work.  My unfinished work this week is Evolution of God by Robert Wright.

I abandoned reading this scholarly tome last week. I have had it as an ARC since July, and have tried on three different occasions to tackle it. I cannot get past the first 40 pages. It is well-written, but has far too much detail about a topic that just couldn't grab me. I have never been interested enough in anthropology to read deeply. I have an overall intellectual appreciation of the subject, but no desire to delve into it.

I'm not ready to part with it yet. It's a NewYork Times notable book of the year (2009) and I'm going to try to read it in pieces instead of all at once. It's gotten such great reviews, I feel like if I persist, I'll get something out of it, but for now, I've got a bucket load of ARCs waiting, so it will have to go onto the DNF-try again pile.

Review: Supreme Courtship

Author: Christopher Buckley
Format: paperback, 285 pgs (ARC)
Subject: politics, Supreme Court
Setting: Washington DC
Genre: humor
Source: won in a blog contest sponsored by Hachette Books

A delightful romp through the pomposity of Washington Congressional and presidential politics.  Christopher Buckley is a master at tongue in cheek.  He presents us with a president who is as close to Ozzie Nelson as we can find.  He bowls, he watches TV, he vetoes every spending bill Congress sends him because he doesn't think the American people should pay for some of these ridiculous boon-doggles.  But most of all, he just wants this term to be over, so he can go home to Ohio and sit on his front porch.

Before he does that however, he has to appoint a Supreme Court justice, and Congress is not inclined to approve anyone he sends.  In a burst of brilliance (watching late night TV) he decides to appoint Pepper Cartwright, star of a top-rated TV Courtroom Show and America's favorite TV judge.  This political satire gets better with each page as we watch this Texas born and bred (but Fordham Law school educated) lady bring her own brand of straight-shooting, pistol packing, rodeo riding spirit to the here-to-fore straight-laced Senate confirmation committee, and then to the court itself.

It is frankly, laugh out loud hilarious.




Challenges: Books Won 1/6, Read from My Shelves 3/20, TBR Challenge 1/12,

Review: Founding Brothers

Author: Joseph J. Ellis
Format: hardcover 246 pgs w/additional 30 pgs notes
Subject: Revolutionary war personalities
Setting: US 1790-1825
Genre: Historical vignettes
Source: My shelves



I was hoping this book would be a 'refresher' to bring me back up to snuff on the most telling issues of the American Revolution. I am rejoining the US Presidents' challenge, having read bios of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson several years ago, and didn't want to have to go back.

Ellis presents us six essays which are alternately entertaining, enlightening, and brutally boring. He seems to think that if 100 words would do, 500 are much better. I had a hard time in several places staying awake.

Interestingly, he begins with the Hamilton-Burr duel, and seems to feel a lengthy lesson in economics is needed to explain the enmity built up between these two.

Then he gives us a chapter entitled "The Dinner" at which Thomas Jefferson, the host, is reputed to have brokered a deal between Hamilton and Madison to allow for federal assumption of all states debt in exchange for allowing the federal capital to be situated in Virginia. We got page upon page of background, but I had a hard time finding the dinner.

The third chapter "The Silence" I found the most interesting, but also the most difficult to read. It refers to the decision of the Founders to avoid a discussion or decision about the question of slavery.

Next up is "The Farewell" a elucidation of Washington's famous address in which he puts forth his (and many claim Hamilton's) thoughts on the party system, the need for the country not to form alliances, etc. Again, enlightening, but pedantic.

"The Collaborators" I found the hardest of all to follow. To me it was a series of short paragraphs describing various friendships, alliances and relationships that helped patch together diverse policies.

And finally, "the Friendship". The most cogent of the chapters where Ellis gives us a condensed look at the magnificent letter writing that took place over the last 14 years of the lives of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

If you are a true history buff, you'll love this book. It is extensively researched, and well footnoted. If you are looking for a quick fill in, this might not be the book for you. I'm glad I read it, but I won't be pulling it off the shelf to re-read anytime soon.




Challenges: Read from My Shelves 2/20, US Presidents (background reading)