This really IS a book review!

Today I am thinking about my daughter.

I hold in my head today two views of women – one released today, one from the 1800s.

True confessions time: I have a continuing obsession with the musical group Duran Duran. This morning they released a video for their new song, “Girl Panic”. Those of us of a certain age know my boys for their outlandish music videos that lean to the racy side in their portrayal of women. The new video meets all those expectations and more. My daughter, a second generation Duranie, asked to watch the video. Sadly, after watching the premiere, I have to put my foot down and say, “No.”

OK, I hear you – this is supposed to be a book review blog! Get on with it, already. As I watched the video for “Girl Panic”, I was struck by a sense of irony, because today I planned to blog on a book that paints a very different picture of women: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.

Little Women is the story of the March sisters -  Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy - and their family. Set during the Civil War, the sisters mature and learn to cope with everything from poverty and serious illness to fashions and marriage. The characters are wonderfully developed; Alcott moves each one beautifully into our hearts as we watch them overcome their character flaws and grow into strong competent women.

This story is full of timeless positive values. Little Women models for us authentic family relationships; even through personality conflicts and misunderstandings, the March sisters are committed to each other and to their family unity.  The girls are resourceful and practice sacrificial giving to each other and their neighbors. Though they are tempted to envy others who are more successful or have a higher social standing, ultimately they come to value themselves and the unique contribution each can make to the family and their world.

Written over 150 years ago, surprisingly this story is very modern in its views toward women. Each girl is expected to think for herself. Each chooses their own spouse; Jo travels to New York and makes a living as a writer; Beth reaches out to neighbors who are less fortunate.

Confidence, generosity, faithfulness, and resourcefulness – these are images I want to give my daughter  – not scenes of overly made up stick thin women in stiletto heels drinking champagne and (ahem) behaving inappropriately. I’m not turning in my Duranie card yet, but my daughter and I will stay away from youtube and stick to cranking up the stereo in the mini van and jamming along to the great music.

I recommend Little Women to all girls, ages 14 and up. And, as always, read the book before you watch the movie!

Which books from your childhood do you recommend to your own children?

Don't Panic

In the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip the incredible spaceman, Spiff, crash lands on a hostile planet inhabited by space explorer eating aliens. In the opening scenes Spiff escapes from these creatures by hiding in a tree, safe from view above their heads. The last frame of the comic shows Calvin, perched in a tree, smiling over the heads of his parents, who are searching and calling for him to come in from playing in the snow.

Spaceman Spiff is funny. Ford Prefect is not.

I wanted to like this book – I really did. I know I am in the minority with my opinions about this book, but here goes nothing.

(Gritting teeth, prepared for the heckling) I didn’t like Douglas Adams' book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the first of five books telling the story of Ford Prefect, an alien who travels the universe revising the information book of the planets and residents of space – The Hitchhiker’s Guide. In his travels he becomes stranded on Earth and befriends Arthur Dent. Through this friendship Ford is able to warn Arthur about the upcoming destruction of the planet. He and Arthur escape and begin a series of random adventures that include poorly written Vogon poetry, traveling on a spaceship powered by an Infinite Improbably Drive, and a search for the meaning of life.

If you like Monty Python, you will love this book. Reviewers describe it as dry, witty, hilarious, quotable, “the acme of British sci fi humor”.

I guess I’m not enough of a nerd to understand. I get the jokes; they just aren’t funny. This story has no plot or character development. I do not care if the characters are tortured by strange, alien verses. The mystery inside Zaphod Beeblebrox’s brain does not interest me. The humor in this book is pretentious and highly overrated. As I read I felt Douglas Adams and all the fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide smugly sit back and say, “Aren’t I witty? Let me bless you with superior intellect and clever banter.” 

Alright, maybe I am being too harsh. I am offering a challenge to fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide: enlighten me on the charm of this book. If you have not read it, give it a try and let me know what you think. I would love to be convinced to join the party with so many fans of Douglas Adams’ work.

Until then, I’ll be snuggled up with a copy of the Calvin and Hobbes collection Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons. I know real humor when I read it.

Not What It Seems

In our area today begins Halloween Weekend; in the spirit of the day (pun intended), step into my blog…where things aren’t always what they seeeem….

Today we will discuss Watership Down, by Richard Adams. If you’re not familiar with Watership Down, you might think this is a children’s book about bunnies. Remember, things aren’t always what they seem!

