Reading & Blogging about a book a week.
OK. I don't know what I can say about a trilogy without ruining the first book.
A few days ago my friend mentioned the the hunger games were the top three selling books on Amazon. I checked today and saw that they are still the top three selling books. While going with the crowd is not usually a path for success in life I think it might be when looking for a good book.
The Hunger Games is compelling like water is wet. Suzanne Collins reaches out from her book in the first few pages and grabs your attention and doesn't let go of your collar until a couple of hours later you find yourself on page 374 looking for book 2 of the trilogy.
Yesterday I was mentioning the book to a friend and a lady ahead of me turned around and said, "Isn't the hunger games awesome." Yes, stranger on the street, it is.
While boy meets girls is always a good start to a book, there are so many ways this storyline aligns with the current world situation. Evil government versus good citizens. (It's very real in my neighboring Burma and Syria is killing it's citizens as I type this) Entertainment versus serving the needs of the world around us. (This one is very real in my own heart and life) and Self Preservation versus dying to yourself and/or giving your life for the sake of others.
The Hunger Games takes place in the future in the land that was once America where the government forces each of the 12 districts to send in two kids each year in a fight to the death leaving only one victor. This is to remind the districts that the central government holds the power and each of the districts exists to serve them. Originally the story line sounded a little to gruesome and while it is definitely PG 13 it has caused me to think about how sin has impacted our world.
I encourage you to read the series with a couple of friends and talk about it.
This is my second Jane Austen book of 2012. While Mansfield Park had the same soap opera feel of young people battling for each others affections as Emma, it brought up two interesting themes that endeared me to this book more so than the other. The first is of blessings that flow from opening one's home to a child in need. The second theme seeks to answer the question: what does a morally upright woman look like?
Lady Bertram is the wealthiest of three sisters as the result of an extremely advantageous marriage. Her sister, Mrs. Norris, married a clergyman, but quickly became a widow. Her other sister, Mrs. Price, married a drunkard who is apparently a frisky fellow, as they have heaps of children. Desperate and pregnant with her umpteenth child, Mrs. Price writes to her sisters entreating them for assistance. Mrs. Norris, a wretched woman with a knack for getting everyone to do everything for her (but taking all the credit for it) manages to trick the Bertrams into taking in one of her sister's kids to offer some relief to the ever growing Price family. What got Mrs. Norris on my bad side right off the bat was how snotty she was and how she looked down so harshly on her niece, Fanny, whom she claimed to love too much to ignore. Make me vomit, Aunt Norris...you are NOT genuine, and you are NOT nice. Sir Thomas Bertram, also had a slight case of my-poop-doesn't-stink syndrome at the beginning of the story:
'There will be some difficulty in our way, Mrs. Norris,' observed Sir Thomas, 'as to the distinction proper to be made between the girls as they grow up: how to preserve in the minds of my daughters the consciousness of what they are, without making them think too lowly of their cousin; and how, without depressing her spirits too far, to make her [Fanny] remember that she is not a Miss Bertram. I should wish to see them very good friends, and would, on no account, authorize in my girls the smallest degree of arrogance towards their relation; but still they cannot be equals. Their rank, fortune, rights, and expectations will always be different. It is a point of great delicacy, and you must assist us in our endeavors to choose exactly the right line of conduct.'
My, how Mrs. Norris took that last request to heart. I'm sure Sir Thomas regretted the day he ever asked Mrs. Norris to be his conscience. For years, she berated, belittled, and criticized her niece for anything and everything, real or imaginary. Ugh, by the end of the book I really hated her character, and it became evident that her relatives also found her insufferable. I think she's horrid, with a capital H-O-R-R-I-D.
