The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (audiobook)

genre: middle grade fiction

This was my debut experience with Ol' Tom.  Everything I'd ever heard about him (that whole "whitewashing the fence" scene) happened in about the first fifteen minutes.  Wow are his adventures way more exciting than convincing some kids to do his chores for him!  Tom Sawyer is being raised by his morally straight and lovingly strict Aunt Polly.  All she wants is for him to be a respectable child but Tom has too much ruckus in him - too much curiosity and energy and imagination.  And his reckless nature gets him into some serious scrapes with consequences that reach far beyond his small circle of friends.  Speaking of friends, his most valiant partner in crime?  Huckleberry Finn.  Between the two of them, all kinds of unfortunate choices are made and their adventures are a glorious look at what a childhood might have once been, if one had no respect for rules or common sense :)

I found myself surprisingly taken in by Tom.  He's such a creator of storylines - of play plots that involve all kinds of robbers and pirates and Robin Hoods and bandits. I loved his hyperbole and his sense of the dramatic - all oaths had to be taken at midnight with one hand touching a coffin and the other hand touching a dead cat, or something like that.  He clearly was in it for the SHOW of the thing, the adventure.  Yes, as the mother of a nearly 12-year-old boy myself, I sometimes wanted to wring his neck.  His complete lack of supervision was astonishing - he could've gotten himself killed about seven different times.  And yet, there was something almost magical about how he always managed to work it out.  What amazing things can our children do when they are left to their own devises and forced to work out their own problems?  Even when he was being an idiot, he did have, deep down, a sense of what was right and that he did want to do right when it mattered most.

I will say it:  I liked it, more than I thought I would.  I liked listening to it because the dialect certainly fleshed him out as a person, as well as the other main characters.  Glad I listened.

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (audio)

genre: fiction

Vanity Fair.  You frightened me, with your length and your subtitle: a novel without a hero.  I think I tend to like heroes, so I was unsure of whether or not you and I would get along.

But, thank heavens, we did.

Luckily, I listened to you. I have found that I much prefer to listen to British people reading British books to me, especially "classic" British books.  So, I listened to the narrators of all of the four unabridged productions, and picked the one I liked best and WOW, was he a winner.  For 31 hours (nearly three months worth!) I listened to your tale of greed and society, of Rebecca and Amelia.  Two women with completely different desires and completely different ways of attaining them.  Becky, the vicious and underhanded freeloader, lover of all things fine, worst mom EVER and with a tenacity that just won't quit.  As we follow her life from boarding school, into the Napoleonic Wars and beyond, we are drenched in a world of glitz and fortune on the one hand - and of ruin and poverty on the other.  Many of your characters vacillate between the two and whichever one they are in, chances are they may soon be at the other.

I loved your unnamed narrator.  LOVED him.  He had some snark, his own wit and vague experience helping us see Vanity Fair for the pretend-world that it is.  As he guides us through London and old rambling country estates, to the fields of war in Brussels to India's steaming colonies, he introduces us to a score of people who are so self-absorbed and either so stubborn or so easily swayed that their lives almost seem to fall out of their control.  There are some very notable exceptions, and while it's true that your story doesn't really have a "hero" per say, there are a few admirable key characters that remind us that not everyone is fooled by the shimmer of Vanity Fair and that, when you see beyond it, there might actually be some unsullied happiness to be found.  Because otherwise, in your story, happiness is a very rare thing.  Good thing your narrator kept things light, because I am a lover of happy stories and the narration managed to help me remember that in satire, one must use misfortune and folly to lay bare the hard truth.

Brilliant, this story. Not for everyone, I'll admit, but brilliant nonetheless.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

genre: anthropomorphic fantasy

I'm trying to remember the first time I heard about this book.  Middle School?  Someone said it was really good and I should read it.  But then I heard it was about rabbits.  And so I decided to never read it because rabbit books are not really for me.

