Linda C. Wright's Blog, page 35
September 27, 2011
The Cruelest Miles by Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury
I just returned from Alaska. When I travel, I am always amazed by the things I learn in far off places. Everything in Alaska is big and vast and full of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. And the official state sport is dog mushing. While on a tour bus, I won a stamped postcard of Alaska for knowing that little tidbit.
The Cruelest Miles is the story of how diptheria antitoxin was dog sledded across Alaska to save the city of Nome from an epidemic in 1925. The disease broke out in winter, when the temperature dipped to minus 60 below, the bays were frozen over and a new winter storm brewed almost every day. Children were dying and the people of Alaska did what they knew they could do best to save them.
This story was written with great care. It's full of emotion and suspense, heartache and love and at the center of it all, the dogs. Sled dogs love to run. And run they will, without regard to their cargo. They knew they had a job to do and they did it in the worst conditions possible.
I wish the authors had spent a little more time on a piece of the story near and dear to my heart. The mushers fought over the celebrity of the dogs and who deserved the most recognition. While no one was paying any attention Balto and several other dogs ended up in a carnival show. The good people of Cleveland raised money to save the dogs and generously cared for them in their zoo. I was raised in Cleveland and had never known the story of Balto, who is displayed in their Natural History Museum to this day. I find it funny how our paths in life circle around.
If you are interested in a piece of history, The Cruelest Miles is a well written, suspenseful, story of the will of man and his faithful dogs.
The Cruelest Miles is the story of how diptheria antitoxin was dog sledded across Alaska to save the city of Nome from an epidemic in 1925. The disease broke out in winter, when the temperature dipped to minus 60 below, the bays were frozen over and a new winter storm brewed almost every day. Children were dying and the people of Alaska did what they knew they could do best to save them.
This story was written with great care. It's full of emotion and suspense, heartache and love and at the center of it all, the dogs. Sled dogs love to run. And run they will, without regard to their cargo. They knew they had a job to do and they did it in the worst conditions possible.
I wish the authors had spent a little more time on a piece of the story near and dear to my heart. The mushers fought over the celebrity of the dogs and who deserved the most recognition. While no one was paying any attention Balto and several other dogs ended up in a carnival show. The good people of Cleveland raised money to save the dogs and generously cared for them in their zoo. I was raised in Cleveland and had never known the story of Balto, who is displayed in their Natural History Museum to this day. I find it funny how our paths in life circle around.
If you are interested in a piece of history, The Cruelest Miles is a well written, suspenseful, story of the will of man and his faithful dogs.
September 2, 2011
I'm Over All That by Shirley MacLaine
One day I turned on an Oprah rerun and Shirley MacLaine was on discussing her new book. I rarely watched Oprah, so it's even more unusual that I watched a rerun. Being a very spiritual person, Shirley's story caught my ear.
I don't agree with her politics of which there are many references in this book, but I do agree that we are here on earth living in a physical body, one life of many our soul will experience. Death is not to be feared, our soul will move on. She wrote of her love of travel because each trip was a journey home to somewhere she had been before. That really struck me. I too love to travel and I can tell many stories of being in a place having on overwhelming sense of familiarity.
I'm Over All That is a fun and interesting book with a point of view that doesn't come along every day. And it should. The world would be full of love and peace if it did.
I don't agree with her politics of which there are many references in this book, but I do agree that we are here on earth living in a physical body, one life of many our soul will experience. Death is not to be feared, our soul will move on. She wrote of her love of travel because each trip was a journey home to somewhere she had been before. That really struck me. I too love to travel and I can tell many stories of being in a place having on overwhelming sense of familiarity.
I'm Over All That is a fun and interesting book with a point of view that doesn't come along every day. And it should. The world would be full of love and peace if it did.
August 30, 2011
The Stranger and the Statesman by Nina Burleigh
I vividly remember a shopping spree I had several years ago in Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC. Richard and I had made our first trip to our nation's capital and had fallen in love with the place. So much so that we weren't disturbed when we had to stay an extra day because South Florida had been clobbered by Hurricane Jeanne. The hotel of course wanted to get rid of us, so we arrived early at the airport, checked in and went shopping.
