Drawing in the Dust

I enjoyed Zoe Klein's novel "Drawing in the Dust." I actually stayed up most of the night reading it. After finishing it, however, I feel as if there are many flaws in the story and I don't think it merits comparison to the much better written, and totally different novel, "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant.

The novel is about an American archeologist living in Isreal for over a decade who goes to excavate underneath an Arab couple's home, based on rumors that there are ghosts there. Her colleagues think she is crazy, until she uncovers the tomb of the prophet Jeremiah and an unknown woman buried with him.  I loved delving into the scroll of Jeremiah and the imaginary scroll of Anatiya, his lover. It is history imagined from a woman's perspective. A woman in love with a prophet who is in love with God.

Klein had written the entire scroll of Anatiya earlier, which led her to write this novel. There is much fiction woven in with history and religion here, and many situations that seem highly improbable. However, it is still a fascinating book, written by a female Rabbi, with a story that grabbed me and kept my full attention until the end.

Not a brilliant novel, but a good read.

A Christmas Blizzard

I am a big fan of Garrison Keillor's "A Praire Home Companion", so when I see his Lake Wobegon novels, I will sometimes pick one up to read. The latest book I read by Garrison Keillor is called "A Christmas Blizzard." I thought it would be fun to read at this time of year.

The book is part "A Christmas Carol," and part "It's a Wonderful Life." A rich, cynical man who hates Christmas and doesn't seem to appreciate anything he has, is given 24 hours to rethink his life, while stuck in a Blizzard in his hometown in North Dakota.

It is an amusing, easy read. I like Garrison Keillor, so I enjoyed it.

But if you're looking for a really good book, by a very cynical man who doesn't like the holidays, try "Holidays on Ice" by Davis Sedaris. It is hilarious. 

Personally, I have come to love the holidays, so I need to find something a little less cynical to read next...........

Petals from the Sky

I have just finished reading 'Petals from the Sky' by Mingmei Yip.  This is an author I have never heard of, so I was so pleased to discover such a lovely book.

This is about a Chinese woman who has struggled her whole life trying to decide whether to live in the human world of "Ten Thousand Miles of Red Dust" or to go into the monestary and become a Buddhist nun. It is a lovely, lovely book. Full of Chinese art, Buddhist philosophy and very human struggles and desires. Kuan Yin is the Bohdisattva that guides our protaganist throughout her journey of self discovery. I was reading this book in a room full of Kaun Yins and felt truly at peace to be surrounded by so much beauty.

I loved this book and didn't want it to end. I will look for her first novel Peach Blossom Pavilion.

The Ice Queen

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman is another book about lightening strike survivors.  Alice Hoffman is a brilliant writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This is a modern day fairy tale. The protaganist cannot see the color red after being struck by lightening. This is only one of the effects. She lives in a cold, white and gray, lonely world, until she meets Lazarus Jones, risen from the dead after his lightening strike. He is on fire, burning up and electric, the exact opposite of our Ice Queen. In this fable, she must make a heroine's journey to hell and back to find herself. There is even a fire-breathing dragon.

I thought this book was brilliant, a true joy.  The writing was magnificent.  I loved it. Highly recommended.

The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors

I seem to have read many books lately about lightning stike survivors. The latest being Michele Young-Stone's The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors. The interesting thing about this novel is that it is written by an actual lightning strike survivor.

The story is about Becca and Buckley, two completely different characters in different times and places, whose stories are woven back and forth throughout the novel. Sometimes this worked and sometimes it didn't. I often felt lost and confused about the time jumps, and the many different characters, and was sometimes having a hard time following along-maybe because some characters were more compelling to me than others. I was waiting forever for their two paths to cross, and they finally did, but for me it was an unsatisfying ending. There are a lot of damaged characters here who mostly find some resolution by the end, but somehow it didn't exactly work for me.

This is a good debut novel by an interesting author, but I always felt aware that I was reading a first novel.  I did learn a lot about lightning.