Except then I had a sixth grade daughter.  I've committed to read along with her in her book studies at school, as much as I can, so I can be of help when needed.

Her teacher assigned her to read Watership Down.  What's a mom to do?  I started it.

And then I sort of got to liking it.  And then the school year ENDED and they hadn't finished the book (um, lame, yes?). I let it sit on my nightstand for a few days.  I was really just going to take it back to the library.  But imagine this - I started caring!  I'd look at it sitting on my nightstand and I thought about how I sort of had to find out what happened to our hero Hazel and his warren of rabbit comrades.  I knew they had already braved so many adventures since escaping a terrible fate but I was actually curious to find out what else they would have to conquer before finding a safe place where they could settle and raise families.   Really!  Rabbits were having adventures!  And I was into them! 

The interesting thing is that yes, they are clearly rabbits.  Our author Mr. Adams has so seamlessly woven true animal behavior into every character that I feel like a rabbit expert.  Yet, this is a very political story.  It's a story in which characters have to grow into roles that at first seem to big for them.  It's a story about being willing to make friends with "people" that are very different from you but who have a lot to offer.  It's about being willing to die for something bigger than yourself.  It's about learning when to listen and when to act.

I'm not going to lie.  I liked this book.  I didn't love it, but I found it totally worthwhile.  While there was a tendency to get a bit wordy and descriptive, the plot itself is astonishingly rich for just being about a bunch of rabbits.  I can see why an English teacher would assign it - there is a lot to think about.  Besides the rich and complex folk history that the rabbits use to guide their lives, there are  some pretty deep ideas about trust and leadership and group behavior. 

Now I can take it back to the library and feel satisfied.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

genre: drama

Knowing nothing about this play when I began, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the plot: shipwrecks, hidden identities, separated twins, love triangles (of course). Not to MENTION the yellow stockings, which had me laughing out loud. It's most certainly a comedy and, with other Shakespeare comedies, I must insist that whomever attempts it for the first time (if you are unfamiliar with Shakespeare) that they read the text along with a production. The comedic elements, especially, are just SO much more enjoyable when you can watch them! I also think that just the acting alone can really make the text so much more accessible.

At the heart of this story is Viola, a twin who believes her brother has drowned at sea. She determines to act the part of a boy so that she can get employment in the house of Count Orsino. Orsino is in love with the lovely Olivia, who has recently lost both her brother and her father, so she is all alone in the possession of a fine fortune. Cue all the funny business of people falling mistakenly in love. There is a subplot involving some of Olivia's other suitors and her manservant that is absolutely hysterical (a la Kenneth Branagh in Much Ado About Nothing).

I enjoyed this one a lot. I'm glad I'll be able to dig deeper into its meaning with my book group this month!


note: if you're interested in the content of the books I read, please go to http://ratedreads.com

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

genre: adult fiction

Can you believe I had never read this classic until now? I saw an awesome copy of it at the Five Below (random, eh?), it's a DK unabridged version that has all kinds of historical and cultural information in it, which really rounded out my reading experience.

SO. Now I have all kinds of misconceptions sorted out. First off, I thought Frankenstein was the CREATURE, but he's the CREATOR of the creature. Somehow in my mind, if you dressed up as Frankenstein for Halloween then you were that guy who walked funny with stitches on your forehead, but no no. That's just the monster whose name we never even learn. Victor Frankenstein is a promising scientist from Geneva who figures out how to use electricity and "parts" to create a living being who can think and interact with the world.

That's when things go sorta...bad.

I mean, really bad.

It's a horror novel, to be sure, but I think it's a lot more than that. It feels like a character study, too, and the novel is set up in such an intriguing way - as a story within a story. And we even get another story within that one! We watch Frankenstein and his creature deal with the consequences of his creation, and the creature does actually become sympathetic, it's incredibly intriguing how my feelings swayed back and forth about him. Sometimes he was terrifying and sometimes I feel real pity. I loved the way that my edition of the book put this story within the context of Mary Shelley's time, about what was changing in the philosophies of men and how they viewed nature, which is a big part of the book.