Since I'm always looking at the books, I thought The Stranger and the Statesman would be the perfect souvenier. This is the story of how the Smithsonian Institute came to be. It a story that I bet most American's have no knowledge of yet we flock to the variety of Smithsonian Museums in droves. The museums do exactly as their benefactor intended, for the increase and diffusion of Knowledge among men. James Smithson never set foot in America and his motives for leaving his estate to the US is sketchy at best.
Most of us also wouldn't know that once this fortune arrived, the Congress allowed it to be squandered away before John Quincy Adams stepped in to save it.
Sometimes reading the story got bogged down in the details of English royalty and France during its Revolution but what I learned from this book astounded me. It has grounded me back to knowing how fortunate we are to live in America and what a truly wonderful country this is. The Stranger and The Statesman is not a quick or easy read, but it is a history lesson you won't soon forget.
Since I'm always looking at the books, I thought The Stranger and the Statesman would be the perfect souvenier. This is the story of how the Smithsonian Institute came to be. It a story that I bet most American's have no knowledge of yet we flock to the variety of Smithsonian Museums in droves. The museums do exactly as their benefactor intended, for the increase and diffusion of Knowledge among men. James Smithson never set foot in America and his motives for leaving his estate to the US is sketchy at best.
Most of us also wouldn't know that once this fortune arrived, the Congress allowed it to be squandered away before John Quincy Adams stepped in to save it.
Sometimes reading the story got bogged down in the details of English royalty and France during its Revolution but what I learned from this book astounded me. It has grounded me back to knowing how fortunate we are to live in America and what a truly wonderful country this is. The Stranger and The Statesman is not a quick or easy read, but it is a history lesson you won't soon forget.
August 22, 2011
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
My copy of this book has a sticker on the back that says 'Oprah Book Club #3'. It's been sitting around for a very long time I fear. As I plow through my list of unread books, I'm getting to the really thick books that I probably bought because everyone else was reading them at the time, but they really scare me.
Macondo is an imaginary town in an imaginary place where people live. Yes, of course people live in a town but what I mean is they live life. They get married, have children, visit prostitutes, go to war, start businesses. The list of life goes on. In Macondo the gypsies charge the villagers to see ice for the very first time. A lost child brings the insomnia plague, another visitor brings the banana plague. Once it rained for four years straight and then the sun shone for ten years. They go through life living and dying and rolling with the punches.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of those classics that everyone should read. I found the story amusing and entertaining. I had difficulty however, keeping track of all the characters. The men and their many sons, had the same names. The women too repeated their names. Only Ursula, the matriarch of the town refused to allow anyone to name their child after her. Someone did manage to slip in Ursula as a middle name for a child when they thought Ursula was on her last legs.
This is a story worth reading. It's funny and sad and crazy and twisted. But be aware that it's not an easy read. But then again, it's about life.
Macondo is an imaginary town in an imaginary place where people live. Yes, of course people live in a town but what I mean is they live life. They get married, have children, visit prostitutes, go to war, start businesses. The list of life goes on. In Macondo the gypsies charge the villagers to see ice for the very first time. A lost child brings the insomnia plague, another visitor brings the banana plague. Once it rained for four years straight and then the sun shone for ten years. They go through life living and dying and rolling with the punches.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of those classics that everyone should read. I found the story amusing and entertaining. I had difficulty however, keeping track of all the characters. The men and their many sons, had the same names. The women too repeated their names. Only Ursula, the matriarch of the town refused to allow anyone to name their child after her. Someone did manage to slip in Ursula as a middle name for a child when they thought Ursula was on her last legs.
This is a story worth reading. It's funny and sad and crazy and twisted. But be aware that it's not an easy read. But then again, it's about life.
August 18, 2011
Turn Off the Television
There was nothing on television tonight. Our beloved Tampa Bay Rays had a well deserved night off. So You Think You Can Dance had its grand finale last week and I've never really cared for The Office. I watched 5 minutes of it with Will Farrell and I liked it even less. Channel surfing was our only option.
Richard landed on a TLC show called Tattoo School. Neither of us cares for tattoos. We don't understand why someone would want to do that to their body in the first place. But that doesn't stop our fascination with Kat D and LA Ink.