Fanny, the eldest daughter of the Price brood, becomes the youngest among the Bertram children (two boys, two girls) by several years. I would liken her personality to a frightened little bird. Scared to open her mouth, scared to disappoint, and scared to appear ungrateful, Fanny tries to fade into the background of life at Mansfield Park, the expansive mansion her generous relatives call home. Her cousin, Edmund, an observant and compassionate young man, recognizes the deep sadness she feels over being suddenly removed from her family and becomes her friend and confidant. It is Edmund's kindness, above all, that fuels Fanny's heart throughout the book.
Fanny Price as the ultimate under dog. She's convinced of her own inferiority and so humble that she struggles to ever exert herself. Though considered quite ignorant and lacking manners upon her arrival at Mansfield, Fanny grows into a beautiful young woman in appearance and in spirit. She is patient,virtuous, considerate, and sacrificial. She becomes an indispensable companion to Lady Bertram and her relatives (minus Aunt Norris) begin to take notice of her character and actions, both of which are beyond reproach. Everyone pats themselves on the back for their part in bringing her up and giving her the environment that would produce such happy manners, but using that same logic, one wonders how the three eldest Bertram children fell so short of the propriety and humility demonstrated by Edmund and Fanny. The girl that nobody wanted is a true gem compared to her elder female cousins.
To say much more would kill the drama and suspense of the story. I will finish by saying that Lady Bertram and Sir Thomas wind up loving Fanny like their own daughter and don't regret the day they brought her home to live with them.
Mark's actually done a more in-depth review on this one. But for my part, it's an excellent look at our potential for memory. It's not really a how-to book, but the author does outline his experiences fairly thoroughly. More than that, though, it's a thought-provoking look at the history and application of memory told in a wholly enjoyable tone. A great start for this year's 52!
Ok, I know it’s only January, but feel comfortable calling this my “Book of the Year”. Ali Soufan was an FBI agent specializing in what was, at the time, an obscure group of Muslim militants known as al-Quaeda. Smart on the organization from the ground up, Soufan recounts his work with the FBI from the earliest days of al-Quaeda’s activities. He outlines in fascinating detail the events surrounding, most notably, the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, the USS Cole, and the World Trade Center. The book provides an eye-opening look at the depth and intricacies of the now well-known terrorist group as well as a first-hand account of some of the most successful operations and tactics in the years leading up to and following the tragedies of 9/11 on the civilian side of the DoD--particularly Soufan’s work as a tenacious investigator and interrogator. His accounts of meetings with high-value terrorists are almost surreal in their humanity. What’s especially fascinating is Soufan’s brilliant handling and manipulation of the detainees. Equally shocking but chokingly sinister are the number of people within other government agencies that worked against the author and his team. His accounts of the FBI’s treatment by the American ambassador to Yemen following the USS Cole bombing are sickening, for instance. Similarly, the handling of various situations and suspects by CIA officials are chilling in their ineptitude. Still, Soufan is quick to separate the integrity and capability of most of the agency, condemning a relatively small but decidedly dangerous element. Anyhow, the book is fantastic from cover to cover; I highly recommend it!
This is the sequel to GIDEON’S SWORD and I must say, it’s a bit slower. While the story picks up precisely where its predecessor leaves off, it feels throughout like the main character is a different person than the original. It’s a bit like watching a show where the actor playing the main character is replaced for the sequel. The affect is as if Tom Cruise was replaced by Ryan Reynolds—the new guy has his pluses but is just not right for the role. The story too seems slower and more drawn out than the 1st. Again, an OK read; again, a wild-ride plot; again, somewhat of a suspension of reality is required… But it’s not unlike reheating a “pretty good, all things considered” dish. It was pretty good, all things considered, the 1st time—now, it’ll do if you have nothing else.
Addendum: I have this on audio and recenltly found myself with A LOT of time on my hands and decided to give this a re-read. My original take may have been little biased. The story really is fun in an action movie kinda way (you can't knock a chainsaw fight too hard!) and the authors do a good job of laying that out without coming accross as too hoaky. ...at least as un-hoaky as a chainsaw fight can be... Better than Stephen King in any event.
