Between the Lines discussion
Reading Goals
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2009 challenge to Read 100 books
How frustrating! Well, let us know if you are ever better situated for Internet sales.
July 200956 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)
59 The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
60 Seaside Style by Diane Dorrans Saeks (Interior design, architecture, photography)
61 Searching for Schindler by Thomas Keneally (Memoir, writing, Holocaust)
This book is precious, something special to read. This is the story of a man, Poldek,a victim of the Nazis who was saved by Oskar Schindler and eventually, "California, Beverly Hills" had a very good business in handbags and briefcases. His life's mission was to have a book, then a film, made about his hero and a chance meeting with the Australian-Irish author Thomas Keneally who was looking for a replacement briefcase, brought it about.
Truly its a story of how Poldek introduced Keneally to the great humanitarian Schindler and induced him to write about it. How the two travelled through the US, Europe and Israel putting the book together and how, once it was written, getting it made into a film, a more than decade-long undertaking. As Poldek said right from the beginning, 'An Oscar for Oskar' (with the Booker Prize along the way).
The story of the writing of the book and making of the film is interlayered with Keneally's life in Australia and California and in Eritrea too. The passages where he is both a reporter and later election observer in war-torn Eritrea do have a certain resonance with the main story of the awful inhumanity that was the Holocaust. The book, personalising this period in recent history with names, pictures and the updated, often successful lives of the survivors, makes it more real and more horrific than the pictures of living skeletons and the piles of bodies of the documentaries.
In the book there is a small story of Ralph Fiennes, a fine actor and a man much greater-spirited than myself. Keneally had met him in the bar where the film people were gathered one evening and had signed a book for him. Not knowing that Ralph was pronounced Rafe, he had heard Ray and written the dedication accordingly. Ralph Fiennes said nothing and later, when Keneally found out he went and apologised for his gaucherie. Years ago I had worked briefly for Ralph Fiennes famous explorer cousin, Ralulph Fiennes and when I left he presented me with a book he had signed for me. My name was spelled wrong. I said something...... After all these years, reading the greater generosity of Ralph Fiennes has made me embarrassed all over again.
The book is golden, precious, the five stars I've rated it at need to be golden and twinkling, like beacons in a dark and overcast sky.
45. Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith46. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
89. William Alexander: The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden
I need to update my list. I think I'm right on track, thanks to the YA challenge!
Petra X wrote: "Shoshanapnw wrote: "I hear you, Petra, but I just ordered a bunch of specialty/niche books from Fiji and happily spent more on shipping (DHL) than on the books themselves. I'd buy harder-to-find Ca..."Petra - I just said to my boyfriend that if we ever get to the Caribbean (which we dream about), we'll have to stop by your bookshop. He's totally game as well so if we go, I'll drop you a mail and find your exact location and then we'll try to work it in :-)
Emilee wrote: "My goal is to read at least 100 books for the year 2009. Thus far I have completed the following books: 1. Clockwork Orange (pgs 192) 2. Loving Frank (pgs 362)
3. Marley & Me (pgs 466)
4. Sec..."
Wow, looks good Emilee - I'm so far behind because of War and Peace!
July 200956 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)
59 The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
60 Seaside Style by Diane Dorrans Saeks (Interior design, architecture, photography)
61 Searching for Schindler by Thomas Keneally (Memoir, writing, Holocaust)
62 Children of the Flames Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz by Lucette Matalon Lagnado and Sheila Cohn Dekel (holocaust, history, evil)
I will have to think long and hard about how I am going to review this very unusual book - not just subject matter but the way it is written and laid-out, although it is not in the least bit gimmicky. For now... it was brilliant, it is a lot to think over, it explains, if not excuses, why the Israelis are so very hard on their enemies.
It is perhaps the only book anyone need read to understand the Holocaust and to know that it wasn't over when it was over and that forgiving (and forgetting) one's enemies might be just what they'd been counting on all along.
Still behind.47. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
48. Nemesis by Agatha Christie
Petra X wrote: "Christina StindBIG * :-) *
"
You can say that again! 1224 pages - and very dense reading on top of that!
Dan wrote: "64. Story of O - Pauline Reage"This has to be the filthiest of dirty books! Do you know its provenance?