Did you know that in Tattoo School the students learn to tattoo on a banana? It has a smooth skin. After they tattooed the banana, the class moved immediately onto the real thing. A live person. One guy threw up at the thought. Time to change the channel.
The movie, Conan The Barbarian, appeared on the screen. The movie was made in 1982 so it looked really old and grainy even on a big screen TV. Words began to pop up at the bottom of the screen.
Story Line: James Earl Jones is also known for playing another character who wore a black helmet.
Movie Line: They wanted to shoot the movie in Yugoslavia but decided it was too dangerous. The movie was shot in Spain.
Story Line: Arnold S. hung the sword Conan used on the wall of his office while governor of California.
Movie Line: There was a coup in Spain while the movie was being filmed there.
This went on and on, one trivial fact after another. And I hate reading subtitles. It's too distracting. Richard asked me whose head was just cut off and I had no idea. I was too busy reading.
Back to Tattoo School. The amateurs had graduated to the real thing. The guy with the queasy stomach was now drenched in sweat while poking the ink filled needle into his unsuspecting victim. I moved on to watching people try to buy and sell million dollar properties in New York City.
By this time Richard was sound asleep on the sofa. I turned off the TV and took Ginger for a walk. If this is what it takes to entertain the American public, then I'm really going to be in trouble when baseball season ends in October. There's a long stretch in between baseball season and the start of American Idol. I've been thinking of furthering my education. Do you think I can get a scholarship to Tattoo School? On second thought,that won't work. I'm allergic to bananas.
Richard landed on a TLC show called Tattoo School. Neither of us cares for tattoos. We don't understand why someone would want to do that to their body in the first place. But that doesn't stop our fascination with Kat D and LA Ink.
Did you know that in Tattoo School the students learn to tattoo on a banana? It has a smooth skin. After they tattooed the banana, the class moved immediately onto the real thing. A live person. One guy threw up at the thought. Time to change the channel.
The movie, Conan The Barbarian, appeared on the screen. The movie was made in 1982 so it looked really old and grainy even on a big screen TV. Words began to pop up at the bottom of the screen.
Story Line: James Earl Jones is also known for playing another character who wore a black helmet.
Movie Line: They wanted to shoot the movie in Yugoslavia but decided it was too dangerous. The movie was shot in Spain.
Story Line: Arnold S. hung the sword Conan used on the wall of his office while governor of California.
Movie Line: There was a coup in Spain while the movie was being filmed there.
This went on and on, one trivial fact after another. And I hate reading subtitles. It's too distracting. Richard asked me whose head was just cut off and I had no idea. I was too busy reading.
Back to Tattoo School. The amateurs had graduated to the real thing. The guy with the queasy stomach was now drenched in sweat while poking the ink filled needle into his unsuspecting victim. I moved on to watching people try to buy and sell million dollar properties in New York City.
By this time Richard was sound asleep on the sofa. I turned off the TV and took Ginger for a walk. If this is what it takes to entertain the American public, then I'm really going to be in trouble when baseball season ends in October. There's a long stretch in between baseball season and the start of American Idol. I've been thinking of furthering my education. Do you think I can get a scholarship to Tattoo School? On second thought,that won't work. I'm allergic to bananas.
August 10, 2011
The Society of S by Susan Hubbard
If you've read enough of my book reviews you'll know. I don't read vampire stories. I just don't. Vampires are not my thing.
In May I attended the Creative Writing Institute at Florida Institute of Technology and I took a class from Susan Hubbard. She was positively amazing as a professor and as a person. I learned so much from her in a very short period of time. The entire class had fun together. It was an awesome experience.
I downloaded The Society of S onto my Kindle. The thought that keeps coming to my mind to describe this book is, "It had me at hello!"
Ariella lived a sheltered life, home schooled by a reclusive father. He has sheltered her for a reason known only to him as an adult vampire. As she begins to develop as a teenager and is given a taste of the outside world, she begins to question her unusual life. Her mother disappeared when she was born and her father finally reveals his story to her. After the death of her only friend, Kathleen, Ari sets off to search for her mother. On the road she discovers her taste for blood and struggles to come to terms with the morals she's been taught by her father and her physical desires as a vampire.