I can't say I loved it or hated it. I would be interested to read more from Young-Stone in the future. I have a feeling she will grow into quite and interesting author.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Sarah Addison Allen's books are filled with magic realism, and her latest, The Girl Who Chased the Moon is no different. This is what I love about them actually. I have yet to read her first novel, The Sugar Queen, but I will. I was enchanted with her next novel, Garden Spells, and I loved The Girl Who Chased the Moon and I didn't want it to end.

It is full of quirky characters and small town charm. Throw in a bit of magic and you have a wonderful story unfolding that carries you away with it. It is light, easy reading that makes you long for sweet cakes, and moonlight walks with a loved one.

I thouroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who would like to just escape into a good story and feel good for a while.

12x12 A One-Room Cabin off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream

I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Willam Powers at a reading he did at our local independent bookstore. He was very excited to be touring and sharing his new book "12x12 A One-Room Cabin off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream" with small groups all across the country. I am glad I met him before reading the book. I know he is not a gloomy cynic as I could imagine him at times while reading the book. The book points to a new way of life, a simpler, slower, even happier existence, while at the same time showing us in terrible detail the situation we find ourselves in at the present time due to our consumer-addicted culture.

This is a book I would recommend for everyone. He writes of time spent living in a 12x12 off the grid cabin surrounded by acres of nature, gardens, a creek and only his bicycle to get around on. It is his Walden pond. After years of working overseas in many Latin American and African countries trying to save the remaining rainforests, along with other conservation and development initiatives, he is used to always Doing something. His time in the 12x12 is difficult at first-difficult to just slow down and Be for a change. When he finally surrenders to this at times throughout the book, his most amazing realizations and inspirations come. He finally comes through the anger and frustration to other side, into a truly peaceful warrior presence that he writes about. However, I also know that being human, this is an ongoing struggle, and he is very honest about this.

For a while, the book was depressing me. Understanding how truly bad the situation we've created on the planet has become can be heartwrenching. ( Even those of us who know, live to a large degree in denial.) Somehow though, Powers always pulls us through. Because he is such an honest and talented writer, the book worked, and I felt inspired rather than depressed after reading it. I believe this is what he meant to achieve.

Whether these are issues that you are already familiar with, or these are totally new ideas to you, this book is definately worth checking out and sharing with friends.

Dancing with Butterflies

It's not often I find books written by Mexican women, so it was a rare treat to read Reyna Grande's Dancing with Butterflies. It is about 4 women involved with a Mexican Ballet Folklorico group based in LA. Some are illegal immigrants, others born in the US, some dancers, one director, one costume maker, all struggling with their own issues. The plight of Mexican women and the beauty of Mexican Art-especially Folklorico are subjects close to my heart and are beautifully portrayed here. Sometimes you can almost hear the music while you're reading.

However, much of the book made me sad. All the alcholism and abuse, poverty, stuggle for jobs and identity that the Mexican community faces were shown here in very real honesty. I was greatful to Reyna Grande for leaving us with some hope at least by the end.

What Grande writes about comes directly from her own experiences. She is an author to watch, and I will be looking for her first novel, Across a Hundred Mountains.

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

Historical fiction by and about women is my favorite genre, so I was looking forward to reading The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Conner McNees.  I enjoyed this book. The author did a lot of research about Louisa May Alcott's life and sets the story during a summer she spent with her family in New Hampshire after being forced to leave Boston due to lack of funds. It imagines a love affair Louisa may have had during that summer. I loved being swept away by this story. There was nothing too challenging or intense in the story or the writing, and sometimes that is just fine. It should please fans of Little Women, and it makes me want to re-read that book as well.

One of the most fascinating parts of the story for me is Louisa's connection through her father to Emerson, and Thoreau, as well as Walt Whitman whose Leaves of Grass was published in 1855 when this novel is set. It definately makes me want to re-read Whitman's Leaves of Grass as it was so groundbreaking and controversial at the time.

 I would recommend this book to friends.

