widow of the south by robert hicks

i mostly liked this book. there was a hint of a supernatural element, which kind of threw off my equilibrium, if that makes sense. i didn't know how seriously i was supposed to take it. and i think the way the story was divided up between the different voices interrupted my immersion into the story.

i enjoyed that it was based on a real person and a real place. funny story:

i was sitting in the living room reading my book when my dad walked in:

dad: oh! you're reading my book
me: this is my book. i bought it.
dad: oh. well i bought one too when i was there.
me: where?
dad: the plantation. don't you remember? i brought you back a mug.

fact. there was a mug from carnton plantation sitting on my dresser in my bedroom. funny how things in life connect sometimes.

i liked the recounting of different experiences in the battle. the motivations. the occurrences. the differing views of the same situation. the view of the civil war's effect on civil life.

i liked the juxtaposition of carrie finding something to live for among all the death. she discovered she was strong and able when everyone thought she was broken and crazy.

lovely memory: i finished this book on a cool sunday afternoon on a grassy patch in the plaza across the street from the panathinaiko stadium in athens, greece.

the book thief by markus zusak

this was a good book. i feel like maybe i didn't get quite as much out of it as i could have because i spread the reading of it out over several months. i began it before a semester started and didn't finish until almost the end of the semester. i think the emotional impact would have been much stronger if i had read it without being absent from the story for weeks at a time.

what i liked:

i liked that it was a story about a german family in nazi germany who didn't agree with what was going on. i think that voice hasn't gotten enough light as far as the wwii story goes.

i loved hans hubermann. so kind and gentle. his attention and instruction to liesel are the making of her. his selflessness and quiet strength are so reassuring.

i learned to really love rosa hubermann too. once you get through her harsh exterior there is this tremendous and fierce love at her center. someone you want on your side. she would go down swinging for you.

i loved the focus on the importance of words. their power and value. the longer i have max's story for liesel in my head the more and more genius it becomes.

ilsa hermann leaving the library window open.

the narration by death. the abstractness was a little distracting at first, but once i got it, it was brilliant. the idea that death was exhausted by the war and is haunted by humans . . . chilling.

i expect i will re-read this book again in the future. i would be interested in reading it with a group and hearing other people's reactions. hear what they pull out of the story.

books for school fall 2009-spring 2010

during school semesters i have no time for extracurricular reading.

it's tragic.
i've decided to include the books i read for school on the blog.
some i finished, some i didn't.

civil war - fall 2009

i was so excited for this class. i've always found the civil war fascinating.
it probably stems from my love of the movie gone with the wind.
and the dresses.
oh, those dresses!
i was sorely disappointed with the class. it was less about the civil war
and more about the politics before and after the civil war.
i hate politics.
politics just remind me that most people are liars
and men should never be in charge of anything.
we maybe spent 2 weeks talking about battles and stuff.
disappointing.
on the plus side, my dad went on one of his random excursions, this time to tennessee
(i can't remember why)
and brought me back a crusty old used minie bullet from the battle of murfreeboro.
good man.

a lot of politics in this book if i remember correctly.
i guess there's information, so it's useful.
but other than there i don't remember much about this book.

another book mostly about politics.
don't remember much.

this book was kind of interesting.
it included the point of views of the soldiers on both sides.
black and white.
first hand accounts by way of journal entries and personal letters.
much more readable that some of the others we read for the class.

tragically, this book was the first time i heard about "redemption."
we always study the "reconstruction" period after the civil war
(which i hate, by the way)
this describes the period after "reconstruction"
in which the country digressed because we hadn't learned anything.
it's enlightening and enraging.

i was sure to love this book.
it was short, which is always welcome in the middle of a semester.
plus, louisa may alcott wrote one of my favorite books ever
(little women)
so i was likely to enjoy it.
louisa is a kindred spirit.
i'm sure we would get along famously, were we ever to meet.
this tell of her brief experience as a civil war nurse
before she got sick and had to return home.

this book was surprisingly really good.
i really wasn't expecting it.
lots of fun little known california history
and the surprising reason california was a free state.
it wasn't a moral decision at all.
it all boiled down to money.
greed.
the goldpanners didn't want slave owners coming in
with an army of slaves
bogarting space on the rivers.
typical.
i'm trying to convince my dad to read it.

tsarist russia - fall 2009

i was excited to take this class.
i really didn't know anything about russia
except whatever history you can glean from anestasia and that it's cold.

this is what i learned in my class:
russia was, is, and will always be a hot mess.
but they built some cool building in st. petersburg.

the class was a disaster.
my teacher, who seems quite knowledgeable on the subject,
could not lecture to save her life.
i never had any idea what she was talking about.
she would jump from century to century,
topic to topic,
without any indication or explanation.
over 4 weeks of the class were conducted online
in some weirdo experimental format.
the midterm and final were open book.

