The Memory Keeper's Daughter and The Time Traveler's Wife

Well, here are two interesting books I've read recently. First, I'll tell you that The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards was great. I thought it was inventive, well written and engaging. Even if some things were implausible, I liked this book a lot. Briefly, it is the story of a doctor who delivers his own set of twins, one of which is a Down's Syndrome baby. This book is all about making choices and telling lies, then living with bad choices and lies that are perpetuated with sad results. 5 stars.

The second book, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was trippy. Even though the main character, Henry, is a librarian, the author was losing me when she had him shelving books. (We don't do that folks. Well, rarely, and not in the course of a typical day. Please, author, do your homework.) But when she characterizes him several times: "well, he looks like a librarian" or something to that effect, I mumbled hateful words under my breath. So, I ask, just what does a librarian look like? How long must we keep perpetuating silly stereotypes? In case you can't tell, I hate the simple mindedness of stereotyping anyone. I would have been bothered if it had been an accountant, doctor, used car salesperson, or lawyer. (Well, maybe not lawyers. gentle smile inserted here.) Also, I had a beef with the language. I got bothered by her cavalier use of crude anatomical descriptions. For an aspiring writer who I assume wants her work to be considered literature, not trash, this was a disconnect. The theme was, like I said, a bit trippy. I could deal with the concept of Henry's moving through time involuntarily. In fact, I think it was engaging and innovative. That plus the fact that the book had a good sense of place (Chicago) I finished it, though by the end I was wondering why. My low rating is because language has power; potty mouth language shows weakness. I don't give it much of a rating . 1 1/2 stars might even be too kind.

Wit

Oh, my. I saw Wit this weekend after getting it from my wonderful Netflix. This movie was just about the best acting I've seen. Emma Thompson is her outstanding self. The dialog is sharp and insightful. The screenplay is wonderful, funny, sad, ironic, and highly telling about contemporary academic and medical communities. I can't think of any other movie I've seen recently that has affected me more. Oh, my. Can I give it about 10 stars? There are so many wonderful lines. I have to share one. It goes something like: "Do not go back to the Library. Go out and live." How can one go wrong with advice like that? Take it from me, as one who lives in the Library. Yes, there is life inside books and movies, but there is a bigger life in the world for us to experience for ourselves.

The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini

The Kite Runner was the "kick-off" book for our monthly book club and I led the discussion on the book. The book was generally well received by the women who attended. I thought we had a good discussion and a diversity of opinion.

I had read The Kite Runner a few years ago when it first came out and then read it again in preparation for the discussion last week. It was a fast read and has some interesting twists and turns of fate. I won't go into specific details for people who haven't read the book as I don't want to spoil it. The movie is due to come out sometime in 07, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out in the theater and who will play Amir, Baba, and Hassan. Truthfully, I had difficulty believing some of the events that reoccur, of fated meetings and reunions, and particularly the resolution at the end. But that is what makes fiction fiction. I give this book 3.5 stars.

www.khaledhosseini.com/

The 2007 Lighthouse Team

Here is a photo of the greatest Lighthouse team ever.

Trinity by Leon Uris

I found Trinity by Leon Uris a huge disappointment. While there are historical events woven into the story, this is so soap opera. I have read my share of "airport books" and have found many of them satisfying and enjoyable. This, unfortunately, is not one of them. I gave it my requisite 50 pages and because of it's girth, 50 more, which I thought it a waste of time.

One reviewer says it better than I can:

"Rather than Irishmen in the book I found 1970s Americans and American sentiments and prejudices: sexually liberated women, crooked priests, female revolutionaries, protestant ministers who should have worn brown shirts rather than vestments and plenty of evil industrialists. The one big question I am left with is why Irish women were portrayed so poorly? Surely there were enough pages for the development of one woman like my grandmothers: strong, faithful, loving, intelligent and honest. As a novel it was a fine read, but as an historical fiction it was far more fiction than history. Considering Uris' biased and inaccurate portrayal of the Irish Roman Catholic Clergy and the the Church, one should be more than a little suspicious of the foundation of the whole novel. The tragedy of Ireland is real and still alive; unfortunately Trinity by Leon Uris doesn't take us very far towards any real understanding of the issue."
Amazon. com Reviewer: Joseph Rooney

Two Books by Cambodia author: Loung Ung. First They Killed My Father; Lucky Child

Now here was a gripping personal narrative account of Cambodia in the late 1970s. First They Killed My Father: a daughter of Cambodia Remembers is about the Khmer Rouge and the story of a young girl who was orphaned at a young age 8. (I think.) because of the war.
Ung tells the story of how she and her siblings survived war-torn Cambodia. Sadly, some family members did not survive and faced brutal death. Her later book, Lucky Child describes her journey to Vermont as a refugee along with an older brother and his wife.

Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God. I will praise him again, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11

History of Britain DVD Series

Now here's a DVD series that will fill your whole weekend if you have a whole weekend with nothing going on. I've been watching the series bit by bit over the past few weeks. It's engaging and covers interesting aspects of British history and culture that I hadn't picked up in previous reading or other sources. Truthfully, it got a little old hearing the one voice of Simon Schama in every video. (He seemed like a bobblehead doll at times. If you've seen this you know what I'm talking about.) He had a bit too much face time for my tastes. While I found the topics greatly interesting, there were often not enough variety in speaking voices. So I tended to find myself nodding off. I give it 4 stars.

Fade To Black by Robert Goldsborough

Ho Hum. I couldn't get inspired or excited about this mystery. It's about two vying advertising agencies, and Nero Wolfe steps in to save the day with his trusty assistant Archie Goodwin. Rex Stout was the original creator of Nero Wolfe mysteries, and Goldsborough has recreated the character with several other books. Amazon.com (Publishers Weekly) also reviews this book as "flat." I'd say so too. Two stars are generous.

The Civil War DVD by Ken Burns

If you want to know the truth, I don't like war stories. But I watched all parts of The Civil War (1990). It is very well done, but there were times I found myself falling asleep during the parts when they talked about the battles. I forced myself to go back and listen what I missed in order to get the full impact and enormity of the Civil War and its costs. I'd recommend it for an impressionistic view of the War, the gravity and importance of the War to Americans today. It is easy to forget history and what has happened in the past (and why), yet we are who we are as a country, a culture, and individuals because of the sacrifices of those in the past who participated in democracy and for freedom as they understood it. The Civil War frames us even today. I would rate this series a 4 1/2 stars. It probably deserves 5 stars, and know I am showing my bias against war stories by my rating.

Ireland

My thoughts and readings are turning to Ireland these days. I'm reading Culture Shock: Ireland at the moment. This is book of pretty random facts about Ireland that are helpful for understanding the history and culture. Since I'm interested in Northern Ireland I have found a couple of titles that are helpful and are providing guidance for my thoughts. The first title is a modern classic that every person interested in Ireland must read. It's How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. It is a book of highly developed thought and parts of it are written for readers who are highly motivated. I have Trinity by Leon Uris on my to read pile. It came highly recommended and I'll give an opinion when I'm finished. You could go to my LibraryThing site for other recommendations of both books and films. To see my library log in as lnlamb.

The Knitster

One of my most favorite things to do is to knit. Only trouble is I don't have many pictures of the results. Here's a baby sweater I made a while ago.

Shipshewana Indiana

The first picture is where I stayed in July when I visited with my friends, Aileen and Randy. I pointed out the Wells Fargo sign and Aileen quickly snapped this great picture. I appreciate her sharing it with me. I can't rave enough about the wonderful bed and breakfast: The Checkerberry Inn (the picture is from their website.) I took some pictures on that trip, too, but mine aren't worth posting. I have a nice picture of Randy and Aileen, but I'm not sure they want to be public so I'll keep it to myself.

Paradise Now

I happened onto the movie, Paradise Now (PG 13) through Netflix which has wonderful access to the kinds of movies that appeal to me. It was a haunting portrayal of the hopelessness of Palestinian young men, raising questions of what options are available to them and the shattering results of a life lived in refugee camps. This movie made me think about choices people have. Easy for me to say, given my socio-economic condition. I don't agree that becoming a suicide bomber is a good choice. It is a terrible one. But this movie helps me to understand that people all over the world need to be offered options of self determination and opportunities for hope. I appreciate movies that tell a story that is meaningful and extremely relevant. As always, Internet Movie Database has more details and a plot synopsis that I need not repeat. According to their description, Paradise Now is the first Palestinian film to be nominated for an Academy Award. I look forward to seeing more creative films by director, Hany Abu-Assad. For its honesty and the ability to delve deep into the psychological underpinnings of the choices of two potential suicide bombers, I give Paradise Now 5 stars.

Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton

I have had several people recommend Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain* over the years, so I finally got around to reading it. I can't say that it was the best book on contemplative Christian life that I've ever read. But I did like reading about Merton's spiritual journey. I would give this book *** (3 stars.)

*This links to a review essay from First Things 70 (February 1997): 34-38 written by Robert Royal titled: The Several Storied Merton. I liked how Royal described Merton: "Merton is beyond doubt one of the great spiritual masters of our century."

You Know You Are From Seattle When...

I really miss Seattle about now. Here are a few things that remind me about Seattle.