I really liked it, it was surprisingly engaging. I did NOT like all the foreshadowing (I like surprises in my books and overt foreshadowing gives too much away and spoils the action of the story, in my opinion) and sometimes poor Victor does just go ON and ON about his guilt over creating such a monster. I'm going to chalk that up to me not understanding how you talked about things in 1818. For such an old story, it really gave me a lot to ponder about.

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation by Tim Hamilton

genre: graphic novel

When I first read Fahrenheit 451 as a teen, I was already an avid book lover, so it frightened me then, with the palpable hate of the written word. This time, though, reading it as an adult in 2010, what frightened me more was how close our society has come to Montag's - the walls covered with tv? People interacting more with that tv and about that tv and it's programs than with actual people? THAT freaks me out on a completely different level.

It's a brilliant story - a world cut of the exact same cloth as our own, astonishing really, how close to right Bradbury got it. The masses have rejected books and reading, it's easier to not really think and just have fun - to watch the parlor walls and live a life insulated from any sort of bad news or philosophies that might tempt you to want to make an effort. It doesn't help that life is so fast paced, either - books take too much time and energy. Not only that, but there are so many ways to offend and be offended, that if you just stop reading - everyone is happier, right?

OH how it makes you think. I want to shake myself up from the inside out, remind myself of how lucky I am to have a world full of ideas and authentic feelings at my fingertips. The drawing are pretty sci-fi, they felt like the 50s and the burning scenes are intense. The adaptation did a fine job of giving you the plot with some actual quotes from the book as part of the text. This quote absolutely floors me:

"It’s not books you need, it’s some of the things that once were in books. The same things could be in the “parlour families” today. The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through the radios and televisors, but are not. No, no, it’s not books at all you’re looking for! Take it where you can find it, in old phonograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and look for it in yourself. Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us."

(the part in italics is not actually in the text of the graphic novel, but it's too good not to include :)

I love the idea of books stitching the patches of the universe together for me. If you have no inclination to actually read the whole of Fahrenheit 451, I would pick this up for sure. If you are a true lover of books, you need to know this story.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

genre: fiction

So, this is NOT the North and South of Patrick Swayze and the Civil War. No no. That is the first thing I learned. This is North and South ENGLAND, which makes for just as compelling of a story. In the South, we have the most pastoral, agricultural and slow-paced life that our protagonist Margaret is used to. In the more frantic-paced, manufacturing North, we have the swoon-worthy Mr. Thornton, mill-owner and self-made man.

Our story follows Margaret as she ends up moving from South to the North, encountering Mr. Thornton and an actively antagonistic relationship begins. Margret's headstrong and sensitive nature clash against Mr. Thornton's more level-headed business sense. Pride reigns on both sides and of course, it's the hope of their eventual love that keeps you reading, a la Pride and Prejudice.

What I appreciated about this story is, not only the romantic storyline, but also Margret's journey as a woman, as she comes to understand both the faults of her native South as well as the merit's of Mr. Thornton's North. She meets interesting characters (some more well-rounded than others) and becomes inadvertently involved in labor troubles in the town. We're given a crash-course in the logistics of Unions and strikes and everyone is affected in some way. Margaret experiences great loss and the tragedy seems endless. It didn't depress me, somehow, all that tragedy. Margaret is strong and resourceful and works through her grief in a strikingly realistic way.