Petra X wrote: "This has to be the filthiest of dirty books! Do you know its provenance?"I know that Reage wrote it because her lover told her that women couldn't write believable pornography and that it was written under a pen name. The review in 1001 Books seems to indicate that the pen name was from another pen name but I'm not sure how that would work...or even make sense. The original ending was supressed; probably because of the extemity of its portrayal of the objectification of women. Not a book I'd recommend to very many people.
Dan wrote: "Petra X wrote: "This has to be the filthiest of dirty books! Do you know its provenance?"I know that Reage wrote it because her lover told her that women couldn't write believable pornography ..."
The Olympia Press, which published the Story of O originally, specialised in publishing dirty books, under pseudonyms of course, of impoverished authors. I think they did a great service to literature.
I think the book is totally empowering of women. In makes very clear the difference between being submissive as a person and being submissive as a sexual preference. O is a successful career woman who gets her freak on as a sexual slave. We are all hedonists at heart! The prudish, Protestant roots of society plus the pc attitudes for which feminism is responsible in part, make this a very shocking book now, but not so much as in the past for its pornographic content as the choices of its protagonist. I would recommend the book to loads of people!
91. Steven Hall: The Raw Shark Texts
92. David Standish: The Art of Money: The History and Design of Paper Currency from Around the World
92. David Standish: The Art of Money: The History and Design of Paper Currency from Around the World
July 200956 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)
59 The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
60 Seaside Style by Diane Dorrans Saeks (Interior design, architecture, photography)
61 Searching for Schindler by Thomas Keneally (Memoir, writing, Holocaust)
62 Children of the Flames Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz by Lucette Matalon Lagnado and Sheila Cohn Dekel (holocaust, history, evil)
63 I Remember by Fara Lynn Kransnopolsky (Russia, Jews, history)
The memories of a little Jewish girl growing up in the early years of revolutionary Russia. My family were originally Russian, refugees. I remember my great-grandfather and grandmother very well, so I thought the book would be of interest to me.
The author was the little Jewish girl of the story. Only two facts about Jewish life in revolutionary Russia are mentioned. Firstly, there was a quota for Jewish children in schools and she could only get into a grade two years lower than her age level. Secondly, many Russian Jews supported Germany in WWI saying that it was a cultured country that treated the Jews as everyone else whereas Russia was very difficult for Jews and getting worse. (She doesn't stay so but means with the institution of pograms against them. Pomgroms can be defined as '"riots by an armed mob intoxicated with hatred against helpless people and their property, while the police and the army look on').
The book is very sub-Anne Frank in every way. Its a sketch of a young girl's life in a family without much money and with an absent father. Very little in it is interesting. Perhaps more interesting is that the author, as I read in the preface, despite educational strictures against Jews, graduated in law. She married and emigrated to the US and became a dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in Chicago and dance-teacher. I would have liked to have read more about that.
There just isn't enough content in the book to justify a hardback price - or even a paperback one. If you see it on sale for a couple of dollars, it will pass an hour or two for you. But if you are looking for a good book on growing up Jewish in revolutionary Russia, this book wasn't it.
Shoshanapnw wrote: "91. Steven Hall: The Raw Shark Texts"What did you think about 'The Raw Shark Texts'? I read it recently and really liked it. I found it to be a very complex read with a very innovative plotline and even more innovative telling of it, using letters as pictures.
I liked it, too, and will write my review soon. I know some people find the ending too ambiguous, but I wished it were more so. Also, there were a few plot points I thought could have been tied in more effectively. Generally, though, I enjoyed it.
Shoshanapnw wrote: "I liked it, too, and will write my review soon. I know some people find the ending too ambiguous, but I wished it were more so. Also, there were a few plot points I thought could have been tied in ..."I didn't find the ending too ambiguous - I liked that it didn't all tie together and that it has started a lot of discussions at the author's homepage. I like it when a book is written in a way so it can be seen in so many different ways. But I agree with you about some plot points that could have been used a bit better or at least tied better in with the rest of the plot. But I liked it because it was so different.
