The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

I really, really wanted to love this book, but I found myself just, well, liking it. It was an excellent story, fantastically well-written, and had some excellent characters. And, believe me, between starting a job and working hard to make sure I spend time with my husband relaxing when I'm home, I really appreciated the shortness of the novel. Still, I couldn't fall in love with this book, possibly due to the fact that I had to read it in small sections during breaks/lunch/downtime at home. I definitely think I may re-read this one in the future when I'm not so busy, and I'm sure that I'll enjoy it much more that way.

The novel traces the story of four Chinese immigrant women and their U.S.-citizen daughters as they work to develop a relationship with the world and with U.S. culture, working against stereotyping in their new home and harsh memories from their old one. Each woman has their own experiences that shape the interactions between the generations. Tan does a fantastic job describing the communication gap between the younger generation and the older based upon changing ideas of social expectations, and I really enjoyed reading about the experiences of different women and comparing them to my own relationship with my mother and other inter-generational relationships I've watched in others.

The writing is simple, which allowed me to focus on the story itself rather than any sort of struggle with the structure of the novel.

I really hope that you look at these other reviews to see what others thought about it!

My rating: 8.5/10

Other reviews:
A Guy's Moleskine Notebook
Book Addiction
Ramya's Bookshelf
(If you've reviewed The Joy Luck Club and I missed you, let me know, and I'll add your review to the links!)

Up next: Maybe some non-fiction or re-reading Kingsolver's The Bean Trees so I can read its sequel Pigs In Heaven. I'll figure it out sometime this evening.

Reading Hiatus?

I just wanted to stop in and explain my lack of posting over the last week or so. I started a new job, and my life is slowly adjusting to the incorporation of 8 hours of non-reading time into my days! It also doesn't help that this past week was chock full of family birthdays and other obligations that kept me from my reading. I think once my schedule gets more routine for me, I'll get back to reading often. I'm already reading during my lunch breaks!

I'm about 1/4 of the way through Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, and since I'm reading it in chunks spread relatively far apart, I admit I'm having problems getting into it/keeping track of the characters' roles, but I'm still generally enjoying it. Now just to find time to read...

Review: His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman

I finally finished reading this book, and it's one of those that I was cursing my reading limitations. I couldn't explain how much I couldn't wait for this trilogy to end--in a completely good way. The novels trace the adventures of Lyra and Will, two very special children for reasons you need to read to find out, as they work within their universe of multiple worlds to fulfill their destinies.

I absolutely fell in love with Lyra and all of the other characters (at least the ones you're supposed to fall in love with) and was rooting for them the whole way, hoping that they'd make the right decisions to help their world to reverse the various troubles caused by various government and religious authorities. That being said, as was highly publicized when the movie came out, these novels are really critical of organized religion (particularly the Catholic Church as you'll see if/when you read the trilogy) and seems to support science and personal accountability more than religious tenets, and, I'll admit, Pullman does sometimes beat you over the head with it. Still, I personally think it's possible to really enjoy this book even if you don't agree with Pullman's religious and political tenets. I also think Pullman did a really fantastic job only allowing the reader to know certain things about characters until it's really the right time for the reader to know it. Sometimes, he foreshadows and tells the story from multiple perspectives (so the reader knows a bit more than the characters about how other worlds/characters are behaving) but allows the reader to question his/her own understanding of the characters and what their role is in the story, whether good or bad.

Although His Dark Materials was technically listed as "Young Adult" at Borders, I really think that other audiences would really enjoy the trilogy. The plot moves quickly, reminding me slightly of Harry Potter (however, unlike Harry [with maybe the exception of Book 6], each individual novel in the trilogy do not stand alone and do not have their own, nicely-tied-together endings [translation: do not expect to be able to read one novel without reading them all at once]) and sucked me into the story right away. I also loved the opportunity to be able to experience "another world" much like mine but completely different in many ways. The novels also provide the ability to really consider whether the basic philosophy contained in this "fantasy" novel could actually be not so "fantastic." I really don't think I'm doing these novels justice, so please please please look at some of these other reviews to find out just how much you should read this book. :)

My rating: 9.9/10

Other reviews:
Bending Bookshelf (here and here)
Book Addiction
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
Just One More Page
Books for Breakfast Drinks for Dinner
*If I missed your review (or mis-linked it), please let me know and I'll add/fix it!

Internetless!

