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August 08
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Nathan
took the never-ending book quiz.
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July 14
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Nathan
gave
 
to:
A Separate Peace (Paperback)
by John Knowles
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Nathan said:
"I had read this book in high school, but I decided to read it again after I picked up a copy at a garage sale for 50¢. I found that I enjoyed it much more, now that I am older and able to look back on my own high school years much as the narrator d...more
I had read this book in high school, but I decided to read it again after I picked up a copy at a garage sale for 50¢. I found that I enjoyed it much more, now that I am older and able to look back on my own high school years much as the narrator does in this book.
For such a short book, A Separate Peace packs in a lot of subtle meaning. The questions of identity seemed to me the dominant theme through the book: Gene (the narrator) and Finny are best friends, but increasingly rely on each other and by the end of the book are so co-dependent that each seems to think of the other as an extension of himself.
The book also takes place during World War II and The War sets the most important backdrop for the story. The way in which each character responds to the reality of The War is an important theme as well. In the end, Knowles concludes: "it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart."
I'll confess that while the major themes were pretty accessible in this book, a quick read through sparknotes was also helpful for me in picking up on some of the significance of some of the more subtle points in the book....less
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Nathan
gave
to:
Among Schoolchildren (Paperback)
by Tracy Kidder
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Nathan said:
"This book was recommended to me by a co-worker. Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer prize-winning author (for Soul of a New Machine) with a unique style. He basically picks someone interesti...more
This book was recommended to me by a co-worker. Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer prize-winning author (for Soul of a New Machine) with a unique style. He basically picks someone interesting, and follows them around for a year or so and records everything they do. He combines that with a lot of research and interviews and then still manages to write a book that reads almost like a novel.
In Among Schoolchildren he follows around Mrs. Zajack, who is a really good fifth-grade teacher in a really difficult school. It is fascinating to looks in on her classroom for a year and witness how a truly good teacher teaches.
In one sense, it's a very encouraging book. Mrs. Zajack is everything you hope your child's teacher will be: she works hard, cares deeply about each child, treats every child fairly, gives a lot of individual attention, manages the children's behavior well, and all of that. But it also demonstrates clearly that even a great teacher can only do so much, and that the most important factor in determining a child's success or failure is--almost without exception--their home life. That's an important "almost," though, and at the end of the year even one of the students with the most problems shows some encouraging signs of progress.
Having just married an educator, I think this book will be valuable as I try to understand my wife's work.
Now if I could just remember to return this book to the library. I probably owe $5 on it already....less
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June 10
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New comment on Benjamin's review of
The Screwtape Letters (Gift Edition)
reply to this comment
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April 21
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Nathan
gave
to:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
by J.K. Rowling
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2007
Nathan said:
"The end of an era.
Please hold a moment of silence...
Thank you.
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Nathan
is currently reading:
Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul (Hardcover)
by John Eldredge, Stasi Eldredge
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Nathan
gave
to:
Axis (Hardcover)
by Robert Charles Wilson
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Nathan said:
"Note: This is a copy of my review for Axis because it covers both.
I'm a big fan of science fiction which is set in the modern world. That is, instead of being set way in the future with to...more
Note: This is a copy of my review for Axis because it covers both.
I'm a big fan of science fiction which is set in the modern world. That is, instead of being set way in the future with tons of science-fictiony technology and stuff, I have found that I enjoy books which take the approach of "what if _____ happened today." Maybe the blank is something crazy, but the rest of the plot deals with that invented reality in a recognizable world.
(As a side note, I think this is one reason I liked Orson Scott Card's so-called Shadow series so much better than his Ender Series. Even though both branch as sequels from the exact same story, the Shadow Series follows one of the two co-main characters back to a basically modern-day Earth, while the Ender Series follows the other character through long relativistic journeys to other planets with weird societies.)
Spin is that kind of science fiction. Wilson does a great job of posing a hypothetical "what if" and wrapping that it in good storytelling. Through a cast of well developed characters, Wilson explores both individuals' and society's reactions to the changed world, and the plot builds steadily to a really good ending.
Unfortunately, while Spin definitely leaves you wanting more, the sequel, Axis, is a big disappointment. I didn't find myself nearly as engaged in this book as I was with the first one. Perhaps it was because his premise was less interesting to me this time. Or maybe it was because I didn't find the characters as intriguing. Whatever it was, I was really pretty bored with the second book. By the end, when the iridescent alien forest appears in the middle of the desert and a few of the characters are sucked through a giant archway millions of years into the future, Wilson totally lost me. I can enjoy truly far-fetched Star Wars-style sci-fi, but Wilson would be better off sticking to what he proved so good at in Spin: realistic speculative fiction. I'll go read Asimov or Heinlein if I want the hard-core stuff. I mean really, glowing forests?...less
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Nathan
gave
to:
Siddhartha (Mass Market Paperback)
by Hermann Hesse
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in November, 2007
Nathan said:
"This is a really interesting book to gain insight into the Buddhist world-view. It's a short read and I even picked up some things for my Christian faith through reading it.
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Nathan
gave
to:
Spin (Mass Market Paperback)
by Robert Charles Wilson
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in April, 2008
Nathan said:
"I'm a big fan of science fiction which is set in the modern world. That is, instead of being set way in the future with tons of science-fictiony technology and stuff, I have found that I enjoy books which take the approach of "what if _____ hap...more
I'm a big fan of science fiction which is set in the modern world. That is, instead of being set way in the future with tons of science-fictiony technology and stuff, I have found that I enjoy books which take the approach of "what if _____ happened today." Maybe the blank is something crazy, but the rest of the plot deals with that invented reality in a recognizable world.
(As a side note, I think this is one reason I liked Orson Scott Card's so-called Shadow series so much better than his Ender Series. Even though both branch as sequels from the exact same story, the Shadow Series follows one of the two co-main characters back to a basically modern-day Earth, while the Ender Series follows the other character through long relativistic journeys to other planets with weird societies.)
Spin is that kind of science fiction. Wilson does a great job of posing a hypothetical "what if" and wrapping that it in good storytelling. Through a cast of well developed characters, Wilson explores both individuals' and society's reactions to the changed world, and the plot builds steadily to a really good ending.
Unfortunately, while Spin definitely leaves you wanting more, the sequel, Axis, is a big disappointment. I didn't find myself nearly as engaged in this book as I was with the first one. Perhaps it was because his premise was less interesting to me this time. Or maybe it was because I didn't find the characters as intriguing. Whatever it was, I was really pretty bored with the second book. By the end, when the iridescent alien forest appears in the middle of the desert and a few of the characters are sucked through a giant archway millions of years into the future, Wilson totally lost me. I can enjoy truly far-fetched Star Wars-style sci-fi, but Wilson would be better off sticking to what he proved so good at in Spin: realistic speculative fiction. I'll go read Asimov or Heinlein if I want the hard-core stuff. I mean really, glowing forests?...less
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July 20, 2007
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Nathan
gave
to:
The Call of the Wild (Hardcover)
by Jack London
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2007
Nathan said:
"The Call of the Wild surprised me with its simple eloquence. The story moves swiftly but somehow remains rich in detail. The tale is deep, rather than long, and though it's a quick read, I often found myself pausing after certain paragraphs ...more
The Call of the Wild surprised me with its simple eloquence. The story moves swiftly but somehow remains rich in detail. The tale is deep, rather than long, and though it's a quick read, I often found myself pausing after certain paragraphs to appreciate the full depth of the passage. And of course, the story will speak volumes to anyone--especially, perhaps, to men--who has ever felt "the call of the wild" in one way or another....less
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