The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

Seeing as Pope Joan (Donna Woolfolk Cross) is one of my most favorite books ever, I had to jump on this one. There's just something about 16th Century England that is so appealing to me. Could it be all of those scandolous attempts to overthrow the monarch? Could it be all of the lying, cheating, backstabbing people who are treacherously evil to their own family and friends? How about all of those illicit affairs, arranged marriage proposals to secure the safety of a country, and the pomp and circumstance of the wealthy? Could it be the devout faith people had back then and the inner-conflicts they confronted in choosing to follow their faith or to follow what is humanly and morally correct? Could it be the lore and mystery of ancient, religious relics? Could it be the architecture and descriptions of the old monasteries and churches and priories and the customs and habits of the faithful? It's all the perfect recipe for chaos, religious and moral conflict, and suspense.

The Crown takes us through the tangled webs of the life of Joanna Stafford, a Dartford Priory novice who escapes her Dominican priory in attempt to somehow save her cousin, Margaret Bulmer, from being burned at the stakes. But both Joanna and her father are captured amidst their heroic efforts and are imprisoned in "The Tower." As a bargain for their release and safety, Bishop Gardiner, directs Joanna Stafford to return to Dartford Priory to find "the crown," an ancient relic hidden within the walls of the priory and believed to be worn by Jesus Christ. But re-entering the priory and re-assimiliating to its culture is not so easy. Joanna soon finds herself on a vast adventure encompassed by scandal, murder, and history.

This read was truly fascinating. I loved it! It's suspenseful, full of history, mystery, intrigue, suspense ~ everything an historical fiction novel about 16th Century England should be.

The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew

For someone who felt overwhelmed in her high school and college history classes (why did I have to memorize so many dates and the names of so many battles?), I just love to read historical fiction! It's fascinating to live life vicariously through characters from another place and time.

This one brought me to the segregated south in the 1950s. It sort of has that feeling of reading The Help ~ upper middle class white family, African American maid who works for said family, characters doing horrible and manipulative things to each other. But whereas The Help had a little humor thrown in for fun (I need not mention the chocolate pie, but how could I resist), this one does not. The Dry Grass of August is completely serious.

The writing style is also very interesting. The story is narrated by a 13-year old girl (Jubie) whose experiences parallel that of her 48-year old black maid (Mary) and slavery in general. At first you think you're reading a young adult novel, but then you begin to see why it's not; and then again you question why it isn't. And in the end you think: Does it really matter if the storytelling drives home the point intended ~ and that point being that strong link among Jubie and the other characters. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but I think readers will see that connection and symbolism with Jubie, her father, and slavery.

Did I like this one as much as The Help? Well, no. But I really felt that this book was successful in making a statement of its own.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

As someone who majored in English and has taken courses in analytical theory and has deconstructed a text well beyond (I'm sure) the author's original intent and purpose, I was interested in this novel in a bookish, nerdy sort of way. Deconstructing any piece of literature is ambitious in its own right. But when an author manipulates a plot based on analytical theory and bounces back to literature in support of and in reference to that theory, it really sends your head spinning. Whoa. . .

This one definitely will not be for everyone. I'm still debating whether or not it was even for me. I love books; I love to read; and on occasion ~ not often but on occasion ~ I will revert back to my analytical theory training and think more deeply about a text.  My thinking on this text, however, did not involve theory ~ probably because it was so bluntly thrust into my face. Rather, my thinking involved the whole irony of the title and the actual content of the book.

The irony of The Marriage Plot is that it really didn't have a plot. The entire novel is built around character development with not much else happening. And once again, irony slaps me in the face with its characters. For a novel that spends so much time developing these characters, they are really not easy to relate to. I don't necessarily have to love a character to love the plot. Let's face it. There are some characters that we just love to hate. But I couldn't connect with a single one of these characters on any level. I can appreciate what Eugenides was trying to do here with analytical theory and weaving a "modern-day" romance around it; and I enjoyed reading the references to classic pieces of literature that I have read. But the novel left me searching for the plot. Maybe I should start thinking about all of those analytical theories that I studied in college. Perhaps that would allow me to connect more deeply with these characters and see the "plot" more clearly. And I guess the irony in reading this book and writing this blog post is that I am thinking more deeply about the novel and my approach to reading . . .