A book of 500+ pages, it's not for everyone. But if books of the Pride and Prejudice genre thrill you and you're willing to spend some pages learning about England's labor movement in the process, this is not one to miss.

book 5 of 5 for the Classics Challenge 2010

Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

6 out of 6 for the Classics Challenge
genre: adult fiction
rating: 4/5

Ester Greenwood has her life ahead of her. She is on an exclusive internship in New York City. She's making a name for herself in college, where she studies on scholarship. These things should be making Ester feel happy and yet...it's not that simple. From the very beginning, the sense you get from Ester's first person narrative is that Ester just doesn't process things the way most people would. It's fascinating, really, how expertly Sylvia Plath crafts her language to paint a portrait of a woman who is experiencing mental illness. Her "glass jar" is the distorted lens through which she views her life - both people and experiences. That glass jar stifles her until she ends up receiving medical treatments that were common in the 1950s - none of which were particularly pleasant and some were bordering on terrifying.

I was hesitant to start this novel because I thought it would depress me. I found, though, that rather than depress me, Ester intrigued me. Her self-absorption and idiosyncrasies were so crisp and real. I loved following her through a train of thought that took her to a destination so different from my own in a similar circumstances. The text itself is often incredibly poetic and descriptive, even when she's describing something disturbing. I liked this book so much that I became very interested in Sylvia Plath and her own experiences - which are, apparently, very similar to the sorts of things that happened to Ester Greenwood.

If you know someone who has ever suffered from depression, I think this book can really be a kind of window into that world world and show just how deceptive and debilitating those chemical imbalances can be - as well as how slow is the road to recovery. Hopefully, with the medical advances of our day, fewer and fewer people will have to suffer like Ester Greenwood or Sylvia Plath.

Review: Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

genre: children's fiction
rating: 4/5

Little Willy and his Grandfather live together on a potato farm in Wyoming. When Grandfather becomes ill and Willy learns that their farm is in danger, he is determined to do something about it. From harvesting potatoes on his own to spoon feeding Grandpa every morning, Little Willy is an extraordinary example of perseverance and kindness.

Helping him keep his spirits up is Willy's most faithful companion: his dog, Searchlight. These two friends enter a sled dog race in order to raise money to help save the farm - and the ending is as poignant as any I've read in a children's book.

My two kids LOVED this book. Each night, as soon as I'd stop reading my eight year old would grab the book from me and read ahead. The chapters are short, have interesting pictures and are well paced with some read cliff hanger chapter endings. Grandfather's illness and the farm situation led to some interesting discussions and I'll tell you, I had some tears when I had to read the ending aloud. Recommended for kids ages 6-7 and up.

Review: Silas Marner by George Eliot

5 of 9 for the fall reading challenge
5 of 6 for the classics challenge

genre: fiction
rating: 5/5

In the small country village of Raveloe, we meet Silas Marner, the weaver. Friendless and wrongly accused of a crime, Silas lives out a lonely existence in a small shack, weaving by day and obsessing over his earnings by night. When the outside world stumbles in and wreaks havoc on his monotonous but, in a sense, comforting lifestyle, Silas is thrown for a loop. Forced to begin to interact with his neighbors, he slowly begins to be a part of a community again when another bit of chaos is thrown his way. This time, it's in the form of a two year old girl whose very nature begins to soften the heart of the weaver.

George Elliot is a masterful writer, I feel like I underlined on every page, her language is so powerful and evocative. For example:

If there is an angel who records the sorrows of men as well as their sins, he knows how many and deep are the sorrows that spring from false ideas for which no man is culpable.

We can send black puddings and pettitoes without giving them a flavor of our own egoism; but language is a stream that is almost sure to smack of a mingled soil.

In this short tale, she examines the threads of what makes us human - our loves, our mistakes and their consequences. The villagers and main characters show us their merits and follies through their choices and through dialogue that is expertly written to shed light on what matters most to them. Even the lesser characters and their choices have a great impact on Silas and his plight - this truly is just his story and Elliot has graced us with an interesting and varied cast that adds depth and meaning to the plot. The more secondary "extra" characters are a bit satirized which spiced up the duller sections of male villager gossip and provided a forum for social commentary.

