Reading for Me

Life has been crazy and I haven’t found the time to post reviews of my latest reads. Here are my reviews of the books I was able to fit into the craziness.

#7:  Menahem Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching (William Brown) – What an inspirational read! I want to be the best teacher I can possibly be for my piano students. I was enthralled to read about Pressler’s life, approach to teaching, and artistry in performance.

#8: Midnight (Elizabeth Miller) – I tend to veer away from romances, but every once in a while I find that nothing else quite hits the spot. Midnight told the story of a young woman who found herself working for a Presidential candidate — and a recent widower. The love scenes were spicy (and not for the faint of heart or easily offended); they were exactly what you expect from the genre. The story, however, was well written and engrossing. The sequel is scheduled to appear later this month and I plan to read the rest of the story.

#9: Great Expectations (Charles Dickens) – Let me start by saying that I love Charles Dickens’ works! I had read Great Expectations several years ago and loved it, so when Jacqs suggested we read it for the April installment of our reading project, I was ready to go. Maybe it was the crazy schedule I was dealing with or the fact that I was reading in short spurts, but I thought I would NEVER get to the end of Pip’s adventures. Since I didn’t have the luxury of time to dive into Dickens’ thorough descriptions, I found myself resenting the words. This was not a good experience for me at all. I’m just thankful that I have had many good reading experiences with the master and won’t allow this reading to influence my opinion of his works. What’s up next for Jacqs and me? We’re reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in May. As soon as finals are over next week, I’ll be diving in to this novel that has always intrigued me, but has never actually made it into my “to read” stack.

Since I'm making significant progress on the 3 books I'm reading on this mini-vacation, I thought I should probably write up the review of the other book I read at the end of the school term.

Lit was not exactly what I was expecting. Tony Reinke divides the book into two sections. Part 1 explores the importance of reading in the Christian life and then proceeds to give tips for improving your (non)-reading life in the latter half. While I found Reinke's concept that reading both sacred and secular texts is crucial to the development of a Christian worldview, I thought his logic was a bit skewed at times. I also thought it was an extreme argument to say that EVERYTHING we read should be chosen in light of how it will develop our spiritual walk with Christ. I'm sorry…..there are books that we read that are not going to improve or destroy my Christian walk. That doesn't mean I should not read them because they have no value. After all, we live in a fallen world. I am to avoid what will sever my relationship with Jesus as I walk in the world. Jesus Himself prayed that we would protected from evil while we are in the world, not that we be taken out of the world. (John 17)

Part 2 was geared toward the non-reader and tended to focus on non-fiction works. I did appreciate a few of the recommendations. Always reading with a pen in hand is a great idea. I like to mark my own books with passages I want to remember or that especially moved me, but I tend to avoid it because I never remember where I saw the passage. Reinke also has a solution to this issue (although it seems to be time consuming). The author suggests creating a database of quotes on your computer, organizing them by topic and including author, title, and page. This allows for cross-reference between books that discuss similar concepts. I've committed to doing this for a couple of months to see how it works, how much time it requires, and if it looks promising.

The other suggestions that I found most helpful were about how to raise children who are readers. Two concepts that I especially liked was a daily oral reading time and family book reviews. The oral readings can occur throughout the day and come from a variety of books. (The author was clear that it is not necessary to read only fictional narratives aloud.) The reading is not the most important component; the discussion that occurs in response to the reading is where the learning happens and the love for reading is developed. It sounds like a very involved process, but when you consider that it can take 15-20 minutes at the end of a meal together the time commitment seems to be insignificant.

Reinke offers to keep his children in books constantly as long as they are willing to share the three passages they found most interesting as well as explain why they agreed (or disagreed) with the concept. This insures that children are not simply plowing through the words on the page without comprehension and allows parents insight into the topics that are of greatest interest to their child while observing the moral, ethical, and logical development. While it may not work for every family, it certainly is an interesting concept and one I would like to try with my own children one day.