Little Bee

I will start by saying that I did not like this book, although I think that goes against popular opinion.
Whenever I get talked into reading a book by a male author I seem to remember why I don't read them very often. I'm sure this goes against popular opinion as well.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave is a book about a Nigerian girl who has suffered greatly in her short life, and the British woman who happens to meet her on a Nigerian Beach. The book is written from both of their perspectives, and neither voice is convincing to me. I'm always aware that I'm reading a man writing as a woman. The men in this book are not even worth mentioning, they are either savages or morally vacant.
Without a doubt, the story is a page turner-I read it in 2 days-I wanted to know what would happen. However, this doesn't make it a good novel.

The situation that Cleave brings to light about the plight of refugees is horrifically tragic and all too true. This made the book worth reading for me, although I could have read an article in the New York Times and understood the situation just as well. This is a truly heartbreaking book with little that redeems it.

The Persia Cafe

The Persia Cafe by Melany Neilson is a book that is set in the exact same time-early sixties, same place-small town Mississippi-dealing with the same issues of rascism-as The Help. But this is, in my opinion, a  better book.

The protagonist is Fannie Leary, cook and owner of  The Persia Cafe in Persia, Mississippi. The tale that unfolds of murder, rascism and trying to understand yourself and your place in a small rural town in the south, amongst people you've known your whole life is truly haunting.

This is a beautifully written book that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.

The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a book we read recently in my book club. After so long on the best seller list, it seemed like a book worth checking out. It is based in Mississippi in the early 60's and it is written from the perspective of a white woman detailing the plight of black maids at that time.

I did enjoy reading it. It held me and kept me wanting to find out what would happen next. However, on the whole the book was not entirely believable to me, nor were the characters. Our book club was split between who liked and and who didn't, but the discussion that ensued was as interesting and worthwhile as the book itself, and this I think is the beauty of this book. Everyone is talking about it, talking about rascism as it still exists everywhere, and for this I appreciate greatly what Kathryn Stockett has written.

Sing Them Home

I just finished Stephanie Kallos' new novel Sing Them Home.

It is a huge sweeping novel taking us back and forth through the lives of 3 now adult children and their mother who was lost in a tornado when they were young. It is set in a small Welsh town in Nebraska's tornado belt. I loved reading about the customs and songs of the Welsh people and trying to read their language with no vowels. Stephanie Kallos is a wonderful writer and I truly enjoyed the journey this novel took me on. However, it did leave me unsatisfied in many ways. I wanted to hear more from the dead, especailly Hope, the dead mother. I wanted to hear from the father after he passed on, and I wanted more resolution to Viney's, (the stepmother) story. Kallos created a wonderful cast of characters and a engaging picture of small town life, but somehow the novel was just not all the way there for me.

I enjoyed her first novel Broken for You even more than this one. That one's worth checking out.

The Blind Contessa's New Machine

Since I love historical fiction, especially by and about women, I was immediately drawn to this little book- The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace.

I had no idea the typewriter was invented so a blind woman could write letters. It's a fascinating little piece of history woven around the story of the young Italian Contessa who is going blind, her family who doesn't believe her, and her eccentric neighbor and friend-the inventor, who does belive her and falls in love with her.

I loved this little book, and highly recommend it. It is the first novel by Carey Wallace and I look forward to her future offerings.

The Devils Teeth

The latest book we just read in my book club is called The Devils Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks by Susan Casey.

This is the fascinating true story of pioneering shark research done in the shark's own habitat near the Farallon Islands just off the coast from San Francisco. The Farallones are so inhospitable (unless youre a shark or a bird) that it is a miracle the 2 biologists in this book could spend so much of their lives living out there. Susan Casey joins them, and we read first hand of her harrowing adventures. I learned more about sharks than I ever knew, and also learned about the fascinating history of these islands.

This book is truly amazing- definately one worth checking out!

A Quilters Holiday

Since I'm meeting now with my knitting group as the days get shorter and colder, I thought it would be fun to read another book from The Elm Creek Quilt Series by Jennifer Chiaverini.