This post will be acting as my apology for using the "Mark all as read" button on my Google Reader for the last few days. Our modem died, and with job stuff and buying a new car (!), we just got around to fixing it last night. Unfortunately, what's left of this week does not contain enough time (so busy!!!) to read through all the missed posts. But I promise, I missed you guys!

I Made a Killing!

I stumbled upon a used book sale benefiting the local historical society, and I could only think one thing: Books! For a good cause! (also known as two things, but you catch my drift). So I headed to one of the cooler places in town, the Agriculture and Industrial Museum (I'm a history major; I'm supposed to think museums are cool!) and bought an ungodly number of books for $4.50...I'm serious, 10 books for $4.50. I probably could have gotten even more to shove into the $1.00 bag, but I was meeting the hubby for lunch and barely made it there on time as it was. They had a really nice set-up of about 7-8 tables containing $1.00 bag (a whole shopping bag...I'm serious!) and tables and tables inside of $0.50 paperbacks and $1.00 hardbacks. I tried to limit myself to stuff that I (a) couldn't get at the local library/was regularly on hold at the local library (b) cost more than $0.50 to buy for a Kindle (which I'm getting for my birthday/Christmas from my dad!) and (c) was highly recommended by someone/read on another's blog/actually on my book wish list/on one of my reading lists. And here's the fruits of my labor:

The books in all their glory (surrounded by way too many other books
--which I will share later)

Just in case some of the titles are unclear, here's the list and my justification for purchase:
1. I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb -- from the list of the Best Beach Books Ever, and was also highly recommended by several bloggers and friends. $0.50

2. Pigs In Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver -- I wrote a term paper on The Bean Trees junior year of high school and loved the book (at least, until I started researching it in our measly little high school library; total pain!) and this one is the follow-up to it. I'll probably have to re-read The Bean Trees before reading this one. $0.50

3. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- on the Pulitzer list and 1,001 Books list. $0.50

4. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque -- on the 1,001 Books list and something I've been wanting to read since high school but never got around to buying it/picking it up at the library. $0.50

5. King Jesus by Robert Craves -- I honestly thought this was another book on my wish list, but since I can't return it, I'm gonna read it. Plus, it says controversial in the reviews, and I tend to like those. $0.50

6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells -- My grandma has been encouraging me to read this (she really liked both the book and the movie), and with the price, I willingly gave in. Also on the Best Beach Books Ever list. $1 bag

7. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan -- This one is on a few of my reading lists (can't remember which) and was recommended by my mother-in-law (along with The Kitchen-God's Wife). Also, not available on Kindle at all. $1 bag

8. The Magus by John Fowles -- One I haven't been able to find at my library/bookstore/Kindle. On 1,001 Books list. $1 bag

9. The Green Mile by Stephen King -- I've been wanting to read this since I saw the movie...a while ago. $0.50

10. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown -- I've been promising my good little historian self that I'd never read this book...but it showed up on the Best Beach Books Ever list, and I rationalized that since it was used, I won't be adding too much to the franchise (indeed, I'm still bitter about Brown casting this book off as "good" history early on in its publishing...). Plus, I'll donate it back next year. $0.50

Now, I just have to finish His Dark Materials and figure out which one to read next (completely ignoring those super-full bookshelves with tons of unread books on them).

Linking to Other Reviews

As a new book blogger, sometimes I'm a little unsure of the "community" aspects of book blogging. It seems that others link to other reviews for their readers to compare, see other viewpoints, etc. How does one do that? I found the Google book blog search engine, which seems to be an excellent resource for getting these links. I've also requested on the main page of the search that my blog be included. Still, it seems like for some of the classics/older/really popular novels, there are just so many potential links to include in every post. How do you decide which ones to include, which ones not to (my Google Reader is not quite up to snuff so I don't think that would be a natural way to limit links right now)?

So, I'm hoping to get some feedback about this, since others seem much more informed about this stuff than I am. :) I added a link in my Zorro post, but I'm not even sure if I should have asked permission, etc. before adding even that. I'm currently slugging through a large (almost 1,000 pages!) book, so I'll have some time to get some feedback before I need to post another review. Let me know what y'all think, and I'll figure out some way to spread some love and provide other opinions about the books I read.