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At Christmas dinner, my nephew-in-law (Is that the correct term for the man who married my niece?) asked if he could expect to see my 32nd book review completed before the end of the year. I wasn't completely sure I would make it since I was suffering from brain damage a broken pinkie toe and didn't feel very intellectual at the moment. I'm happy to say that I DID finish the book on the last day of 2012, which allows me to proudly say that I topped last year's number of books read by 1. (Nothing like waiting until the last minute to mark another resolution off of the list!)

The Memory Thief is the first novel of author Emily Colin. The book traces the story of Maddie and her young son, Gabe. Maddie was married to a mountain climber, Aidan, who was killed in a Alaskan climbing accident and his body has not been recovered. On the same day as Aidan's accident, Nicholas, a teacher in North Carolina, was involved in an automobile accident. Though Nicholas survived, his memory has been completely wiped clean. He now begins to experience memories of another life — the life of Aidan.

With lots of twists, turns, and surprise developments, The Memory Thief is definitely a page-turner that keeps the reader guessing how things will ultimately work out for everyone involved. The primary characters of Maddie, Nicholas, Aidan, and JC (Aidan's best friend and fellow climber) are beautifully developed with charm, wit, and compassion. I found myself sad to leave these new-found friends behind when I reached the final pages of the novel. I won't be surprised if Emily Colin publishes another work that continues the story of these exquisite characters.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I must point out what I perceived as a few of its flaws. It seems that there is a trend in mainstream fiction at the moment to tell stories from multiple perspectives, shifting narrators with each chapter. I enjoy the use of this technique, but found myself confused by the shifts occasionally. For instance, when a chapter attributed to Nicholas begins with a dream he is seeing from Aidan's perspective, the duality of the narration made the storyline unclear and perplexing. As I continued reading, I became aware of Colin's use of italics to signal these occurrences; even though I was aware of them, it didn't necessarily make them easier to handle.

Secondly, I'm not certain Colin was always aware of the intended audience. The story essentially is one of the timelessness of love and was character driven from the beginning. Thrust into the story line were extensive descriptions of romantic escapades in Maddie's life. While I understand the reason for including these episodes in the story itself, I found myself wondering why a cheap romance novel had been slipped into this beautiful love story. While the scenes certainly raised the temperature of this Colorado-based story, the steaminess left this reader feeling dirty and that the romance was becoming nothing more than a tawdry roll in the sheets. Along the same lines, I found some of the language used off-putting. I know that words have power to express emotion (that's why I love to read and write), but I found the use of mundane vulgarity in intense scenes lessened their impact….especially after reading some wonderfully crafted sentences leading up to the climax. In many ways, it felt as though Colin was taking the easy way out of dealing with authentic emotion.

Lastly, I must admit that the idea of possession (a term which was finally used on p. 372 of the novel) made me a little uncomfortable. By the time the author clearly identified what was going on, I was so near the end of the story that I needed to know how things were going to turn out. The only thing that made me feel a “little” better was that it was not suggested as an evil possession; rather it was a individual's spirit attempting to bring closure to situations before moving into the afterlife. Morally, it's still not something I am entirely comfortable with, but I must admit that I enjoyed reading the novel as a work of fiction. I will be interested to see if this metaphysical trend continues in Colin's future works. Personally, I hope not.

I enjoy exploring the first works of authors. Based upon my experience with The Memory Thief, I am looking forwarding to reading Emily Colin's next novel.

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Even though I am still plowing through this massive novel, I thought it might be worthwhile to give an update on how it's going and my general impressions so far.

I just began part IV of the novel at the beginning of the week. I began reading the saga of Scarlett while on vacation in late July with the plan to be done by early November (in time for Mitchell's birthday celebration). Reading became non-existent for a few weeks as I battled illness and began a new semester of teaching. I'm not as far into the novel as I had hoped to be by now, but I think I'm still on target for finishing up by my deadline. I have experienced times of needing to lay the book aside and read something else, mainly because I felt as though I was reading a synopsis of a bad soap opera. Honestly, how many times do I really need a description of Scarlett's dresses? Enough is enough!

