This Classical Life

I have been writing some children’s book reviews here and there, I figured y’all might find them useful, so here are some previews with links to the full review. All of them should be available at your local public library.

The Princess and the Pea by Rachel Isadora (5/5) …the illustrations are truly engaging and beautiful and stand on their own merit, not just as a non-white version of a classic.

The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren (4/5) A sweet story that many will probably think of as “Little House in Sweden.”

Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson (5/5) The oil paintings and collage illustrations by Kadir Nelson are beautiful and striking, they seem to make a faraway world more real to readers, integrating African textiles and motifs.

Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Bryan Collier (5/5) Martin’s Big Words is a book that every family ought to own. It’s the best introduction to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that we have come across, something appropriate for even four or five-year-olds.

A novel in short stories, Olive Kitteridge is a skilled weaving of tales to show the way lives intersect with one another in a small coastal village in Maine, and in doing so, teach us about community everywhere.

The stories are raw and real, and the protagonist, if she can be called such, is rude, overbearing and larger than life. To know Olive is to be flummoxed by her, and yet, like Henry readers find themselves undeniably smitten with her.

Loneliness, depression, longing and pain are all vivid parts of the lives of those documented, and sometimes things don’t end up the way you’d want them to be, but the book wasn’t without hope. Somehow, the weaving of these stories together mirrored the weaving of all of our stories to me, and gave me a glimpse of something beautiful.

Virtue is also apparent in the lives of these Crosby residents. Loyalty, faithfulness, kindness… in their small connections community is born and grows. And community sustains them through many hardships. It’s a lovely book, and is even able to talk about difficult things with grace and beauty, and I’d recommend it to almost anyone. (9/10)

Kathleen Norris’ little book about “laundry, liturgy and ‘women’s work’” is a must read for anyone who struggles to see the value in repetitive tasks. Quotidian is a word from the Latin meaning daily or ordinary, and in our society where we feel measured by our output, these everyday things like laundry, cooking and dishes can be very discouraging to those who do them day in and day out. It might also be a good read for a spouse who has trouble understanding exactly what their partner does day in and day out. The author is not a stay-at-home mother, so homemakers who work in or outside the home, with or without children, will all relate to her insights. It’s a work that is short and very readable, having been delivered as a lecture series, but also thought provoking and deep. I expect that I will be coming back to it again in years to come, for encouragement and insight to sustain me in my daily work. (9.5/10)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first in a trilogy of crime novels written by Stieg Larsson. Originally published in Swedish, it was an international best seller long before I ever heard of it. I am not typically a fan of modern crime novels, but some rave ratings on goodreads persuaded me to give this one a try.

From the first chapters, I was hooked, even though the novel starts slowly and develops over time. I suppose what pulled me in is how well written and translated it is and the dynamic and interesting characters. The mystery itself intrigued me, a classic “locked-room format in an island setting” as the protagonist, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, describes.

The titular character is a hacker turned private investigator who gives the novel a certain edge. She’s likely a woman with Asperger’s Syndrome, but in spite of her difficulties connecting with people, she is extremely sympathetic to readers, and forms an instant bond with Blomkvist that is genuine and believable.

The original title was Men Who Hated Women, and there is a fair amount of misogyny and some descriptions of violence, particularly against women. I didn’t find them gratuitous or excessive, but be forewarned. Eagerly anticipating the next two installments, I am also sad that Larsson died so young without being able to give readers even more to look forward to. (8/10)

I quoted this book recently, and would be remiss if I didn’t give it a mini-review now that I’ve finished it. If you enjoy theology, this is a must read. The topic of holiness is addressed systematically in a way that applies to all of life. It’s thought-provoking, but readable, not dry in the least. As it was originally delivered a a lecture series, it’s more easily understood than many other theological works of its calibre. I was engaged by every page. The short chapters and many sub-chapters make it easy to pick up and put down if you don’t have hours to devote to reading daily. (9.5/10)

From Fear to Freedom is an account of one woman’s realization over many years of how she was living in a way that contradicted what she thought she believed about God and the world. I had a hard time connecting to this book in some ways, but I think it may be a good thing. The message that was so life changing for Rose Marie, her paradigm shift from an orphan to a daughter mentality, is one that I have been taught well for many years, due in part to her family’s influence.