Rating System

I'm doing my best to try and make my rating system as simple, but specific as possible. I found that I was being really limited by the 1-5 star rating system that I had been using. I thought it took far too much for me to call a book "perfect" with a full 5/5 stars, but giving it a 4/5 would be too much like only giving it 80% credit when it probably deserved more than that.

So I'm moving towards a 10 point system, leaving myself room to use decimals as I see fit. I went back and re-labelled my other reviews with the new rating system, and I'll try this out for a while. Hopefully, I'm more satisfied with the flexibility, and I'm able to be more informative with a final rating.

Let me know what you think!

Zorro by Isabel Allende

Unlike other "Zorro-themed" books that focus on the legend's adult years; Allende, encouraged by the owners of the Zorro franchise, instead sought to explain the character's younger years as he grew up in Alta California, then a Spanish colony, and was educated in Spain. It is the story of how he created his identity.

In true Allende form, the novel weaves together realistic fiction and a sort of magical/spiritual undertone with both elements being necessary to push the plot along. You do have to suspend disbelief a bit in her novels; oftentimes fate, Indian ideas of magic and communication, and other elements often seem to be sort of foreign to the typical American reader. Still, I think it is wonderful, particularly for her novels, often set in South America or the western U.S., because it seems to better capture the indigenous Indian beliefs of both areas. I really respect Allende simply because she doesn't completely disregard these beliefs.

Also, I think that Allende successfully tackles a lot of the issues of Spanish colonization in Alta California; she deals with the harsh treatment of the Native Americans and the villainous character of the wealthy Spaniard who comes to Alta California as a means to increase his own wealth by enslaving the native populations. The time this is set was not a pleasant time; Napoleon is interfering in Spanish politics, and after the return of the Spanish monarchy, the Inquisition returns as a means of stomping out the liberal ideas that the French introduced into mainland Europe. Very few things are black-and-white in this time period. Neither side of any struggle is perfect, and I think Allende does a good job of showing this--the Native Americans undertake their own mission early on in the novel to capture and kill Christian converts in the mission and--but still maintaining the reader's sympathy where the reader's sympathies should be.

That being said, I don't know that this was Allende's best work. The House of the Spirits and Of Love and Shadows seem to have a much more fluid writing style. I'm not sure if this difference was purposeful, considering which character she chooses to act as the narrator (it's not revealed until the last chapter, so I'm not going to spoil it for you!), but it was not the lovely phrasing, and long, descriptive sentences of Allende's other works. And, quite honestly, I missed it. Still, I think she does a fantastic job showing the rising star of Diego de la Vega as he grows, learns, and becomes the legend that is Zorro. Still, she shows his character as being flawed, not a perfect hero at every time; often, he is unaware of the injustices around him until something forces him to take notice. She also paints his character as being a sort of "two-in-one" deal; Diego and Zorro are two very different kinds of people wrapped up into one person. Part of this is intentional on Diego's part as a means of preventing others from discovering that he is Zorro, but I think part of it is that Diego cannot, with his wealthy upbringing, quite come to terms with the missions he undertakes as Zorro.

In general, I think that this was a fantastic novel, and, had I not read other Allende novels, would have definitely been one of my favorites. Yet, it didn't quite match my expectations considering the other novels.

Rating: 9/10

Some other reviews:
Melissa at Book Nut


Up next: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

100 Best Beach Books Ever?

As I head off to take an editing test for a job (which I would really like to have), I just wanted to post this link to the NPR website. It seems to have sparked quite a few discussions around book blogs: 100 Best Beach Books Ever. I agree; some of these books instantly make me think of summer (probably a combination of when I remember reading them/the actual plots, themes, etc. of the book) -- Harry Potter, Twilight, Garp, and The Bean Trees come to mind. But there are others that I have read that make me think, "Huh? You're including that?" In particular, Snow Falling on Cedars. What about that book makes anyone think of Summertime and the beach? The word "snow" is in its title for gosh sakes! So, personally, I don't know if I would label this book the "Best Beach Books." It seems a bit more akin to a list of books people should read from every genre (classics, romance, YA, etc.). Which, I have to admit, is a list that seems to be needed to replace some of the more stuck-up, dreary classics only lists that are floating around out there. This list, in that respect, seems oddly reminiscent of the 100 New Classics by Entertainment Weekly.