Watership Down is an animal adventure that will have you rethinking those cute, fuzzy creatures eating through your flowerbed. This thoroughly grown-up story begins with Fiver, an oddball rabbit with the gift of sight, receiving a vision that the peaceful warren where he, his family, and friends live will be destroyed. Fiver’s brother and protector, Hazel, believes him, and they set out to convince the leadership of the warren that they must move away from this dangerous place. But those in power will not listen; the rabbits’ rigid caste system does not give Fiver and Hazel the influence to reach the leaders. So they set out on their own.

Hazel convinces a few friends, and, along with some of the warren’s cast-offs, they leave to find a new home. This new warren is Watership Down. (A “down” is a British word for open, rolling hills; this down is near a place called Watership. The name has nothing to do with a ship, a battle, or water. This seems to be a point of confusion in a few blogs I have read!)

As the rabbits make their way to their new home, they must cross a river, navigate railroad tracks, defend themselves against predators, escape hunters and horrible weather, find food and shelter, and rescue friends from a power-hungry leader of a rival warren.

Rabbits are easily confused, always on the alert, and often unfocused. They are also fierce fighters with an iron will to survive. Well aware of their precarious position on the foodchain, they dream of a day when they can live in calm and safety.

Their journey is exciting, memorable, and inspirational. I recommend this book to adults and older teens. The pace of the story is marvelous; Adams writes beautiful, peaceful descriptions of rabbits at ease in their holes, and then surprises the reader with fierce, powerful battle scenes.

One of the rabbits’ joys of life is settling into their snug, dry warren, after a good meal to listen to a story. The rabbits of Watership Down love to hear folktales. They take courage and learn lessons from great heroes of the past.

I think we can learn something from these rabbits. Many times the stresses of life leave us feeling hunted and defenseless. We are searching for a place of rest and peace. Let’s not forget that all we really need is a comfortable, dry home, surrounded by friends and family – and a good story. 

What stories bring you comfort in the stress of life?

Help Wanted: a good editor

Whew! I made it! This weekend I finished the unabridged version of Victor Hugo’s lifelong work, Les Miserables.

What can I say about this story that has not already been said? Not much. The character of Jean Valjean, imprisoned for 20 years for stealing bread to feed his starving family, is familiar to most of us. When he is finally freed, Valjean finds mercy in the home of a poor clergyman and lives the rest of his life in the light of that gift. Valjean gives freely to the poor, rescues and adopts the abandoned child of a prostitute, and risks his life to save a wounded man he hates. But all his good works are overshadowed by Javert, a police inspector who has devoted his life to sending Valjean back to prison.

The plot of the story is brilliant. The chase scenes between Javert and Valjean are riveting. Victor Hugo was a human thesaurus – a master of word and phrase.

However, this book is not for the faint of heart. The length is intimidating – over 1400 pages. The dark story and heavy social commentary often made my head spin. But most frustrating to me was the pace of the story. In one section, Valjean is again on the run from Javert through the streets of Paris. The situation looks hopeless; in desperation Valjean lifts a manhole cover and drops into the dank and dangerous world of the Parisian sewer system. Then, Hugo goes completely insane and spends SEVEN CHAPTERS discussing the sewers of Paris: what is in the sewer, the history of how they were constructed, their layout and design, and the various creatures living there. Absolutely ruined the tension and mood of the whole section.

Help Wanted: a good editor.

Victor Hugo was a brilliant wordsmith, philosopher, and social commentator. The theme of Les Miserables shouts in every page of the book. “The Miserable Ones” – who are they in 19^th century Paris? The poor, the sick, the elderly, the abandoned children, all deserted by those in power; Jean Valjean, trapped his whole life by bad decisions he made as a young man; Fantine, the beautiful young woman forced into prostitution to care for her child; Cosette, the child found living in an abusive foster home; and most of all Javert, imprisoned in a morality based on the judicial system and rule of law.

As a writer, I learned a lesson in reading this book – most readers don’t care about how brilliant you are or how many words you can string together. They want a good story. Stick to the story.

I recommend reading an abridged version of Les Miserables. Then watch the musical or a movie adaptation. This is a story not to be missed – but the novel, not so much.

Has anyone read the unabridged version? How long did it take you? (Almost 4 weeks for me!)

Moviesblog.mtv.com reports a new movie version of Les Miserables will be released Christmas 2012, with Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Anne Hathaway as Fantine. What do you think of the casting? And do we really need another movie version?  

In a Mystery Mood

In my corner of the world today the weather is dark, rainy, and cold. Perfect day to read a mystery!



photo courtsey mooncross



From Facebook’s Top 100 Books based on the BBC’s The Big Read (know here as The List) our novel is Rebecca, by Daphne duMaurier.