A Quilters Holiday seemed the perfect thing leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, I found it  all a little too good to be true and theres nothing special about the writing, but theres nothing really wrong with it either. I enjoyed it for what it is. A sweet little book perfect for this time of year.

Thinking in Pictures

I should mention a few of the books we've read recently in my book club.

One that stands out is Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin.  She is an autistic woman who is a gifted animal scientist. The book gives us an inside view of how her mind works-how she truly does think in pictures. It's the clearest picture into the autistic mind I've ever read. She is a remarkable woman, and it is an incredible story, however, its not my favorite book. There is much of her story left out and the writing is not the best, but in the end, it doesn't matter. It really is worth reading anyhow, and it's a very fascinating and memorable book.

Rudolph Steiner

If you are not familiar with the works of Rudolph Steiner-you should be! Rudolph Steiner was a brilliant teacher, writer, thinker, human being. He is the founder of Anthroposophy, a spiritual path of knowledge. He is also the founder of Waldorf Education,  Biodynamic Farming, Anthroposophic Medicine and a form of movement called Eurythmy, among other things.

His writings on all these subjects are vast, and not easy reading, but highly worth the effort. I recommend reading Theosophy. Also, I am currently re-reading The Philosophy of Freedom. Most of Steiner's books can and should be read and re-read. I cannot recommend delving into the works of Rudolph Steiner enough.

Remarkable Creatures

I have just finished reading Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier, and I have to say-I love this book! I didn't want it to end. Tracy Chevalier writes wonderful historical fiction about ordinary women- one of my favorite things to read. This is a story of Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot, fossil hunters on the English seaside in the early 1800's. The creatures they discover are truly remarkable, as are these women, at a time when women weren't allowed to even be present at Geological society meetings, let alone be credited for their discoveries.

Chevalier is also the author of  Girl with a Pearl Earring, another historical fiction novel about the maid in the famous Vermeer painting. This novel is as beautifully written as the painting that inspired it. A film was made based on this book and was so beautifully shot, that you feel as if you are inside the painting itself.

The Sky Below

I have just finished reading The Sky Below by Stacey D'Erasmo. I have mixed feelings about this book. Without a doubt Sacey D'Erasmo is a great writer. Her style pulled me in immediatley and I knew I was in for a treat. It is a mythic journey of a man trying to find himself-his soul, something he lost in childhood. It takes us on a journey to far away places with lots of interesting characters along the way. The problem is that I never really cared about the protagonist. This made it hard for me to stay engaged. I did find it redeeming by the end, and this is an author worth checking out for sure.

Lime Tree Can't Bear Orange

I just recently read Lime Tree Can't Bear Orange by Amanda Smyth. I am always looking for literature by women from other countries, so I was excited to read this book set in Trinidad and Tobago. It was at times difficult for me to read because of some of the violent situations presented. However, it is a fascinating and complex portrait of a landscape and a culture that I know little about. Definately worth reading.

Jane Kirkpatrick

I used to get most of the books I read from used book stores, then sell them back when I was done reading. This, as most of you who read know, is almost entirely a thing of the past, much to my dismay. There are of course discounted books from Amazon (the reason most of the independent bookstores have gone out of business in the first place), books given to me by friends who also read, and other random sources. But the most usefull place I've found to get current literature in as great a quantity as I want, is at the library. I have been pleasantely surprised at what I've found there. So most of what I'm currently reading is dictated by what I can find at my local library.

One author I've recently discovered at the library is Jane Kirpatrick. She has written 16 historical novels, often about the lives of ordinary women. The book I just finished is called An Absence So Great. It is an historical novel about her grandmother Jessie Ann Gaebele, one of the country's first female photographers, with dreams of opening her own studio at a time when this was almost completely unheard of. I loved this book, and I look forward to reading more from Jane Kirkpatrick.

Alexander McCall Smith

Although I mostly read books by women, I got sucked into The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Series, set in Botswana, by Alexander McCall Smith. These are wonderful books and you cannot help falling in love with the protagonist, Precious Ramotswe.