I loved this book. Susan is a wonderful storyteller using beautiful, descriptive prose. The characters are rich and real. A good portion of this book is set in Florida and I swear I saw a Green Cross truck make a delivery down the street just the other day. The lesson learned here is to keep an open mind and read a variety of genres. You just might find a treasure like The Society of S.
In May I attended the Creative Writing Institute at Florida Institute of Technology and I took a class from Susan Hubbard. She was positively amazing as a professor and as a person. I learned so much from her in a very short period of time. The entire class had fun together. It was an awesome experience.
I downloaded The Society of S onto my Kindle. The thought that keeps coming to my mind to describe this book is, "It had me at hello!"
Ariella lived a sheltered life, home schooled by a reclusive father. He has sheltered her for a reason known only to him as an adult vampire. As she begins to develop as a teenager and is given a taste of the outside world, she begins to question her unusual life. Her mother disappeared when she was born and her father finally reveals his story to her. After the death of her only friend, Kathleen, Ari sets off to search for her mother. On the road she discovers her taste for blood and struggles to come to terms with the morals she's been taught by her father and her physical desires as a vampire.
I loved this book. Susan is a wonderful storyteller using beautiful, descriptive prose. The characters are rich and real. A good portion of this book is set in Florida and I swear I saw a Green Cross truck make a delivery down the street just the other day. The lesson learned here is to keep an open mind and read a variety of genres. You just might find a treasure like The Society of S.
July 28, 2011
Sit! Ginger! Sit!
For all of you who have read my story 'Treat, Pray, Love' in Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Dog's Life, will know how much I love my cute, little Boykin Spaniel, Ginger. And you will know how disobedient and strong willed she is. I refer to her however, as my sweet little girl.
Yesterday Richard took her for her morning walk. They stopped to chit chat with another neighbor and his dog that were out roaming in a golf cart. The dogs sniffed around in usual doggie fashion. That means butt first.
The other dog got a little rambunctious and its owner stepped in to discipline his charge. Unbeknownst to Richard, the dog's name was also Ginger.
"Sit, Ginger. Sit," he commanded. The dog ran off.
My sweet, little Ginger's butt plopped onto the ground. She sat patiently while the other Ginger got a scolding.
Maybe I didn't waste my money on obedience school after all.
Yesterday Richard took her for her morning walk. They stopped to chit chat with another neighbor and his dog that were out roaming in a golf cart. The dogs sniffed around in usual doggie fashion. That means butt first.
The other dog got a little rambunctious and its owner stepped in to discipline his charge. Unbeknownst to Richard, the dog's name was also Ginger.
"Sit, Ginger. Sit," he commanded. The dog ran off.
My sweet, little Ginger's butt plopped onto the ground. She sat patiently while the other Ginger got a scolding.
Maybe I didn't waste my money on obedience school after all.
July 27, 2011
Cookie and Me by Mary Jane Ryals
A few weeks ago in the mail, we got a magazine called Florida Forum. I have no idea how we got on the mailing list but I'm not complaining. It contains articles about award winning Florida authors. I devoured the magazine and of course wanted to read all of the books. I've lived in Florida for thirty years and love the wonder, beauty and history of this state.
Now that I'm addicted to my Kindle, I searched for all the books listed in the Kindle store. Cookie and Me was the only one I could find with Kindle version. So I downloaded it. Cookie and Me is the story of Rayann, a white girl who befriends, Cookie, a black girl in Tallahassee in the 1960's. The two become best of friends doing all the things adolescent girls do, paint their nails, experiment with make up and talk about boys. The racially charged south in the sixties dictates how the pair must act even though they choose to ignore it most of the time.
Cookie and Me is full of rich and lovable characters. It is also full of characters you can't help but hate. If you've read some of my book reviews, you'll know that tapping into my emotions is what endears a book to my heart. I thought the story dragged along in certain parts but overall worth reading. Well written and emotionally charged. It's a wonderful depiction of life of the times in the south, in Florida. I'm rating it 4 out of 5.
Now that I'm addicted to my Kindle, I searched for all the books listed in the Kindle store. Cookie and Me was the only one I could find with Kindle version. So I downloaded it. Cookie and Me is the story of Rayann, a white girl who befriends, Cookie, a black girl in Tallahassee in the 1960's. The two become best of friends doing all the things adolescent girls do, paint their nails, experiment with make up and talk about boys. The racially charged south in the sixties dictates how the pair must act even though they choose to ignore it most of the time.