Is is an absolute joy to watch Silas Marner awaken from his life of drudgery and obsession. I love his character and I loved that this book is also about faith, lost and found - and that happiness comes from being a part of something bigger than yourself.

Review: Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

rating: 4/5
genre: historical fiction/autobiography

Laura and her family have left their home in the big woods of Wisconsin. They have packed everything they own into a covered wagon and set off across the prairie into Kansas Territory. Each chapter gives us a glimpse into the daily lives and efforts of a prairie settler - as they stake their claim and build their house, dig their well, plant their garden, the story becomes almost a text book during these chapters. I worried that my 8 and nearly 6 year old would be bored by these more informative chapters, but they ate it up! We learned so much about life before electric lights and cars and hospitals. Laura's story transports you to a time where wolves are literally howling at your door and the food you eat is grown by the sweat of your own brow.

The story is told with plain but descriptive language - very accessible for younger listeners (and readers, I'd assume). Her timeless descriptions of the views and sounds of the prarie are almost poetic. Sometimes things get a bit long winded, but then again, this isn't a story with a heady plot. It is a story, however, with intense moments that really illustrate how much the Ingalls family depended on the mercy of mother nature and on the grace of the Indians whose homeland they were settling.

And yes, in this book, Native Americans are called Indians. They are also frequently called "savages," which is probably the reason why this book was banned. For me, I initially hesitated to actually read those parts aloud. Then I realized that the book was portraying the feelings of Pa and Ma and their neighbors at the time, and while I obviously do not agree with those feelings, they are historically accurate and a springboard for discussion about racism and history. My kids and I had an interesting talk about Native Americans and what was happening to them during this time period.

It took us a long time to get through this book. We savored each chapter and one was usually enough for each night - and if I ever mentioned setting it aside for a while and reading something lighter, the kids never took me up on it. And at the end (I won't spoil it for you), I could tell by their expressions that my children felt the same way I did: sorry it was over.

So Big by Edna Ferber

2 of 10 for the Book Awards Challenge II
10 of 11 for the Summer Reaching Challenge
3 of 6 for the Classics Challenge
3 of 3 for the td;lr challenge

Rating: 5/5
genre: adult fiction

I regret that I have waited so long to read this magnificent book.

Selina's unusual upbringing by a roving gambler in the late 19th century imbues her with a love of life and adventure. Her heart's desire to truly live leads her to say farewell to Chicago for the "High Prairie" where she takes a job as a teacher in a school full of farm children. As different as it is from the city, Selina finds beauty and a certain strength in the landscapes and the Dutch farmers she interacts with. Despite her longing to see the world, circumstances dictate that she stay put in that farm country and Selina's story plays out from there.

As much as this is Selina's story - her gritty, wide-eyed determination and her ability to find the beauty underneath the grime and toil - it's also the story of her son. Dirk, nicknamed So Big as a baby, is Selina's delight. Her wishes for him and the life she watches him choose for himself are at the crux of this novel. We, as readers, live through both of them, basking in their successes and mourning their heartache.

Selina is one of the most powerful and memorable characters I've ever read. Her love of what is real, her stubborn nature and fierce loyalty make her story a compelling one. Just as compelling is the backdrop of Chicago at the turn of the century and the lifestyle of both high society and the farmers who make sure they're fed.

Edna Ferber has written a truly American novel, full of pride and real people, whose dreams and realities rarely walk hand in hand. Read this for Selina. Read it for Chicago. Read it for an appreciation of the soil and those who till it. Read it for Ferber's deft hand and careful language, capturing characters and places you won't soon forget.

Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

2 of 6 for the Classics Challenge
6 of 11 for the Summer Reading Challenge

How could you go wrong with a book that has all these humorous elements?
*scarlet tights (NOT worn by a woman)
*newt-obsessed school chums
*sensitive French chefs
*names like "Gussie Fink-Nottle" and "Tuppy Glossop"
*and, of course, questioningly fashionable white mess jackets

Yes, P.G. Wodehouse has created a gem in Bertram "Bertie" Wooster, our dramatic and blundering narrator. He and his butler Jeeves are the main characters in this comedic masterpiece which centers around Bertram's bungling attempts to mend the love woes of his former schoolmates as well as aid his aunt with a small financial snafu. Bertie's plans tend to backfire in a most explosive and hilarious manner while the steadfast and uncanny Jeeves always seems get a handle on the situation with some good old "psychology."

The plot is not the reason to read this book, although it is also quite humorous. I'd say the plot might actually be characterized as "fluff." Perhaps its' lightness is a mockery of all that was frivolous and petty in British society at the time, I don't know enough to say. But for me, the reason to read this book is Bertie's dialogue, his running commentary on events and his downright farcical sense of Wooster pride. Truly, I had TEARS running down my face whilst trying to read my favorite sections of this book out loud to my sisters. Often, Bertie slips into third person and gives the thing his "deep thoughts." For example:

...when one has taken the trouble to whack out a highly juicy scheme to benefit an in-the-soup friend in his hour of travail, it's pretty foul to find him giving the credit to one's personal attendant, particularly if that personal attendant is a man who goes about the place not packing mess jackets.

Splendid humor, what? If only Bertie Wooster could narrate my life for me, I think I could always jolly well see the bright side of things - as long as I had Jeeves around to sort my troubles out for me when all hope is lost :)

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

7 of 12 for the 2008 Young Adult Challenge
2 of 3 for the tl;dr challenge
1 of 6 for the Classics Challenge
5 of 11 for the Summer Reading Challenge

This is a breathtaking book. It takes us to Puritan New England, in the colony of Connecticut. Sixteen year old Katherine (Kit) arrives in America after having been brought up by her grandfather in Barbados. Her liberal Shakespeare-reading, ocean-swimming, silk-dress wearing upbringing did nothing to prepare her for the inflexibility and piousness of her aunt’s family that takes her in. In fact, Kit’s free thinking and outspoken ways create suspicion and irrational fear.

Speare’s characters are fleshed out and conflicted and it is a pleasure to watch them learn and grow throughout the book. Kit’s constant impulsive decision making and the inadvertent consequences never felt contrived. The time period and its rigid culture played a huge part in the plot of this novel – where seemingly harmless gestures and friendships can somehow make a person seem like a Satan-worshipper and be put on trial for witchcraft. It was a tremulous and frightening time, where politics were a constant topic of conversation as the colonists were just beginning to decide that they no longer wanted a king.

Kit’s indecision about what and who she loves, and where she belongs, rang so true to me. The descriptions of New England itself and of the traditions and chores of the time were expertly woven into the prose. The sprinkling of romance throughout the story fit just right and I loved the ending. If you are a lover of young adult historical fiction, this Newberry Award winner is a must-read.

Othello by William Shakespeare

summer reading challenge 1 of 10

This goes without saying: it's a tragic story. Othello is a quintessential tragic figure, falling prey to the lies and deceits of his inferior officer Iago, who convinces Othello that his wife, Desdemona is unfaithful. The jealousy and rage that result from Othello's belief that Desdemona is having an affair with his right hand man (Cassio) leads to numerous innocents being maimed and killed. I sorta figured it would end up that way somehow :)

At the crux of this story is Iago - the lying and conniving standard bearer who wants to improve his standing in the army and goes about purposely ruining the lives of all those around him in order to gain the post of lieutenant. Iago is, ironically, constantly being called "honest" and "true" by his companions, he almost has a split personality. Shakespeare lets us even hear his thoughts occasionally- how carefully and craftily Iago leads everyone to their doom. It was so painful to see Othello slip deeper and deeper under Iago's spell, knowing how pliable he was allowing himself to be under Iago's hands.

