Recent Books

[For the Zombie blurb scroll down to the next post]

My luck continues with reading a series of great books.

I read, "The Help" and it was a delightful read. There were parts of the book that I wish it just wasn't a part of the American culture. But that's what makes this country so wonderful it's good and bad all mixed together.

The story is about three women in the early 1960's set in Jackson, Mississipi. Two of the women are Black women that work in white households as maids. The 3rd character, Skeeter, wants to write their story annonymously. At first there is resistance but finally the two women along with a a few other maids agree to help Skeeter write her book. And the stories are lovely and wonderful. It was one of those books that I wished would never end. And when I finished it, it was as if I knew these characters and they did not feel fictional at all.

Next, I'm reading Cutting for Stone written by Abraham Verghese (an MD). A wonderful book about twins born to an angelic nun who was a superb nurse. She dies in childbirth and their father, the surgeon whom she worked with, disappears shortly only to reappear later in their lives in the United States. I had a hard time getting past the birthing scene. It is graphic and bloody. But I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this wonderfully written book.

Earlier this week, I finished reading Lisa Kleypas' "Smooth Talking Stranger." Lisa can do no wrong. I happen to like her historical romances better though. Smooth is a wonderful modern day romance. Rich Guy - Poor Girl. etc. etc. The interaction between the two characters and the dialog are just so fun you want to believe people like this exist. And that its possible for the Prince to pick the poor beautiful girl to be his partner. Hey I need a little feel good fantasy in my life... to keep me sane and this was the right dose this month. Can't wait for her upcoming historical later this month... May 25th to be exact.

Finally, I'm also reading "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite" written by David Kessler. He is the same person that demonized the tobacco industry and is now working on demonizing the food industry. In the book there is candid accounts of his own struggle with eating and weight gain. The book is an eye opener and it discribes in somewhat scientific terms (it is accessible as far as the reading goes) how these foods are built to make them tasty to the point of food becoming an obssession.

Good reads! I feel lucky and blessed by the Reading Gods...

Pride and Prejudice and the Zombies

Yes, yes - I read this book and let me tell you the parts that were Jane Austen's writing were simply delightful. I can never get tired of reading her and every time I do read P&P I see something new. Something wise, wonderful and witty. I've often said if I could travel back in time, I'd be at Jane's door step in a heart beat.

Now the Zombie part. I admit, that it did surprise me as to how well this "mashable" feature worked and fit into the book - for the most part. Some of it was hilarious and I liked how at one point early in the book it showed that the Bennet sisters can work well as a team despite their differences. And that there can be a sisterly cohesiveness between them. However, I think that thought only works if you've read the book previously.

I also loved how Elizabeth thirsted for blood and at one point is able to yank out the heart of her enemy and eat it. It is so over the top and it gives a hilarious aspect to that particular scene. I kind of imagined her standing there and eating this live beating heart as you would a Red Delicious apple.

But I didn't like a few lines given to my beloved Lizzy. In the following scene Lizzy is responding to Lydia who thinks she can find husbands for each of her sisters. In this book Wickham becomes and invalid who is constantly lying down in his own piss on a matterss and has to be constantly changed out of diapers.

Elizabeth says to Lydia: "I thank you for my share of the favour," said Elizabeth, "but I do not particularly desire the rest of my life spent emptying piss pots." - Elizabeth is way way too elegant in wit and her use of language to ever say something blatant like the word "piss". So I really didn't like this particular line and a few like it when it came to Lizzy.

The next character is Mrs. Bennet. What is funny is that in this case there was nothing Grahame-Smith could add to her character. Austin topped him in regards to that character and is probably laughing at him from the beyond.

The parts written by Seth Grahame-Smith at times worked too hard to be funny in a very juvenile way. Almost reminded me of the Austin Power movies and all the pee jokes. Grahame-Smith went out of his way for the charcters to vomit or in the case of Charlotte and the things he did to her it felt more tragic than funny. Specially since the poor girl is already married to the insufferable Mr. Collins.

But at the end Lizzy is Lizzy and Mr. Darcy is Mr. Darcy and still a great love story. The two are perfect even as Zombie slayers.

This month's Books

• The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Literary Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows- Delightful! No other was to say it. The last part of the book is one of the best romances I've read in a LONG time.
• Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle- Nothing compares to Lisa Kleypas' stories. Sorry Liz!
• The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga - Enlightening. The antidote to lyrical India. Reminds me of Kiran Desai's book "The Inheritance of Loss" - It has a certain sadness to it although the narrator is so witty and edgy and so easily uses the "F" word that I found it funny. Just love it.
• As The Great World Spins by Colum McCann- Takes you right back to the 70's and it very thought provoking. Reminds you of the Vietname, Nixon, sex and Studio 56 days. I simply LOVE the writing. So smooth and clean and well thought out. Its as if the text is just scrubbed clean for the reader but it is not sterile by any means.
• The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart - Action packed. A Great book with many good moral lessons and how kids can use their smarts to get out of tight situations. I love watching my son getting into the book and imagining himself as part of the Benedict Society and how he might have been able to contribute to help the situation.

