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Land of Love and Drowning: A Novel
Progress:
153/358 pages
The Danish History
Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend
I picked up Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean after listening to a NPR segment about the book. It might have been an interview with the author. I can't remember. But, I can say that the segment on NPR was more interesting than the book. This isn't a book about Rin Tin Tin and Lee Duncan. It's a book about the idea of Rin Tin Tin and the author's search for that meaning. And, of course, Hollywood.It does seem like the author did a lot of research for this book and Ms. Orlean does come across as really caring about her topic. It is obvious that there isn't much material to research and it felt like the author had to stretch out the material to make it book length. Pages and pages of the author driving around the countryside of France looking for the bombed out field where Lee Duncan found a litter of puppies but finding an American military cemetery seemed out of place in the middle of a story about a dog. I believe that Ms. Orlean was trying to personalize her search and so her personal interest in the story and Rin Tin Tin but I didn't feel that it worked and just wished she would get on with the story.
Lolita
I love this book.I think everyone knows the subject matter of Lolita. The main character being a pedophile was not a surprise to me. I was surprised with the language of this book. Nabokov's use of language and play on words throughout the story had me flipping back and forth trying to catch all of the games he plays.
Let's start with the forward. You must read it. The forward is an integral part of the story and itself a fabrication that helps 'explain' the book. John Ray, Jr., PhD, describes the book as a manuscript, a memoir, a true story, a novel, and a case history. All of these are very different forms of writing and when applied to this book brings about different ideas on the subject matter.
I'm not sure I would say that Lolita is a love story although there are some elements of a love story. I do think that Humbert loves Dolly. I also think that he is aware of and ashamed of the abuse she suffers. Of course, he doesn't stop abusing her and it could be argued that if he really loved her he would stop. I think that in his mind, however twisted, Humbert loved Dolly very much.
The most amazing part of Lolita and the thing that I loved most is the language. This is a book for those that love words. An example:
She was thinner and taller, and for a second it seemed to me her face was less pretty than the mental imprint I had cherished for more than a month: her cheeks looked hollowed and too much lentigo camouflaged her rosy rustic features; and that first impression (a very narrow human interval between two tiger heartbeats) carried the clear implication that all widower Humbert had to do, wanted to do, or would do, was to give this wanlooking though sun-colored little orphan aux yeux battus (and even those plumbaceous umbrae under her eyes bore freckles) a sound education, a healthy and happy girlhood, a clean home, nice girl-friends of her age among whom (if the fates deigned to repay me) I might find, perhaps, a pretty little Magdlein for Herr Doktor Humbert alone.
It's so beautifully written that you almost miss the part about abusing Dolly's friends. Almost. Of course, these long eloquent descriptions can leave many readers wishing Nabokov would just get to the point. There is also a lot of foreign language. Humbert is French and since the story is told from his point of view he frequently lapses into French. I spent a good amount of time with Google Translate just to make sure I understood everything. I think there was a little bit of German mixed in, also.
I would not recommend Lolita to anyone that cannot set aside their distaste of what Humbert is and what he does to Dolly to see the beauty of the language and the games Nabokov uses throughout this book. For all others: enjoy!
Brokeback Mountain
hmpf....I have tried several times now, to just sit down and write a review of this short story but it's just not working for me. It simply boils down to: I didn't care for it. The writing style was just too sparse for me. About all I have been able to formulate for any kind of review is that I liked the move much better.
The Body in the Library
I love Miss Marple! At least, I love the Miss Marple on Masterpiece Mystery!. Until I picked up The Body in the Library, I had never actually read any Agatha Christie. I selected this one because it is an early Miss Marple book and I couldn't remember seeing they Mystery! version. I love it just as much as I love the movies.Needless to say, the maid as found the body of a woman in the library and Jane must save the reputation of her dear friends husband or it shall destroy him forever! Jane's keen scense of observation helps her see what the police cannot and find clues the police would have missed. She is not a prominate charater in this story which is not surprising because sometimes the police just do not want her help.
