false 30 45 30 true 5864052 read 8 true 2377967 currently-reading 7 true 2377966 to-read <![CDATA[Lisa added 'All the Little Live Things']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73964891 to: All the Little Live Things (Paperback) by Wallace Stegner
This is, I think, my third book by Stegner. I always find that it takes me a while to get into his books, but I end up loving them. I didn't like this one quite as much as Crossing to Safety and Angle of Repose, but it was still a great book.

In this book, his narrator, Joe Allston, is a retired literary agent who has moved to the countryside of California (what was countryside in the 60s, and is probably completely built-up today, though I never figured out exactly where it was set...but not far from San Jose). He and his wife Ruth are seeking some kind of escape, after the death of their 37-year-old son, with whom Joe especially had an antagonistic relationship. Onto their property comes Jim Peck, anti-establishment, pro-free-love, free-drugs, yoga, etc. He and Joe hate each other from the very beginning, but Joe can't help but see that Jim in many ways represents his son to him.

About the same time, John and Marian Caitlin, with their Debby, move into the property next to the Allstons. Joe falls for Marian -- but more in the sense of adoring a daughter than a physical attraction. He and Ruth dote on Marian and her family, but Marian is fighting recurring cancer, trying to buy time to give birth to her second child.

Joe and Marian see the natural world differently. Joe wants to eradicate the pests -- gopher, snake -- from his garden, and sees a continual fight between good and evil. Marian wants to let all the little live things live, and believes that chaos is gradually evolving toward good. She is bright and innocent, willing to endure pain as part of the life cycle, even when those around her would shield her from it. Her openness make Ruth and especially Joe vulnerable.

You end up asking yourself what is more dangerous: a self-centered, egotistical, rule-breaker like Jim Peck, or the loving Marian. Which one makes Joe examine himself more? Which one leaves a bigger wound in their hearts when gone? ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74819427 The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover) by Thomas L. Friedman
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'The Hunger Games']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74259841 to: The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins
I loved this book, and can't wait to listen to the next in the series. I enjoyed the book-on-tape's reader, so that was a plus, and makes me willing to wait longer to get the CDs for the second. (I do have several other books I'm reading in print, so that makes the wait bearable.)

The story is set in a future, dystopian America, where each year each province must send 2 of its youth to participate in "the hunger games" -- a brutal competition of 24 teenagers, with only one survivor. The book centers around Katniss, a 16-year-old girl who volunteers to go when her 12-year-old sister's name is drawn. Katniss is skilled with a bow and arrow, always having had to hunt (illegally) to provide her family with enough food. The boy chosen is Peeta, the baker's son, who has always had his eye on Katniss. She can never trust his love, however, because she feels it may just be a ruse to win the audience to his side. She also had a close guy friend at home, Gale, and can't fully give her heart because of her connection to him.

There's definitely some gore and brutality here, though less than I expected having heard others mention in. It is YA lit, after all, so I'm glad it wasn't worse. But the story isn't only about the fight to the end. It also goes through the whole ceremonial procedure -- part talent show, part beauty pageant -- lots and lots of drama and showmanship to please the audience. You think of Bradbury's societies, where drama and media have overtaken reality.

The story also made me think of "The Lottery", a short story by Shirley Jackson. And Lord of the Flies, for the characters' quick devolution to murder. I thought about making it an independent reading option, along with The Giver, Fahrenheit 451, and Ella Minnow Pea, since all have to do with dystopian societies where individual rights are subsumed to the society's wishes.

But I also liked the romance. I wanted Katniss to trust Peeta!! I hear that she doesn't do much better in the next book. But I've also read that the next book is a fantastic sequel -- at least as good as the first. I hope so! ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences: A Writer's Guide to Avoiding the Most Common Errors in Grammar and Punctuation']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78531297 Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences: A Writer's Guide to Avoiding the Most Common Errors in Grammar and Punctuation (Hardcover) by Janis Bell
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Lisa is on page 72 of Clean, Well-Lighted... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78531297 Lisa is on page 72 of 128 of Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences: A Writer's Guide to Avoiding the Most Common Errors in Grammar and Punctuation ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'The Lost Painting']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74819203 to: The Lost Painting (Paperback) by Jonathan Harr
My mom suggested this book, after I reviewed Girl with a Pearl Earring and said, "Now we just need a good book written about Caravaggio! Wait, that would probably be too R-rated for me!" She asked me whether I had read The Lost Painting. I hadn't, and since it wasn't available at the Springville Library, I purchased it used for a few dollars.

This is not historical fiction, as is Girl, but history written so well that you think it must be fiction. I really like how Harr brought alive the research and restoration process surrounding "The Taking of Christ" by Caravaggio.

I knew almost nothing about Caravaggio until this past summer, when I took an Art History class at BYU. Now he is one of my favorite painters. He seemed psychologically tortured, brawling and drinking through the streets of Rome, living in relative squalor even at the time he was the highest paid painter in Rome. (The "Power of Art" series has some very dramatic portrayals of him, including this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNi2MWBL2... ). But his works of art are amazing, with canvasses that are engulfed in dark except for certain spots of light. Caravaggio had many followers, who attempted to mimic his style of tenebrism (a kind of heightened chiaroscuro). Still, within a century he was entirely forgotten, and it took a scholar's exhibition on Caravaggio in 1951 (if I'm remembering right) to bring him back into the public awareness.

Anyway, back to the book. It was not primarily about Caravaggio's life, though Harr does tell the important details. Instead, it is about a graduate student in Italy and an unknown restorer of paintings in Ireland who separately track down the painting. I loved how Harr brought the whole process to life; I felt like I was reading a mystery novel at times.

I stayed up late last night to get in the last 80 pages of the book. I now want to read Harr's award-winning A Civil Action. And I want more books about Caravaggio! <: ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'A Year Down Yonder']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75119209 A Year Down Yonder (Paperback) by Richard Peck
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'The Book Thief']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75118424 The Book Thief (Hardcover) by Markus Zusak
]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Here Lies the Librarian']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73324881 to: Here Lies the Librarian (Hardcover) by Richard Peck
I saw one of you recommend this recently, so grabbed it on book on tape. I loved it. All the female characters are unique and headstrong, from PeeWee (Eleanor) to Irene to Grace to Aunt Hat.

It's hilarious in many parts, as PeeWee and Jake lives are turned upside down by the arrival of four library school beauties to make over the abandoned library in town. Jake, who with PeeWee's help has been trying to get his auto mechanic shop off the ground, falls for two of the young women, but one wins his heart when her background in autos (her father is a car dealer in Indianapolis) sets him at ease. PeeWee is befriended by the other of the two, and realizes that being a girl isn't completely bad.

It was fun to be brought back to Indiana, where we lived for 3 years. (They even mentioned Bean Blossom; I taught in the Richland-Bean Blossom school district.) We never did get ourselves out to a car race, though it was a major attraction in the area.

I haven't read anything else by Richard Peck, but will have to look up his work now. Any other suggestions? ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73703398 Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (Paperback) by Azar Nafisi
bookshelves: currently-reading
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