I guess all the differences come down to how people define a "beach read." I've seen people on the beach with everything from the smutty romance novel to a Tom Clancy book (that would be my husband!) to a huge tome of a classic. Since the NPR audience contributed to this list, maybe that's why there seems to be such a wide range of the kinds of books included. It's interesting for its very ability to start conversation, which is always appreciated!

What do you think: how do you define a beach read? Is it something mindless or do you prefer to have your toes in the sand with an "official" classic?

Blogging and Reading Others' Blogs

Gar, I really wanted to get Allende's Zorro done this week/weekend so I could move onto Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. But all sorts of busyness got in the way...namely climbing at Birdsboro and reading everyone else's blogs and adding to my TBR list (not exactly a good idea since I seem to take reading times few and far between these days...). So, that's why I haven't gotten a review up yet.

Still, Allende is fantastic, and I love her. A more in-depth review to come later I promise.

To Read to the Babes

Disclaimer: I do not yet have children. The hubby and I are thinking between 1 1/2 to 2 years to start thinking about it, but I love the little ones. My niece, I think, is the coolest thing in the world, and Eric and I have been discussing quite a bit lately how we want to "raise" our children. I know, I know, best laid plans... But we're definitely in agreement about reading to our children on a nightly basis, but neither him nor I have much patience for children's picture books beyond the classics like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Goodnight Moon, The Little Engine That Could, or any of the Little Golden Books or Dr. Seuss. You know what I mean: the good stuff with excellent illustrations and good writing (I'm not picky or anything). Seriously, I would really, really prefer to avoid reading my children anything with Dora or Blue's Clues or the Backyardigans (the only exception here: Thomas the Tank Engine...he's a personal favorite). I really don't know how my parents read so many of those kinds of books to my brother and I as we were growing up. I can't imagine how great it must have been for them when he and I learned to read and started only coming to them to help figure out the meaning of a word or something. And I know that I wouldn't have the patience for such things.

So here's what our plan is, and it's based largely off of what Eric's parents did with him and his brothers for bedtime stories: read good, in-depth fantasy "literature" to the kiddos before they head off to sleep...or since I'll probably be staying home with the bitties, any time they want me to. In my head I'm thinking, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, The Phantom Tollbooth, Little House on the Prairie, and those sorts of things. I just bought His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman to kind of preview before deciding whether or not to add it to the list above. We'll probably also add some Tolkein, The Wizard of Oz series, and anything else that gets suggested to us. Of course, we'll need to wait until all of our kiddos have a long enough attention span for a chapter a night or so. I just don't picture myself reading Nick, Jr. related books on a nightly basis. All of these books just have fantastic stories with "deeper" stuff for the adults reading. And I think it's a great "family-time" kind of thing that we can all be together with the bitties in pjs and read together. What better way to pass on a love of reading onto the little ones.

What do you think? Am I pushing my own reading habits onto my children? Could this keep them from being "readers" when they grow up because we didn't read the Dora and other tv-related books? Will they be the nerds because they don't know how Dora the Explorer is when they get to school?

"What to Read Now" -- Newsweek

I know I'm really late to this game, especially since the huge books section was printed in the July 13 issue of Newsweek, but I gotta admit, the whole section is kinda killing me. Not only did it add an insane number of books to my TBR list, but it added all sorts of pressure to read them NOW, and, well, with this ongoing job search and generally being tired and busy and climbing all the time, I'm already reading significantly less than I otherwise would (even when I was working full time last summer!). I'm really hoping that something in the job front pans out soon so my reading can pick up its pace a little.

Yet, I'm still really thankful that Newsweek cast aside some of the pressure to devote pages and pages and pages to Michael Jackson's memory (that's another can of worms there) and published pages and pages and pages of books that I want to read instead. Plus, most of them were books that should have been on my TBR list (which, at the moment, consists of the entirety of my unread 1,001 Books list plus an almost-page-long Word document with "Miscellaneous Books I want to Read" plus whatever manages to catch my eye in the bookstore plus my Amazon wish list) -- like McNamara's In Retrospect and Kissinger's Diplomacy. I'll never ever get through the list, but that's totally okay. It's better to have a too-long TBR list than to not know what to read next! Plus, personally, I think Newsweek put together a list containing a really good mix of literary fiction, contemporary non-fiction, and historical/scientific/psychological popular non-fiction. There's something there for every kind of reader, and since I tend to be a hands-in-multiple-cookie-jars kind of reader, it was really perfect for me!

Fifty Books for Our Times
What to Read Now