This book is a quick read that kept me turning the pages until Miss Marple explained 'who dunnit.'
I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections
I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron is the first book I've read by this author. I bought it at a going-out-of-business sale at my local Borders. I'm glad I picked it up!I Remember Nothing is a collection of previously published articles that, for the most part, address aging from the author’s experience. For those that are heading into the 'middle aged' years the book is an amusing tale of what is to come. For those that are already 'old' the book will explain that you are having a Google Moment when you later cannot remember the title of the book or the name of the author.
Overall the book is pretty funny. From the explanation of the spot on the top of one’s hair that always seems to go flat and swirl, the stages of email love and hate, and the annoying waiter that always shows up when ones mouth is full of food readers will laugh many times.
Ella Minnow Pea
Oh, ancient art of letter writing, what has happened to you?I occasionally have little bouts of ‘I’m Going to Write People Letters’ phases. These phases never last long as I run out of stamps and never feel like going to the post office to buy more. Every time I hear news about email systems it occurs to me that part of our historical record has died. Does anyone donate email records to local libraries for future historians to read? I do not know.
Ella Minnow Pea (say it out loud…. get it?) by Mark Dunn is a small novel about letters told through the letters of residents of Nollop. This tiny island off the coast of South Carolina only claim to fame is Nevin Nollop, author of the sentence: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Nollop is very proud of Nevin. So much so, that they have erected a statue in his honor with his famous sentence set in tiles around the statue. But, what would happen if those tiles began to fall off their pedestal? Would the statue merely need some maintenance to make sure other letters do not fall? Or, is it a sign from the great Nevin Nollop that the fallen letters are no longer worthy of use?
Of course, any decent person would realize that the latter is exactly what is meant by this phenomenon. And if the letters are not worthy, well then, they just need to be outlawed.
Watch, and try to read, as the written word is destroyed in front of your very eyes. The book begins with long beautiful letters to and from friends and family members. By the end, when only “LMNOP” are the only legal letters left, the letters become similar to a txt msg I rcvd 2day.
Ella Minnow Pea is a quirky little book that is both hilarious and poignant. It is a fabulous read that word lovers with thoroughly enjoy.
*For the record: I wrote this review out long hand, on paper, with a pen, before typing it into my computer. Insert smiley face emoticon here.
The Peach Keeper
This is a nice little story mostly about friendship and learning that things are not always as they seem or seemed when we were all in high school. In an age when lives are posted on the internet for the world to read the idea that secrets can be kept amongst friends seems to be a lost aspect of friendship. The idea that secrets can be kept and friends stick to their promises for generations is a refreshing thought. By the end of the story one is inclined to call their oldest friend just to say, 'remember when....' The Peach Keeper is by no means perfect. Although the story is heartwarming it is also predictable to the very end. None of the revalations were surprising and all can be figured out well before the story unfolds. The author tells the story well enough that the reader can hang around until the end anyway. Great book for a beach weekend getaway.
SPOILER ALERT!
The Murder of the Century: The Gilded Age Crime that Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars
A disclaimer before I begin: I am reviewing an Advance Readers Copy of this book and I have not compared my copy to what was published.The Murder of the Century by Paul Collins is not the story of an uninteresting murder that happened in 1897. The book is about a murder that got splashed all over the press in a time when "yellow journalism" was on its was to set the standard in reporting for a time. Crown Publishers has impeccable timing releasing this book in the middle of the next crime of the century (the Casey Anthony trial).
There is a fascinating mix of events in Mr. Collins book that makes it a great read. The murder itself is a grisly one with some parts of the body never being found. Next, the police, in a time of New York City's corrupt police department, don’t want to investigate because they believe it to be a prank. So the journalists actually begin the investigation and really do most of the work for the police. This is the truly fascinating part of this book. The one-upmanship between the newspaper publishers and the lengths they went to invent stories is truly amazing. This story also takes place during a time when forensic science is just some scientist with his own legal problems that has figured some stuff out.
Roll all of these events into one story and you have yourself a great read that leaves you slightly wondering if they really got the right person.