--Summer means taking a ferry to Bainbridge, Whidbey, or San Juans.
--You love the way people dress up "the Fremont people." (And people who live in the Fremont area must miss seeing it during the bridge renovations. The statue is actually called "Waiting for the Interurban".)
--A fun Saturday means going to bookstores. My favorites are Third Place Books, Elliot Bay Books, University Books, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Magus Bookstore, Half Price Books, Wits End, Wide World Travel Books.
--A walk around Green Lake is a regular habit.
--You've been to Bumbleshoot and know what the word means.
--You’ve hung out with friends at Dicks.
--You make sure to go to Folklife, the Bite and the Torchlight parade.
--You’ve been to the Puyallup Fair or at least know how to pronounce it. You can also pronounce Issaquah and Sequim.
--You are tired of people asking "does it really rain a lot in Seattle?"
--You know where the "AVE" is and still call it by that name.
--You feel guilty throwing an aluminum can in the trash.
--You know what the phrase "the mountain is out" means.
--You use the words "sun break" and know what it means.
--You know at least eight people who work for either Microsoft or Boeing and they all make double your salary.
--You know what Lutefisk is. And maybe you've tried it. You have certainly been to Ballard.
--You consider floating bridges a pain, not an engineering marvel.
--You use more than 5 words to order a cup of coffee. "I want to order an unleaded, double, short, skinny, wet cappuccino with a shot of Amaretto please."
--A "designer" wardrobe comes from Eddie Bauer, LL Bean, REI, and Birkenstock.
--You consider it a sunny day if the sun is visible at some point of the day.
--You've been "snow" skiing in the RAIN more than in the snow.
--When you're discussing rainforests and volcanoes, you're NOT talking about Hawaii.
--You remember the Kingdome especially when the Mariners played there and Lou was manager.
--You have tried to forget about WTO.
--You have umbrellas but don't ever use them.

The Devil Wears Prada

I'm trying to decide if I liked this movie or not. I don't think I will give you a blow by blow account of this movie. I'm sure you could find any number of plot summaries. Some random thoughts about the movie: it seems that the "villian" was almost too stereotypical. Meryl Streep carries it off well as ice queen. But she is a fantastic actress and I usually like movies she is in. She plays a "difficult"--understatement boss. My thinking, there's no excuse for rudeness. And the character she portrays is just that. Rude. Goes to show that social status has no relationship to bad behaviour. And heaven knows there can be male bosses just as harsh, tyrannical, demanding and snarly. Many of us have worked for one. I think the salon.com review by Stephanie Zacharek pretty well covers it. I'd rate it about a ***.

Nana Turns 80

Carolyn and Marilou

I'm putting together a slideshow for my mother's 80th birthday. This is a picture of my mother at about 4 years old with her sister. My mother is the one on the right with the big bow.

Culinary Teas in Syracuse IN

I spent a few days in Northern Indiana visiting with some friends recently and happened onto the most wonderful tea shop. They have over 100 kinds of teas and willingly let me choose any kind of tea, brewed and iced on the spot. Now I don't think they'll ship iced tea, but they do have a website with all their teas for sale. I bought Queen Mary Tea, Windsor Castle Tea, St. Paul's London Breakfast Tea, and Buckingham Palace Tea. They are all basic black teas, and I'm sure will make great iced tea. Even the names elicit pleasant memories of England. Imagine my excitement when I see they have a blog: http://culinaryteas.blogspot.com/

Assassination Vacation (this is a book title--not literally my vacation)

What am I reading these days? Well, I bought this book last night and am almost finished. The author, Sarah Vowell (voice of Violet in The Incredibles) is funny in a biting sort of way. She wanted to know more about presidential assassins (although she doesn't say why she didn't touch Lee Harvey Oswald). Anyway she investigates the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley in a fresh and enlightening way. I give this book **** . Since I got the cover image from Amazon, I guess you should buy it from them.

The Readster Finds A Pub in England

Two snaps of The Readster.
The White Horse is somewhere near Stonehenge. The other shot is on the steps of St. Paul's.

Camilla and Charles Didn't Invite Us To Tea...Phil and Liz Were At Ascot We Heard

I like the view and the gardens at Windsor Castle This reminds me of my high school marching band uniforms. The Royal Apartments where the Queen lives are in the background, or so they say.

Here's Baaaath

Three views I liked the street scene a lot as it reminds me of Jane Austen. We took the typical tour of the Roman Baths, but the guide went pretty fast and kind of ran us through. I guess he was in a hurry to get home. It was interesting but too much to absorb.

Bath

This was an amazing mosiac that I really liked alot in the Roman Baths in Bath.

Stonehenge: pi= 3.14

I'm tempted to say if you've seen one rock you've seen them all. But I don't think so. These were enormous and shrouded with mystery. We saw some Druids too.

England -- my pictures look like typical touristy pictures that everyone else takes

1. 
   Left: Henry VIII's armor. I think he was well protected. Especially important parts of his anatomy. Right: Yeoman guard tour. Bottom Left: B/B gardens . Bottom Right: Westminster Abbey

Hiking in the Malvern Hills near Worcester where we were staying part of the time. This is a view of Wales from the top of the Malvern Hills where Lewis and Tolkein used to walk.

Sylvia (the movie)

Last night I saw an interesting, but depressing film about the life of Sylvia Plath. Gwyneth Paltrow did a credible job of making her life real. I give Sylvia about 4 stars ****. L-