In the opening scene the narrator describes a dream of an abandoned estate. This beloved house is closed to the world, overgrown and decaying. Why would the narrator love this house? Why has it been left to ruin?

I certainly felt like an explorer of a lonely, desolate house as I made my way through this story. The novel opens with the young, sheltered narrator (we are never told her name; that part of her identity is hidden) working as a paid companion to a rich, overbearing woman traveling through Europe. While in Monte Carlo, they meet Maxim, a much older widower, whose first marriage ended under a mysterious cloud.

During their stay in Monte Carlo, the narrator and Maxim fall in love. They marry and return to live at Manderlay, Maxim’s English estate. There the narrator learns of Maxim’s first wife, Rebecca, and the mark she left on the house, the servants, and the surrounding area.

Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper of Manderlay, rules the house, grounds and other household staff. She is a bitter woman, hidden by grief and loyality to the first mistress of the house.

As the narrator adjusts to married life, she is frustrated in her love for Maxim. He refuses to discuss Rebecca; he is a man hiding from sadness, anger, and regret.

While exploring the estate one afternoon, the narrator discovers a beach house, closed up and forgotten. Maxim forbids her from using cottage; this place also conceals questions and tragedy.

As you walk with the narrator through the life and death of Rebecca be prepared for surprises and plot twists. Lovers of Alfred Hitchcock mysteries will especially enjoy this story. (Hitchcock did make a movie of the story, but please read the book first!)

True confessions: I had never heard of this novel before The List. Now it’s one of my Top Ten (so far).

Have you read this one? What do you think of the author’s use of flashbacks to tell the story?

I’m always in the mood to explore stories that are overlooked or abandoned. Is there a lesser known book that is a favorite of yours?

Step into the Wardrobe

In honor of its 61^st birthday this week our first review of The List is…

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

I am sure everyone within the sound of my blog has heard of this story. The hugely successful movie adaptation of the book brought Narnia to the world. According to BoxOfficeMojo, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe film made $65.5 million opening weekend, $291.7 million domestically (U.S.), and $744.8 million worldwide (from Narniaweb.com)

Loved the movie… have you read the book?

The story begins with the Pevensie family separated by World War II. The father is fighting for England in the war; to escape the bombing of London the four children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) are sent to live with an eccentric professor on his country estate.

While exploring the house, Lucy (the youngest) discovers a huge wardrobe that is actually a door into the magical world of Narnia. Like all good magical worlds this one is full of mythical creatures, is ruled by an evil witch, and needs a good rescue.

Along the way to the rescue, readers are challenged with a story of true courage, failure, forgiveness, and redemption.

This story was written over 60 years ago by an Englishman, so there may be some British-isms that need to be translated (but if you made it through Harry Potter, you have no excuse). A minor phrase here and there is no reason to skip over this excellent story.

The title page of this book reads “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, a story for children”. If you have children or if you have ever been a child, you should give this book a try.

And what about those of us who have read this one? Have you read the other books in the series? There are eight books in the Chronicles of Narnia; all are worth a glance. The Magician’s Nephew is actually a prequel to the series, so skipping to that one might be fun.

Have you read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? How old were you when you read it?

To all Narnia nerds who have read the whole series: which story is your favorite and why?

The List

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell 

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien 

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen 35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseinix
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery 
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbon
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens 

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White 
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom 
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad 
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

The First

http://home.planet.nl/~helle004

Book worm, (sort of) well-read, literate, word nerd…yes, I am. All of the above.  So when a list came across my Facebook status updates called “BBC Books, Share” I latched on immediately. According to the list, the BBC published a list of the Top 100 Books, The Big Read, and a Facebooker modified the list, posting in to their notes and sharing the list with their friends. The list challenges readers to mark the books they have read and those they intend to read.

I was surprised to tally up my score and discover I had only read 28 of the Top 100! The challenge was on. I printed the list, shoved it in my purse, and headed to the library.

After reading several more books on the list (I am now up to close to 40), I posted a comment about one of the books on the Facebook list on my status update. Again, I was surprised at the discussion that followed. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to continue this discussion?”

A few weeks later, this blog was born. My opinion about blogs generally is very low; so much traffic on the web is useless at best, self-centered at worst. All those internet diaries bore me. Who really wants to use their precious time reading the dull details of my life?

But, what if we could have a discussion about something meaningful? Something that expands our worldview, increases brain activity, and gives us a productive, low fat escape all that the same time?

Would you like to join me? I would love to see which books you have read from the Facebook Top 100. I would love even more to hear your opinion of them. Which have you read? Which did you love? Which did you leave at the bottom of the pile by your bedside table?