I have also just read La's Orchestra Saves the World ( McCall Smith is an amateur bassoonist among many other things, and co-founder of The Really Terrible Orchestra) and now am reading The 44 Scotland Street Series. Most recently I have read The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, which is a lovely book set in Edinburgh, but has nothing whatsoever to do with scones.

Indian women authors

One of my favorite discoveries in recent years is all the wonderful literature coming out of India-especially by women. My favorite of these authors is Thrity Umrigar. Her book, The Space Between Us is truly remarkable. One of the best books I've read in years. Following this is If Today Be Sweet, and also First Darling of the Morning, selected memories of an Indian childhood. I've yet to read Bombay Time, her debut novel, but its on my list.

Also worth reading is the wonderful Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Start with The Mistress of Spices and go from there...........

Knitting/Quilting/Lacemaking...........

There have been so many books recently about knitting or quilting, some of them quite enjoyable.

There is the Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs, followed by Knit Two.

There is the Elm Creek Quilt series, by Jennifer Chiaverini. One of these that I particularly enjoyed was The Aloha Quilt.

I've also stumbled onto some books about lace making- The lovely book The Lacemakers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri and also Knit in Comfort by Isabel Sharpe.

I'm sure there are many more, I've just mentioned a few. These are lovely reads by the fire with a cup of tea, especially if you are doing some of your own handwork, or even if you're not.

Three Cups of Tea

If  you have yet to read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, I highly recommend it. This is followed by the wonderful book Stones into Schools.

These books are the true story of one mountaineer's journey to build schools for girls in some of the most inhospitable regions of Pakistan and Afgahnistan.
Truly Inspiring!!

Outlander Series

I cannot fail to mention all the pleasure I have gotten from reading the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon.

I had to really be talked into reading these books (Thank you Grandma Marji!) then couldn't get enough of them. Although they might not be for everyone, disappearing into the 18th century Scottish Highlands with James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser while sipping a cup of hot tea by the fire is a true pleasure not to be missed!

The Glass Castle

Jeannette Walls incredible memoir-The Glass Castle- is another of those books that has just stayed with me. It is almost too incredible to believe when you are reading it. She has transformed very sad and difficult situations into something quite magical and wonderful  You will have to read it for yourself to believe it!
Highly recommended!!

Her prequel to this-Half Broke Horses is on my reading list.

Marilynne Robinson

I also must mention Marilynne Robinson. Probably one of my favorite books in recent years is Gilead. This book is written in such a beautiful and serene style, I was carried along by the congregationalist pastors voice the whole way. Although perhaps it would be a bit slow moving for some tastes, for me it was beautiful beyond words, even making me cry by the end. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Robinson followed this book with Home. I will only say that after Gilead, I was deeply disappointed.

Let's See, Lisa See

The first books that come to mind are the wonderful books by Lisa See, starting with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, followed by Peony in Love, and finally Shanghai Girls.  The first is my favorite, anthough there is a very difficult to read chapter on foot binding. Of these three, I liked Shanghai Girls the least, but still, they are all worth the read.

Wonderful historical fiction set in China. Lisa See is a master. Of all the books I've read in the past few years, these have really stuck with me.

Welcome to g's reads!

Hello!
My name is Gena, and my husband Loring has been bugging me for a long time to keep a blog about all the books I read, so I decided to finally do it.

It is partly just a list for me to remember what I've read and for friends who are constantly asking me what good books I've read lately and if I have any recommendations.

So let me start by telling those of you who don't know me that I READ A LOT!

I must also confess that I read almost exclusively (but not entirely) books written by women.
Mostly fiction (but not always)
Mostly current (usually)
Often from countries all over the world (again, not always)
These are just my tendencies. I make exceptions.

I've read hundreds and hundreds of books in the past few years, and I think I will start my next post by just mentioning a few memorable books before getting up to what I'm reading now.

More soon............