July 200956 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)
59 The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
60 Seaside Style by Diane Dorrans Saeks (Interior design, architecture, photography)
61 Searching for Schindler by Thomas Keneally (Memoir, writing, Holocaust)
62 Children of the Flames Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz by Lucette Matalon Lagnado and Sheila Cohn Dekel (holocaust, history, evil)
63 I Remember by Fara Lynn Kransnopolsky (Russia, Jews, history)
64 Needles A Memoir of Growing Up with Diabetes by Andie Dominick (Memoir, medical)
This book is exactly what it says it is which is a memoir of growing up with diabetes and is not a memoir in general of Andie Dominick's life, but only where diabetes has touched it. This could have made for a very depressing and disjointed book but the writing is so spot-on - detail where you want it, brevity where an episode is necessarily included but is not interesting in itself that the book is an enjoyable and educational read.
'Educational' because I had thought that diabetes was a matter of insulin injections and balancing the diet. I hadn't really thought it was a tremendously serious systemic disease that needs attention throughout the day, everyday, and will impact just about every aspect of life and can lead to major disabilities and premature death without that constant care. It is to the credit of people with diabetes that they don't foist all that on us and let people happily think they are just like normal but have to stick a needle into themselves a couple of times a day.
I would recommend this book to people who like reading memoirs generally and especially if they like medical stories. No need to have any connection to diabetes to enjoy this beautifully-written book.
49. For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
96. Palau: Republic of Palau Ministry of Education: Education Master Plan 2006-2016, Republic of Palau
Available at http://www.paddle.usp.ac.fj/cgi-bin/p...
and very interesting if you are curious about school systems in other countries. Not a "book" per se, but a government document of 101 pages. If you can find me a book written by someone who's lived in Palau, I'd happily substitute it.
Available at http://www.paddle.usp.ac.fj/cgi-bin/p...
and very interesting if you are curious about school systems in other countries. Not a "book" per se, but a government document of 101 pages. If you can find me a book written by someone who's lived in Palau, I'd happily substitute it.
July 200956 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)
59 The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
60 Seaside Style by Diane Dorrans Saeks (Interior design, architecture, photography)
61 Searching for Schindler by Thomas Keneally (Memoir, writing, Holocaust)
62 Children of the Flames Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz by Lucette Matalon Lagnado and Sheila Cohn Dekel (Holocaust, history, evil)
63 I Remember by Fara Lynn Kransnopolsky (Russia, Jews, history)
64 Needles A Memoir of Growing Up with Diabetes by Andie Dominick (Memoir, medical)
65 Zelda's Bloopers The Good, the Bad, and the Whatever by Carol Gardner (Humour, dogs)
I don't very often wish for half-stars, but this book falls between 1 star - I didn't like it (I didn't, the text was rubbish) and 2 stars - it was ok (the photography was good).
If you see this book cheap, buy it for a doglover whom you don't love for Christmas, or a gift exchange, or that emergency present you have to have in case someone gives one to you and you hadn't thought of buying them one. Great photography of a dressed-up bulldog or two married with really crap text that isn't in the least bit funny.
There is only one laugh-out-loud picture in the whole book and that is accidental. Two 'in-love' bulldogs, quite naked of clothes, are photographed from the back, full exposure of their assholes beneath their stubby tails. Doesn't say much for my sense of humour, does it?
I will try too. I believe I have hit 63 so far.
50. Harry, a History by Melissa Anelli51. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
My Updated List (Second half of July)69. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
70. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
71. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
72. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
Vacation really interrupted my normal reading time :)
I know what you mean. I had a friend visiting and I read almost nothing.
97. Michael Scott: The Magician
97. Michael Scott: The Magician
July 200956 Anonymous Lawyer A Novel by Jeremy Blachman (Legal fiction, humour)
57 The Dark Room by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
58 Bottlemania How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte (popculture, environment, industry)
59 The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan (Fiction, Indian)
60 Seaside Style by Diane Dorrans Saeks (Interior design, architecture, photography)
61 Searching for Schindler by Thomas Keneally (Memoir, writing, Holocaust)
62 Children of the Flames Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz by Lucette Matalon Lagnado and Sheila Cohn Dekel (Holocaust, history, evil)
63 I Remember by Fara Lynn Kransnopolsky (Russia, Jews, history)
64 Needles A Memoir of Growing Up with Diabetes by Andie Dominick (Memoir, medical)
65 Zelda's Bloopers The Good, the Bad, and the Whatever by Carol Gardner (Humour, dogs)
66 Memoirs of an Arabian Princess of Oman and Zanzibar by Emily Ruete (Memoir, Islam, history, slavery, racism, royalty)
I downloaded this book for free from http://worldebookfair.org/ which is having a promotion of as many as you want of 2.5 M books for free this month. It was a thoroughly enjoyable slim tome illustrated with contemporary photographs. The form of Islam practiced by the royal family of Zanzibar seems to have been a great deal more relaxed than present-day Saudia Arabia; the book has nothing in common with Jean Sasson's writings on female Saudi royalty.