The Antidote to Lyrical India: The White Tiger

Balram Halwai is about a man who manages to improve his lot in life by becoming a driver for a rich family. The book is one long letter to the premier of China as he writes about India's entrepreneurial skills. The narration has a sarcastic edge to it and makes him very endearing. 

I'm still reading the book but can't help myself writing about it. So far, there was a few things that surprised me.

• How easily accepts someone as "Master" and not question the system. And how early in the book the master talks about the Balram as if he is not there and talks about how ignorant Balram is as his master's wife giggles. Later we find this guy also punches his wife in the face.
• He kills his master. Slits his throat...wow...
• When his father tells him he wants his son to be a man and not treated as an animal. His dad pulls rickshaws.

He also goes by several different names and White Tiger is one of his names. Earlier in the book you learn that his family were too busy and had too much on their minds to actually name the boy. So when he gets to grade school his teacher gives him the name Balram who is the sidekick to Krishna. At home his name in Muna which simply means "Boy." He receives the name White Tiger by being considered the smartest boy in his village.

Stimulus Package helping out Scholastic

Ever since the Harry Potter series have ended, Scholastic has been experiencing a slump in it sales. Fortunately, the Stimulus Package is helping the company out:


Scholastic Graduates From Harry Potter to Stimulus for Sales


President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are using $100 billion in stimulus funds to try to reshape U.S. education. About $22 billion of the money allocated so far has gone to federal programs for the low-income and disabled students Scholastic’s remedial programs target.

Found my book!

Something wonderful happened to me yesterday. I found a book, quite by coincidence, that I had read as a child and I truly loved it. One of those books that I would think of over the years again and again.

It was one of the only Western author books recommended to me by my grandmother. Strangely she never recommended the classics such as Austen or Bronte although she had read them all. For years, I had a hardtime finding this book through a very dumb mistake of my own.

My grandmother is now over 80. We don't know her exact age since they didn't keep birth records in Iran in those days. She is the one who gave me the gift of reading and always filled my head with wonderful stories from all over the world that would literally last for nights and nights as she would put us to sleep with her stories. None of her children inherited the gift of reading so I feel doubly blessed that it something that came from her to me.

A few years ago she lost her eyesight due to diabetes and used to cry that she can no longer read. She didn't care that she could no longer see us but reading was a whole different story for her. (No books on tape in Farsii either.)

And now she is begining to lose her memory. For example, she keeps forgetting that I'm my mom's daughter but she knows I'm her granddaughter.

And then I found this book. Her book...It's called the "White Mountains" by John Christopher. I can't tell you what it meant to me to find it or rather it found me. If that makes sense. To have something of my grandmothers that meant so much to me.

The book is about outerspace Tripods that take over the earth and take control of young people's brains making them docile and compliant. And they put these rings around the people's heads and once you have the ring on your head you lose control of your brain and the Tripods totally take over. If you remove them you go mad and mad people do appear in the book. It was so painful to read about one of the protagonist's friends succumbing to the Tripods -- and SO scary! How he changed from a rebel to a slave.
 
The main character a 12 year (?) old boy was able to escape the Tripods and was living with friends and constantly escaping the Tripods and running to the white mountains to join a group who aimed to bring down the Tripods. And the tripods continued to look for them the whole time. Couple of other things I remembered is that one of his friends had to "reinvent" glasses so one of them could see. They find canned foods. And the main character made so many bad mistakes! In the second book something terrible happens to the beautiful girl that he has fallen in love with back in the first book. It was just an AWESOME book! And very frightening in a good way.

But here it is and I found it. It feels like a blessed day! I've put in an order at Barnes & Noble for the book. It'll be my son's xmas gift from his great grandmother.

The Thirteenth Tale

This is a fascinating and satisfying book and the world it introduced was attractive and alluring. It feels wonderful to add this story to the repertoire of others in my mind. I am so happy I found it.

At times, the suspense of this book nearly killed me. And what it revealed truly shocked me. I could not foretell what will happen next and there are many surprises in the book.

I listened to it as an audio instead of actually reading it. Many times I was not able to leave the car and waiting for one more minute, then two more minutes and then more for the narration to continue.

If The Thirteenth Tale had been a physical book I'd have had a few sleepless nights until the book was finished. For I know, I wouldn't have been able to put it down. One day at work it was just pure torture to be away and not knowing what the next turn in the book will bring. To not be able to access the book, to not have it in my hands and commit the simple act of turning the pages.

There were times during my commute as I listened that I wanted to bite my nails and beg the narrator to please read faster and reveal the story. Books can't get better than this. How I always long to read books that dazzle and mesmorize me. To me, this was such a book.

If you love books such as The Turn of the Screw by Henry James or Jane Eyre (which is mentioned repeatedly in the book) by Charlotte Bronte, then you must read this novel.

You will be reading a Gothic novel, where you'll find your characters in a mysterious mansion. In a place where not all is right with the people inhabiting the home and the house itself. Could it truly be haunted? And what are ghosts? This book gave me the gift of being able to believe in ghosts and that they come in many shapes and form. I had never seen ghost quite the same way as this book presents them. A ghost is not always a specter. It can be many things.

I plan to read this book again and look for all the clues I missed throughout. This is one of those books that will be a different read the second time. The words uttered by the character narrating her story, will have a different meaning in the second read.