Heather P's 50 for 2010 (p.s. There are far too many "Heather"s on here!)

[Heather]

Ooh, have you been in it before?

[Heather]

45. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything- Christopher Hitchens (4 stars)

I read this book in two blocks separated by a few months, and I was surprised to find my opinion of the work completely change between the two periods. Initially I found it EXTREMELY hard-going and couldn't really bring myself to read more than a few pages at a time, which culminated in ceasing to read it altogether. When I picked it up again a few days ago, I was surpised to find that I couldn't put it down! I don't at all think that there was a marked improvement in the latter-half of the book, and attribute it more to the fact that I was occupied with thesis writing when first reading the book and couldn't really get into something so heavy-handed. This time around I'm in semi-holiday-mode, so quite happily immersed myself in Hitchens's wonderful writing.

So, to the book. As mentioned in the previous sentence, it is beautifully written. Hitchens has such a way with words, and when coupled with his thorough research and clear intellect it makes for a truly convincing piece of writing. In terms of the subject matter itself, I'm a budding scientist, a staunt atheist, and quite anti-religion, so wasn't anymore convinced by the messages in this book than I was when I started it. However, unlike The God Delusion, this book deals more with the impact of organised religion on society, rather than the existence of a higher power itself, and as such is filled with a great deal of fascinating information on the background of various religions and common religious practices that I was otherwise ignorant about. Needless to say, a lot of it shocked and appalled me.

I think that people would be hard-pressed to argue with the logic and facts presented in the book, and I feel that many agnostics would likely be swayed by Hitchens's thorough analysis of the impact of religion on society. I don't think it has the power to convert any "believers" to atheists, but I wouldn't be surprised if many turned their backs on organised religion itself after reading this book, or at least opened themselves up to alternative beliefs. That's my hope, anyway :)

[Amanda]

Unfortunately just about everything - including Lamb House where Henry James once lived - was closed for the Winter, but I got to stand outside his door! I'll have to make a note to revisit it when we revisit during warmer months. Walked past Radclyffe Hall's house several times too.

[Heather]

I went through a bit of an Adrian Mole phase this week (after coming into possession of the first three in the series), so here are my thoughts on the matter:

46. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4- Sue Townsend (3.5 stars)

I read this book a few times as a teen and absolutely loved it. This time around I enjoyed it, but not nearly so much as I originally did. I still found it a lot of fun and loved the feeling of revisiting old friends, but this time around I found it to be a bit too easy-going, and, being Australian, was quite stumped by many of the the Britainisms that populate the book. Nevertheless, a great YA read.


47. The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole- Sue Townsend (3 stars)

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one, but it was still pretty good. The characters in these books are excellent and SO real, not to mention quite hilarious, and I particularly enjoyed seeing how Adrian's parents' relationship evolved over the novel. I think the books suffer from pacing issues at time (this one moreso than the last), but overall they're well done.


48. True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan Lillian Townsend- Sue Townsend (2.5 stars)

I don't really get this book, and I'm not sure what the author's point was in writing it. Is it a collection of short stories? A stand-alone novel? An intended sequel to the Mole books? An effort by the author to introduce alternative characters/series besides Mole? An amalgamation of previously-separated pieces thrust together into a (semi) workable book? I have no idea.
The book is presented in three parts. The first part is comprised of random Mole writings, chronicalling various events and correspondences in his life over the span of a few years. I really enjoy the daily-diary format of the previous Mole books so didn't really take to this new structure, but the section was still entertaining. The second section contains (either real or fictional) diary entries by the author herself, which I found to be ridiculously boring and quite pointless, whilst the third section is a satirical take on a teenager Margaret Thatcher and the kinds of thoughts that may have permeated her diary. I'm not too familiar with Thatcher or her impact on the British economy so found that a lot of the references in the book went over my head, but the entries were still quite funny. Overall, not a great addition to the Mole family, but not bad enough to turn me off reading future Mole adventures.

[Amanda]

Whoo!! Two books to go!

[Heather]

Thank god for Adrian Mole :P

[Heather]

49. Room- Emma Donoghue (4 stars)

I thought this book was really, really well done. For those of you who've been living under a rock lately and are unfamiliar with this book, the narrator is five-year-old Jack, who has spent his life locked in a backyard shed with his mother, after she was kidnapped seven years before by "Old Nick". The book chronicles their life in "Room" and inadvertently addresses the impact of abduction and captivity on Jack's mother. If it sounds familiar, apparently the author was inspired by the Joseph Fritzl case, in which a father held his daughter captive in his basement for 24 years and fathered her seven children.

At first I found it a little hard to get into the way Jack speaks and his personification of the various objects within "Room", but once I got past that, I was hooked. Without giving anything away, I found the first half of the book to be far more engrossing than the second half, and was actually a little disappointed with the second, which I felt wasn't explored anywhere near as effectively as it could have been. It was still an excellent read, though, and fully deserving of the praise it's been receiving.

[Donna]

I'm on page 12, thanks for the info!

[Leah]

Yay Heather, just one more book to go!

[Heather]

50. Dog Boy- Eva Hornung (4 stars)

Yay, I made it, and with only hours to spare!

I really enjoyed this book about the life of a 4yr old boy who is abandoned by his family and adopted by a pack of stray dogs. I read pretty much the entire book today, and found that the necessity to read it in basically one sitting meant I was completely immersed in the lives of Romochka and his canine family and the problems facing the day-to-day existence for both stray animals and the homeless. At times the pacing was a bit slow, but overall I thought it was excellently done (so thoroughly researched!) and a great companion piece to my last book, Room.