There are three very odd things about the book. The first is that it is almost, from beginning to end, a paean in praise of Islam and the Oriental way of life as opposed to the awfulness of European culture and Christianity. Very odd because at a young age the princess converted to Christianity, married a German commoner and apart from travels abroad, spent the rest of her life in Germany.
The other very odd thing is her defence of women as living greatly self-empowered lives of equality (within the home, or palace) in Zanzibar but excluding concubines from this as 'bought women'. The other odd thing is her defence of African slavery by Arabs as opposed to American and European slavery, saying that although it was pretty hard to start with and although they weren't paid for their work, they never had another worry in their lives. To some extent this must have been true as slaves were commonly armed and a dozen or so might escort a princess and her serving women as she walked through the streets at night. Obviously, the slaves were not in revolution. She makes a great point of saying how slavery had to be ended in British possessions in Africa but not in Zanzibar which belonged to her family.
It is hard to read the extreme racism she quite overtly displays in her discussion of the native Africans. But is the most honest I have ever read on racial attitudes, slavery and the rights of women in Islam, not just because the author was a product of her time, but also, despite her long years in the West, because the author was so absolutely convinced they were the right ones.
These Islamic and Arab attitudes of the last century (she died in 1928) seem to have been passed down wholesale in Sudan, where Arab enslavement of Africans (whether Christian, Animist or Islamic) is mostly ignored by the world and where the slaves are not armed, most definitely not - there's enough bloodshed and revolution without arming them with guns and knives, more's the pity.
For further reading I suggest the wonderful Slave by Mende Nazer, Francis Bok's Escape From Slavery and perhaps the top model's Alek Wek's most moving biography,Alek From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel. All easy-reading!)
Shoshanapnw wrote: "Nice review, Petra.98. Richardo Keens-Douglas & Annouchka Galouchko: The Nutmeg Princess -- Grenada"
Thanks. I know the Nutmeg Princess. I used to look for Caribbean fairytales when my son was little. Its a lovely story.
I think you recommended Richardo Keens-Douglas to me, so thanks!
52. Mrs. Pollifax on Safari by Dorothy Gilman
69. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
Dan, I'm about to read it. What did you think?
Shoshanapnw wrote: "Dan, I'm about to read it. What did you think?"I enjoyed it. The beginning was a little slow but there's a point in the story where it takes off and is hard to put down. The ending was a little anti-climactic. I gave it three stars which is my standard "good book" rating. It was a fun read and I'll probably read his others when they come out.
I loved The Lightning Thief! The funny thing about that book is that it was a recommendation from my 9 year old nephew. He said, "Aunt Wendy, I think you will like these books." He was right too!
Between the Lines
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Its easier to get good Caribbean in the US than it is on my island. The main publishers in the Caribbean are in Jamaica and Trinidad. Neither of them offer as much as the traditional wholesale discount of 40% off the cover price and the small discount they do offer does not cover the postage. Postage within the Caribbean is extremely expensive. DHL and Fedex have stupid prices and really dreadful service.
Quite a lot of good Caribbean books also come out of the UK and they are easier for me to get, although the last four main shipments I made (inc. 2 from Amazon UK), 2 DHL, 1 Fedex and one Sprint were all either lost or damaged. However I now have a postbox on a US island and so the books arrive much more quickly in the general post from the UK and it gives me an (expensive) day out sailing and having fun just to pick up the mail!
When my son goes to university in either Barbados or Jamaica next year I expect to be able to set up better arrangements for dealing with local publishers.
That said, I do have some specialist knowledge of Caribbean books, especially history, so I can help with titles etc. if not supply.