My reaction to the novel so far has been mixed. On one hand, I find myself enthralled with the descriptions of the grandeur of the South and mesmerized by the characterizations presented. However, I must admit that much of the book seems a bit generic. Of course Scarlett is not able to have the man she truly loves! Anything else would be too contemporary for the American society that birthed Gone with the Wind.

One trend that has truly surprised me has been the portrayal of the men in the novel. Has anyone else noticed that every man in the novel is essentially weak and flawed? I have not found an exception to this rule yet. Each of Scarlett's beaux are easily manipulated by her charms. Gerald completely falls apart at the death of Ellen. Male slaves are dominated by the wills of the dominating cooks. Men who are presented as self-confident and powerful are viewed as ogres throughout the novel. I suppose I never realized what a strong feminist thread ran through the work. These characterizations may also explain why I am having a largely negative response to the novel as a whole.

I also struggle with calling Gone with the Wind a great American novel. While I value its historical place, I don't find it speaking to universal themes. Neither does it make a significant statement about important issues facing our society. When I think of great American novels, I am looking for something on the level of To Kill a Mockingbird's stance against prejudice or Huck Finn's pursuit of freedom and self-identity on the waters of the mighty Mississippi. Scarlett O'Hara's life raises many issues, but the novel fails to rise above the depravity of her self-indulgence.

I'm hoping that my opinion of the novel changes when I reach the final page. For now, I continue reading in order to say that I HAVE read the book and to laugh at the utter ignorance that Scarlett displays while the world around her is truly in despair.

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Now that Easter has come and gone, life is settling down to normal again (for a few days at least).  That means that I need to update my blog and tell you about the audio books I’ve read in the last few weeks.

#11:  Escape (Barbara Delinsky)  This was the book that accompanied my drive to Biloxi, Mississippi for Spring Break.  It was perfectly appropriate for that time as well.   The story tells of a driven lawyer who had had enough of the rat race and decided to escape to a quaint New England village as she centered herself again and reaccessed those things that were most important.  Since I was doing some of the same things (albeit on a much less dramatic scale), I both identified with and thoroughly enjoyed this well written novel.

#12: My Name is Memory (Ann Brashares).  The audio book for the 2nd half of Spring Break and my drive to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee was not as successful.  Quite simply — this plot was STRANGE!  The story line centers around a man who has lived for over 1000 years, reappearing as different people, but always having a memory of his past lives.  In each life, he is searching for the woman that he first fell in love with — and who continues to be in danger from an abusive husband (also from a former life).  Strange is the best description I can give….and that’s being generous.  If I had anything else in my car at the moment, I would not have finished this book at all.  Bleh!

#13: The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (John Grisham) I guess I’m becoming a Grisham head this year!  I didn’t really want to listen to another Grisham book yet, but it was the only thing available at the time and I needed something.  Little did I realize that this was not a work of fiction, but based on actual events from Ada, Oklahoma.  Two men were tried for the murder of a woman in the 1980s.  Despite their protests and adamant proclamations of innocence, they were found guilty and ultimately sentenced to death by lethal injection.  When DNA evidence finally enters the judicial system, the decisions are overturned and the men are set free.  This mesmerizing tale of judicial negligence and human suffering was truly worth the time.  I suppose I have to admit that I may have been missing out on some wonderful reading all these years because I felt the author’s reputation could only mean that his output was “trite.”  