Cookie and Me is full of rich and lovable characters. It is also full of characters you can't help but hate. If you've read some of my book reviews, you'll know that tapping into my emotions is what endears a book to my heart. I thought the story dragged along in certain parts but overall worth reading. Well written and emotionally charged. It's a wonderful depiction of life of the times in the south, in Florida. I'm rating it 4 out of 5.
July 15, 2011
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
I happen to be a huge fan of Lisa See. Her writing is powerful. I love to read about China and Chinese culture. Typically I'm not a serial reader, rarely reading more than one book by an author. There are a couple like John Steinbeck and JK Rowling, (yes, I read all the Harry Potter novels) that I can't get enough of. Lisa See is also on that list.
Shanghai Girls is the story of sisters, Pearl and May. When the Japanese invade mainland China, their lives as beautiful girls change forever and in ways they never could have imagined. They make choices in order to survive. They struggle to be modern American women yet they can never give up their old fashioned Chinese ways.
Actually my favorite Lisa See novel is Peony in Love. It is set in a very different time and place. Shanghai Girls is a twentieth century story of Chinese people desperately trying to assimilate into an America that fears them. This is a compelling story of sisters, family, love, and prejudice. I couldn't put it down. I was a little disappointed in the ending. It didn't give me enough closure even though I knew there was a sequel called Dreams of Joy waiting for me. Now that I've finished Shanghai Girls I downloaded Dreams of Joy to my Kindle. I'm a Lisa See fan after all.
Shanghai Girls is the story of sisters, Pearl and May. When the Japanese invade mainland China, their lives as beautiful girls change forever and in ways they never could have imagined. They make choices in order to survive. They struggle to be modern American women yet they can never give up their old fashioned Chinese ways.
Actually my favorite Lisa See novel is Peony in Love. It is set in a very different time and place. Shanghai Girls is a twentieth century story of Chinese people desperately trying to assimilate into an America that fears them. This is a compelling story of sisters, family, love, and prejudice. I couldn't put it down. I was a little disappointed in the ending. It didn't give me enough closure even though I knew there was a sequel called Dreams of Joy waiting for me. Now that I've finished Shanghai Girls I downloaded Dreams of Joy to my Kindle. I'm a Lisa See fan after all.
July 4, 2011
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
There's a reason classic literary novels become classics. They were written with great care and emotion when things like cell phones and the Internet and our desire for instant gratification didn't exist. The novel was entertainment, submersing the reader into a different world. The Jungle does all that and more.
Jurgis and Ona came to America where the streets were paved with gold. They worked and worked hard yet every time they took one step ahead the rug seemed to be pulled out from under them. They were the victims of Packingtown, the meat packing plants of Chicago at the beginning of the 20th century. I had no prior knowledge of this time and place, however Mr. Sinclair's descriptions made me feel the cold of Chicago in the winter, the smell of the cow blood coating the floor and the agonizing pain of each cut or blister that gave Jurgis's place to a more able bodied man.
The one scene that struck me hard was when Jurgis was shipped off to jail. He walked into his cell on Christmas Day, away from his family. His pain and heartache gripped me at that moment. If you love a book that grabs your emotions never letting them go, give The Jungle a try. Keep in mind it wasn't written for a modern reader. Let the words show you the way through a brilliantly told story.
Jurgis and Ona came to America where the streets were paved with gold. They worked and worked hard yet every time they took one step ahead the rug seemed to be pulled out from under them. They were the victims of Packingtown, the meat packing plants of Chicago at the beginning of the 20th century. I had no prior knowledge of this time and place, however Mr. Sinclair's descriptions made me feel the cold of Chicago in the winter, the smell of the cow blood coating the floor and the agonizing pain of each cut or blister that gave Jurgis's place to a more able bodied man.
The one scene that struck me hard was when Jurgis was shipped off to jail. He walked into his cell on Christmas Day, away from his family. His pain and heartache gripped me at that moment. If you love a book that grabs your emotions never letting them go, give The Jungle a try. Keep in mind it wasn't written for a modern reader. Let the words show you the way through a brilliantly told story.