Images You Should Not Masturbate To
OMG!! It's not really fair to say that I 'read' this book. I only looked at the pictures.
Quicksand (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
Nella larsen (1891 - 1964), was a Harlem Renaissance American writer that only published two books. Quicksand was her first book and was partly autobiographical. The story is about Helga Crane and her search to fit into either white society or black society. The daughter of a white mother and a black father as left her unwanted or a curiosity in both societies. Helga is not satisfied with her life and frequently thinks that life will be better in new surroundings. For a time, life is better once she moves on but never for very long. In the end she winds up stuck in what she thought would make her very happy. Although the story is beautifully written it is hard to like Helga because she is materialistic and thinks only of herself.
 - Nella Larsen)
Tahn
Tahn, by L.A. Kelly, is the first in a series of three books about a former mercenary named Tahn Dorn. Tahn has only ever known the life of a mercenary but some time before the events in this story he has a change of heart. He decideds to betray his master and save the life of the Lady Netta, as many of her family as he can, and some children that his master has tasked him to train to follow in his footsteps. The story itself is very predictable from the very beginning. The ending does wrap up the story nicely so that one can read this book without reading the entire series. The biggest hurdle in this book is the Christian slant. L.A. Kelly is a Christian writer and this is very much Christian fiction. The first half of the book almost seems like a serman. This dies down a bit halfway through the book but it still has its moments at the end. Christian fiction fantasy readers will greatly enjoy this story.
The Deadly Deception
This book was recommended to me by a friend that recently left Freemasonry. It is interesting and explains a lot of things about Masonry that 'profanes' wouldn't know anything about. My friend told me that 99% of the book is accurate. The 1% that he couldn't vouch for was because different Lodges have different practices. The big downfall of The Deadly Deception is that it is poorly written. It seemed to me that the arthor felt readers needed a Dick and Jane style of writing to understand Masonry. It was rather insulting at times.
SPOILER ALERT!
The Dirty Parts of the Bible
I can't remember why I picked up this book but I'm glad I did. There were a few parts of the story that made me scratch my head and think, "really?" It was going so well until he started fighting actual demons. But the last page of The Dirty Parts of the Bible informs the reader that it is a retelling of the story of Tobias and Sarah from the Book of Tobit. This information helped those head scratching moments make sense and made me curious about the source material. Young Tobias struggles with his father's views on religion and comes to terms with his own beliefs during a trip to help save the family. On this trip he also meets and falls in love with a girl that thinks she is cursed. Love concurs all and everything works out nicely in the end. A little sappy, yes, but not enough to make me actually throw-up.
Sandman Slim
Well, it didn't suck and was entertaining but for some reason I kept being reminded of Dresden. Got some major anti-hero stuff going on here and the anti-hero is damn lucky that his friends stick with him. The story does seem to drag a bit at the beginning. Definately a build up for more books (and I see the author has already started cranking them out). I classify this in the 'brain candy' catagory because it is quick to read, doesn't totally suck, and leaves you wanting more...but not more of this. It makes you want to go read something that will actually excerise the brain. It does produce a lot of memorable silly quotes.
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden
I saw someone refer to this book as horror and I would say that it is NOT horror. It is the story of something horrible that happened in a small German town as told through the eyes of one of it's resident children. I don't really think there is anything "new" to this story. There's a mystery and a couple of the kids decide they are going to solve the mystery. Of course, they end up in danger in the course of their investigating. I did like the writing and look forward to reading more from Helen Grant.
SPOILER ALERT!
The Grove
I'd like to say that I put off writing this review because I had to think about it for a bit. Truth is that I simply forgot that I read it. The most interesting part of the story was Dexter's descent into madness. It's the basic story of crazy man is off his meds. Of course, there has been a tragic death, his marriage is falling apart, and he's heavily drinking. Then one day, after a blackout, he finds a young dead girl on the farm. What should he do? Investigate it himself, of course, with the help of the dead girl.
It was a nice read. The ending was not surprising and actually a little disappointing. The only thing that kept me interested was Dexter's downward spiral.