I’m happy to say that I moved closer to my goal, reading 31 books during the year.  Here’s the list:

1.  Rorey’s Secret by Leisha Kelly – 1/5/11

2.  Called Out of Darkness by Anne Rice – 1/11/11

3.  The Confession (Audio) by John Grisham – 1/12/11

4.  The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard – 1/17/11

5.  Warriors Don’t Cry:  A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Intergrate Little Rock’s Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals – 1/27/11

6.  Room by Emma Donoghue – 2/5/11

7.  Churched:  One Kid’s Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess by Matthew Paul Turner – 2/10/11

8.  Soar by Kenny Luck – 3/4/11

9.  Hallelujah Junction:  Composing an American Life by John Adams – 3/17/11

10.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson – 4/3/11

11.  The Chasm:  A Journey to the Edge of Life by Randy Alcorn – 4/21/11

12.  Hate List by Jennifer Brown – 5/12/11

13.  Sundays at Tiffany’s (Audio) by James Patterson – 5/23/11

14.  The Secret Between Us (Audio) by Barbara Delinsky – 5/27/11

15.  Amazing Grace (Audio) by Danielle Steel – 6/4/11

16.  The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson – 6/18/11

17.  Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult – 7/7/11

18.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett – 7/1611

19.  Why Mahler?  How One Man and Ten Symphonies Changed Our World by Norma Lebrecht – 7/23/11

20.  Hard Times by Charles Dickens – 8/2/11

21.  Glory:  Experiencing the Atmosphere of Heaven by Ruth Ward Heflin – 8/5/11

22.  The Maze Runner by James Dashner – 8/28/11

23.  Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch – 9/4/11

24.  Kramer Versus Kramer by Avery Corman – 9/10/11

25.  The Distant Hours by Kate Morton – 9/24/11

26.  Haydn by Vernon Gotwals – 10/3/11

27.  Forgotten God:  Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan – 10/10/11

28.  Left Neglected by Lisa Genova – 10/14/11

29.  One Day, All Children by Wendy Kopp – 10/19/11

30.  The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry – 12/18/11

31.  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll – 12/29/11

The first year that I kept a record of the books I read was 2010.  For the sake of consistency, here is the list of books I read that year:

1.  Redefining Children’s Ministry in the 21st Century:  A Call for Radical Change by Becky Fischer – 1/5/10

2.  The Concubine’s Daughter by Pai Kit Fai – 1/15/10

3.  The Unmotivated Child:  Helping Your Underachiever Become a Successful Student by Natalie Rathvon – 1/21/10

4.  The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty – 2/4/10

5.  Basketball Jones by E. Lynn Harris – 2/9/10

6.  Still Alice by Lisa Genova – 2/24/10

7.  The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis – 2/28/10

8.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis – 3/5/10

9.  House Rules by Jodi Picoult – 3/18/10

10.  The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis – 3/27/10

11.  Deeper Water by Robert Whitlow – 4/5/10

12.  Higher Hope by Robert Whitlow – 5/6/10

13.  Look Again by Lisa Scottoline – 5/25/10

14.  The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom – 5/30/10

15.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Audio) by Mary Ann Shaffer – 6/2/10

16.  Greater Love by Robert Whitlow – 6/13/10

17.  The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University by Kevin Roose – 6/24/10

18.  Broken on the Back Row by Sandy Patty – 7/13/10

19.  Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg – 7/20/10

20.  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender – 8/2/10

21.  American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld – 9/30/10

22.  Every Last One by Anna Quindlen – 10/9/10

23.  The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown – 11/10/10

24.  The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult – 11/21/10

25.  The Choice (Audio) by Nicholas Sparks – 12/10/10

26.  The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber – 12/18/10

27.  Cast of Characters by Max Lucado – 12/22/10

28.  The Real Mary:  Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus by Scot McKnight – 12/26/10

29.  My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveria – 12/31/10

Several years ago, I read Pat William’s book Read for Your Life:  11 Ways to Transform Your Life With Books and was fascinated with the basic premise.  Williams recounts how his personal goal each year is to read a book each week.  That challenge resonated with me and I took it on.  I have not yet achieved the lofty goal, but I’m having a blast pursuing a more active reading life.

Part of the fun has been keeping track of the books that I have read.  Some of the books have been reviewed on my blog Livin’ Life.  For the sake of keeping everything separate, I have decided to move those reviews over to this location.  Hopefully, there will be a new review coming later today!

Happy reading!

Kennith