I’d recommend this book to someone coming out of a more legalistic tradition, or that struggles to believe that they are loved by God. (6/10)

Wendell Berry is a prophet for our time, and this is a great introduction to his non-fiction. Life is a Miracle describes how lack of connection to the community, over-specialization and lack of dialogue between the disciplines hurts everyday people, the land, and more. In his novels and essays, membership is a recurring theme. In Life is a Miracle, Berry asserts that true leadership is impossible without membership. The disconnect between leaders and policy-makers and the people they influence would be greatly diminished if there was membership as a basis for leadership instead of professionalism (career politicians, etc.) Though the book is structured as a response to another book, I did not feel like I needed to have read it to appreciate Life is a Miracle. (8.5/10)

Things that are terrifying or filled with sadness are not necessarily without beauty. The Book Thief is a story that exemplifies that principle. The characters are real and complex and the plot is captivating. But more than that, it’s a book that shows the humanity of different individuals, while not shying away from the brutality of others.

Using Death as the narrator adds another dimension to the novel. Nothing is new to Death, and yet he is moved and intrigued by this story and shares it with us, showing us the complexity of humanity.

The Book Thief is the best contemporary young adult book I’ve read. I know some people feel it was wrongly marketed that way, but I think it fits the audience well, while not writing down to them. The voice and style are distinct enough to make it feel special, while the subject matter and characters are real enough to tell a great deal of truth about the human condition. It will be interesting to watch and see if it finds a place in school literature curricula. (9.5/10)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Perfectly postmodern and European, Kundera did an excellent job of breaking all the rules of novel writing. Philosophizing for pages at a time, addressing the readers directly, making the main characters more than a little frustrating, the emphasis is that rules are meant to be broken. Yet, the medium fits his message well, and as a novel dealing with love and place, communism and liberalism, it soars. Some readers will be offended by the gratuitous sex and deeply flawed characters, it is certainly a book not everyone will “like” even if they appreciate it. (4/5)

Meet the Austins by Madeline L’Engle
If I could, I’d rate this 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, and appreciated how real and ordinary the protagonist Vicky is portrayed as being. However, I found it a little slow at times, and more preachy / transparent than I remember the Murry family books being. All of the books about the Austins are on my to-read list this year and I am looking forward to seeing the family develop more over subsequent books. (3.5/5)

The way goodreads labels their five star system is

* i didn’t like it
** it was okay
*** liked it
**** really liked it
***** it was amazing

It’s simple and intuitive, but it leaves much to be desired. There are great books that I don’t necessarily like, but I still find worth reading for some reason or another. For example, I don’t know that I “really liked” Lolita. But it is marked four stars on my goodreads account. I think Nabov set out to show us a warped mind, a thoroughly unlikeable narrator, a child we want to care for and can’t always bring ourselves to. He portrayed coercion and tyranny in dark, messy, and very human ways. It was a novel the world didn’t know we needed, and for that, I think the book has a rightful place among the classics.

Sometimes books are written or movies are made with a purpose in mind other than leaving the audience with a warm and fuzzy feeling. And then they need to be evaluated by whether that purpose is worth pursuing, and how well they fulfilled their purpose. Criticism larger than just plain gut reaction. In that way, a movie with an ending you aren’t happy with can still be something that you believe is an amazing film.

I am not sure how we fix the stars of goodreads, just know that likability is not my only concern as I rate.

The Collapse of Distinction by Scot McKain was one of the two business books I read last year. The first was geared towards photography and focused on making yourself stand out, but in a community-building, “everyone can win” way. Then I read the Collapse of Distinction. It also focused on distinction, as you can tell from the title, but in a more classic way.

My first impression was very good. The book is part of the new Thomas Nelson line called NelsonFree where you can download the ebook or audio for FREE if you buy the book. This is great for anyone who enjoys books in multiple formats, and kudos to Thomas Nelson for offering it.

I honestly found the book wandering, the stories slightly disconnected. The content was good, but mostly intuitive. You need to be different and not get sucked into the vortex of offering everything your competitors do. It seemed to take a long time to say simple things, was very repetitive. Reading it gave me good food for thought as a small businesswoman, but not as much as I felt like I should be. The executive summaries at the end of the chapter are probably as valuable as the whole book itself, which is a definite weakness. If you are struggling with finding your niche, you might appreciate this book, otherwise, I wouldn’t say it should be at the top of your reading list. (6/10)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This year, I want to be really faithful to posting my thoughts on books on my goodreads account and here on this blog. I also want to read more than I have been. It’s hard with work but it really helps me feel sane and normal. I read a lot in fits and spurts last year, and I’d like to keep a more even pace.

As far as what I’ll be reading, I keep a list on lists of bests of books to read every year, I edit it along the way, but it helps me to have some things in queue so selection doesn’t bog me down.

What are your reading goals for 2010?