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Yes, I'm aware that I'm the last person on the face of the planet to read this one, but I resisted it because of its genre. I have a really difficult time reading fantasy. For me to love a book, the story has to be believable and the characters have to find a way to my heart. A large part of my reading experience involves visualizing the story as I'm reading. When it comes to fantasy novels, I have a tremendous amount of difficulty visualizing the events and setting. It takes a pretty darn good author to convince me that the events and setting are plausible. Therefore, I avoid these types of books and happily get lost in time with historical fiction, or gasp over the trials and tribulations of someone's life in a memoir, or work my way through a realistic/contemporary novel because I know there will be characters involved in real-life situations that I will hopefully never have to endure (and maybe a few that I wish I could).

So coming from someone who couldn't get past the first 10 pages of Harry Potter and coming from someone who refused to even look at the book covers of the whole Twilight series and join the cult, The Hunger Games went surprisingly well for me. Surprise ~ surprise!

Had I looked a little closer at the author's name, however, I probably would have surprised myself sooner rather than later. About five years ago, I had been a teaching intern at Suzanne Collins's daughter's school. And I just so happened to be working one on one with a student in her daughter's class the day that Mrs. Collins had come in to talk to them about a recent book she had just published, Gregor the Overlander. Honestly, I remember thinking that this too was a book that I would never read because of its genre. But I found Mrs. Collins to be extremely giving of her time and generous with the answers she provided to her daughter's classmates. Over the last couple of years working in that same elementary school and a few others, I noticed that students were eating up her books. They were really enjoying them. They were giving these fantasy novels a chance. . .and I wasn't.

Suzanne Collins, thank you for writing the one fantasy novel that I have actually enjoyed! For the most part, I found the novel believable and I could visualize the characters and the post-apocalyptic setting. I will say, however, that I did have trouble visualizing the whole attack scene towards the end of the novel involving the muttations and the cornucopia. (Is this cornucopia sitting on its side? Is it standing upright? How are the characters hanging on to it? Are they inside of it? Outside of it? How are they shielding themselves?) But I shocked myself with this one. I really did enjoy this novel. I guess I'm breaking out of my shell (or cornucopia) for the new year.

On Fire for the New Year

I can't believe a new year is upon us again! Where does the time go? Who knew that a year ago as I was working for pennies trying to land a permanent teaching position that I'd be sitting here today with my dream job in my hands. 2011 has been very good to me. 2011 has also been extremely busy. But I like it that way. I've fallen behind on my reading and blogging, but I'm hoping to get caught up in 2012. . .

As I ring in 2012, I actually feel like I'm finally part of the digital age. (Is that even the correct terminology? I don't know. I'm not technologically savvy. But I like to pretend that I am). So, I received some of those pre-paid credit card/gift cards from family for Christmas. And now I was left with the big decision ~ What's a girl to do with a bunch of gift cards? Decisions, decisions. Of course, I had a gazillion ideas running through my head ~ a new watch, an I-pod, jewelry, clothing, boots, the possibilities were endless. And because I actually have a job this year and don't need to rely on gift cards to buy toothpaste and shampoo, I decided that this year I wanted to spend those gift cards on an actual "gift," something that I would never in a million years decide to buy for myself.

So, of course, I found myself in Target this week (I actually found myself there four times this week) because I really did need toothpaste and shampoo. While I was there, I decided to venture into the electronics section. For anyone who knows me, you know that this is a huge deal. I'm like a fish out of water in that department, flopping helplessly away as I try to wrap my strained mind around the purposes and uses of these gadgets and gizmos. I was originally there to look at the I-pods, but I wasn't convinced that I wanted one. Then something drew me to the Kindles. I started looking at the Kindles and playing around with the demo pieces they had on display. And lo and behold, I suddenly had an urge to buy a Kindle Fire. It was speaking to me, "Pick me, pick me." I don't know why or how I suddenly became enamoured with the Kindle Fire. But the next thing I knew, I was traveling all over the State of Connecticut in search of the last retailer on the planet who just happened to have the last Kindle Fire in stock. No one had one. But that's okay because Amazon did! Woo-hoo! And it was on my doorstep by Thursday afternoon.

Like I said, I'm not technologically savvy, but I have to toot my own horn for a minute. I am quite impressed with my digital prowess as of late. I know nothing about routers, modems, Wi-Fi, what-have-you; but I had that Fire set and ready to go and hooked up to Wi-Fi in less than two minutes. I love how it's so easy to use and so easy to navigate through.

So now that I have this new toy, I have to "train" myself to read digital books as opposed to "real" books. I've always been resistant to e-readers in the past because I was afraid to lose that connection to books, the overall charm and nostalgia of sitting down with a good book in my hands, turning and flipping through the pages, blah, blah, blah. But I actually took to it like a fish to water. I was no longer flopping helplessly. I was swimming!!