also, i had to critique 5 fellow students final project before they turned it in.
i do not know who allowed those people out of high school.
they should be shot.
highlights included:
a guy who used the word expunge to describe
the removing of people from a population;
the same guy wrote, "few records persist from this era;"
another guy who compared the defects of an
academic book researching the russian exile system
to harry potter;
and there was one that i quit reading half way through as i had
no idea what she was talking about.

i guess it's okay because i got an "a" in the class.
but at the same time, it's a little depressing, because i got an "a"
but i know nothing about russian history.


this book is an exercise in torture by written word. i didn't finish. it's very academic. i'm sure it would prove quite useful if you were doing a very intense research project on the russian exile system. but i wasn't. apparently this author isn't familiar with the whole idea that if your book isn't readable, people won't read it, no matter how much correct information you have inside.
david mccullough. look him up.

i started crime and punishment before the beginning of the semester in attempt to acquaint myself with russian culture and what not. i didn't finish. the only thing i could think while reading it was, "russians are crazy and their conversations don't make sense." i have no intention of going back to finish it. we had to read fathers and sons for the class. and the whole time i kept thinking, "russians are crazy and their conversations don't make sense." i didn't finish fathers and sons either, which is pretty pathetic because it's insanely short.
i don't think i will ever attempt to read a russian novel again.

Colonial Americas - Spring 2010

i was so excited when i saw we were reading this book.
i've been wanting to read it since i saw amazing grace.
(great movie)
so interesting. what an amazing life!

i actually enjoyed this book, which surprised me.
it's the story of the spanish conquest of the americas from the aztec point of view.
the spanish were pretty brutal. and their colonial policies were insane!
this book intensified my desire to go explore ruins in places like
peru and guatamala.

unwind by neal shusterman

my lovely cousin mindy told me about this book last year when we were camping. what can i say about it? it is amazing and horrible and thought provoking and tear inducing and a little bit it made me want to throw up. so of course, i love it.

this is not your happy day at the beach read. it's a commentary on abortion. it has an agenda. it has a point. at times, it breaks your heart, which it should.

the story takes place after a long civil war over the issue of abortion. the two sides come up with a compromise. medical technology has made it possible to use all parts of the human body for transplant, so abortion is outlawed. instead, people who do not want their children are allowed to leave them at state homes or on other peoples doorsteps. once any child reaches the age of 14 (i think) there is the option to have them "unwound" or basically parted out for transplants. the argument is that they are not dead because 99% of them is being used elsewhere (the law doesn't require them to use things like the appendix). the book tells the story of three kids who have been designated for unwinding but escape on their way to the harvest camp.

i am very curious to explore mr. shusterman's other work. i was very impressed with this book.

wizard's first rule by terry goodkind

last year mike and i found legend of the seeker on netflix. the facts were these:

- mike and i are suckers for fantasy stuff;

- mike and i are suckers for sword and knife fighting stuff;

- school was out and we had an abundance of free time;

- netflix conveniently placed the entire series in the instant play category;

- that craig horner is one pretty piece of flesh and the first time you see him in the series he looks like this and he's chopping a huge log with an axe and if you know me at all you know how much that works for me.

we watched the entire series which is based on the sword of truth series by terry goodkind. so naturally i picked up the first one. i started last summer, and i liked it very much, but school got in the way, so i had to wait to finish it when i had spare reading time. i'm finally done, and i have every intention of reading the rest of the series. perhaps not immediately, but it definitely will happen.

happily, season two of legend of the seeker is currently airing on television.

the best christmas pageant ever by barbara robinson

i remember having this book read to me as a child. we laughed and laughed. i haven't read it again since grade school. this christmas season i read it to my nephew. i think i may have enjoyed it more than he did . . .

it was still quite funny, and a wonderful little story about the power of the christmas story. i didn't remember how touching the story was. i got all teary myself when i read the part where imogene cries during the pageant performance.

my nephew kept interrupting me with interjections and questions, and when i asked him if he knew who mary was, he responded that she was the one who watched sheep (mary had a little lamb . . .). we cleared that up, but it was kind of though explaining to a 5 year old why king herod was intimidated by baby jesus. someone needs to get that kid to church, stat!

an adorable little read for the christmas season, and kid friendly!

bridge to terabithia by katherine paterson

i remember reading bridge to terabithia in grade school and bawling my eyes out. it was one of the first books to ever make me cry. when the movie came out a few years back i was really excited, but it was so different from what i remembered the book being. good, exciting, but different. i re-read the book for a book club last september, and i just haven't gotten around to posting about it.

things i love about this book:

- leslie's individuality;

- leslie's parents allowing her to be imaginative and supporting her creativity and quirks;

- jess' journey of self discovery;

- jess and leslie's friendship;

- the idea of creating an imaginary kingdom of one's own;

- the message about the importance of imagination;

- jess and leslie's revenge and then compassion toward janice the bully;

- the way jess' grief and reaction are depicted.

honestly, this book is too sad for me to read very often, but i think it is an amazing book. i consider it a must read.