Because I get a free month of Amazon Prime with my new Kindle Fire, I decided to take advantage of its perks and benefits and "borrowed" a book from the Kindle borrowers' library to sort of ease myself into this new e-reader experience. My induction began with 7 Days to Say I Love You. It had gotten a solid 5-star review, which is why I gave it a shot. It's no literary masterpiece by any means, and there are quite a few misspellings and grammatical errors; but it's an okay story. It's a memoir of a man's experience with watching his father die of liver cancer and how he has just a short amount of time left to tell his father that he loves him. It's an easy, quick read and was a good way to get myself started on my e-reader journey; but it's certainly not a memorable read.

I also got caught up with a few non-digital books that I had been hanging on to and had never gotten a chance to sit down with. I zipped through The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. It's historical fiction based on Ernest Hemingway's first marriage and told from the perspective of his first wife. Again, I got the book because the reviews were good; but sadly, this one was not memorable for me either. There wasn't a whole lot of information driving the story. And really, there was no story here. It's just a constant back and forth from Paris to Switzerland to Spain, writing, skiing, and bullfighting. I had trouble finding the author's purpose. Was I supposed to feel sorry for Hadley Hemingway? because I didn't. I'm sorry your husband was a struggling artist. But how much could they have been struggling? They lived in Paris, vacationed in Spain and Switzerland, left their child to be raised by several nannies and partied and got drunk every night. Ah, well. To each his own. The book was just really flat.

A book that definitely was not flat and will stick with me for some time is Jenna Blum's Those Who Save Us. This one is hauntingly disturbing but a great read. It really highlights and details the unfathomable challenges and decisions people were faced with during WWII just to secure their own survival.

Phew! There was a lot to say, but I suppose that's because I've been out of the scene for a while. Here's to 2012 and to hopefully it being just as successful or even more so than 2011. Happy New Year!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

She was a mother of five, a terrific cook, loved to go out dancing with her cousin, and never went out without making sure her red toenails were painted to perfection. Although she was a poor tobacco farmer, she lived life to the fullest. Except to her family and small community, this woman was unknown to the world. But then cervical cancer changed the course of her history, her children's history, and that of the world of science forever.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks. She was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951 for treatment of an agressive strain of cervical cancer. Cells from her tumor were taken without her knowledge or consent. Those cells have launched a scientific revolution, responsible for discoveries including the polio vaccine, chemotherapy treatments, and invitro-fertilization procedures. She died nearly 60 years ago, yet her cells continue to thrive and continue to be used for scientific and medical research. But while her cells have been mulitiplying and while researchers and doctors have cashed in on discoveries related to her cells and while the public benefits from vaccines and treatments that her cells have helped discover, Henrietta Lacks's children have not faired as well.

As I am not the scientific type, I went into this read with a little trepidation. But I am so glad I went for it. This novel brings to life the fact that behind all medical research, there is indeed a human connection involved. Because we are so wrapped up in finding cures and breakthroughs, we lose focus of that emotional factor. This book reminds us that behind that cancerous tumor, behind those cancerous cells, there once lived a human with a life and a family, someone who was loved and someone who had loved back. And that person deserves a name, and her history deserves to be preserved, and her family deserves to be dignified. Henrietta Lacks will now truly be immortal thanks to Rebecca Skloot.

To Kill a Mockingbird

It's a funny thing when you go back and re-read a book. Sometimes you remember it word for word as it's unfolding; sometimes you pick up interesting little bits and pieces that you never caught before; and sometimes it's a whole new story as if you've never read it in the first place. For some crazy reason, when I started reading this one again, it was like I had never read it before. I can only think of two possible explanations why I don't remember To Kill a Mockingbird.

First of all, I know this was assigned reading in high school, which might explain why I didn't remember a whole lot of it. I usually don't like to be "told" what I "have" to read. I like to make choices for myself. So there is some possibility that the inner rebel in me had come out (as it did when I had to read Moby Dick) and made the choice not to read it with the hope of being able to fly by the seat of my pants on just the class discussions themselves.

Secondly, I do remember watching the movie in class after we discussed and finished the book. I remember Boo Radley, Scout, and her brother Jem; and most of all I remember the court trial. So perhaps I'm just remembering the movie and not the book. . . or confusing the movie with the book. . . or maybe I just truly don't remember anything about it at all.

Oh, well. Whatever the reason may be, I discovered new information in this story that I had somehow escaped my teen years. It took me a long time to read this one, but it was worth the re-introduction.