And poor Desdemona and her unlucky token. If only she'd kept that danged handkerchief in her pocket, she might've had a chance to prove her innocence. Well, possibly. It's hard to say if anything could've broken through Othello's belief that she was untrue to him. How sobering to watch something beautiful like the love between Othello and Desdemona twist into something so very ugly - a reminder to constantly take everything you hear with more than a grain of salt. Ulterior motives and hatred can breed misery for anyone not on his guard.

Shakespeare is a genius. The lyrical nature of the turns of phrase and the way the characters interact and react is fascinating. Let's end with a few of my favorite quotes:

Regarding getting drunk (one night of drunkenness for Cassio starts a whole chain of horrible events for him)
"O that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains!"

Regarding reputations
"Reputation is an idle and most false imposition, oft got without merit and lost without deserving"

Regarding jealousy (ironically enough, it's IAGO saying this to OTHELLO!!)
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on."

Well said, William Shakespeare. Well said.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

This book terrified me, on many levels. It's 667 pages long, to begin with. It's been a while since I read a serious chunkster like that (besides Harry Potter, which someone in my mind doesn't really count...).

Besides that, I am just not a fan of "Authur" stories, despite my deep love of the Disney movie The Sword and the Stone, of course. Even since I saw the musical "Camelot" in the theater when I was in high school, the story just didn't appeal to me. Then my book club chose this as our monthly selection and I finally decided it was time to tackle this monster.

Was it worth reading? Absolutely. This book is so much more than just Arthur and Camelot. The first section of the book is essentially the Disney movie, and that part does grab you and you love Wart so much that you keep reading just to find out how it ends for him (although, it got harder and harder to keep reading for a while there, in the middle - it got a bit slow).

White, our beloved author, is a genius, really. He's like your friend or fellow book club member, who just happened to be there, in the middle ages, and he's telling you the story with his own language and always using references to modern day concerns and people. He sometimes appears to mock them and their ways (oh, especially those blundering old knights...), other times he pities them, but mostly, I felt as though he was trying to understand them and why they made the choices they did.

The book is, to me, chiefly three different things.

First, it is a the "historical" study of England at the time, which is interesting and confusing at the same time, with many Lords and Kings and battles etc. Obviously this is a fantasy book and it's based on legend, but either way, we read a lot of political and historical stuff.

Second, much of the book is devoted to a character study of Arthur and Guinevere and Lancelot. Arthur, the imperfect, naive, thoughtful and above all, forgiving king. Guinevere, the stubborn and difficult to understand queen/mistress - White often just tells us straight out that he doesn't know why she made the choices she did. And Lancelot - the ill-made knight, the self-loathing hero of the round table who made a lot of mistakes and yet always tried his best to be moral (except where Guinevere was concerned, of course).

Thirdly, I felt like this was a very moral and philosophical book. White asks difficult questions, usually through Arthur, trying to figure out questions like: Is man inherently good? Why do we have wars and what causes them? Which do we owe more loyalty to, our family (clan) or our country? Is it better to get revenge or to forgive? How do we best create peace: through worship, through wars or through civil justice?

This book is truly a work of art. I must admit however, that as soon as the "Sword in the Stone" section of the book is over, the story was completely depressing, in every way imaginable. Nearly everyone is either deceived, deceitful, or unhappy. Bad things are constantly happening to good people and even the good people seem to be constantly making bad choices. I must also admit, that it was still insanely interesting and worthwhile - and, even amid the depressing things, I found myself laughing out loud. Often I found myself pondering the idea of actions and consequences and how often our actions can lead to things in our future that we never could've imagined. My heart ached for Arthur, for what he had and for what he lost.

But, you should read it. Read it for Arthur and Sir Pellinore and for White's use of the word "chuckle-head." I'd be surprised if you regret it.

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

I've read this one before, and liked it a lot. In preparation for the movie version, I just read it again - out loud to two of my children (8 and 5 1/2), this time. While I had to make many more explanations along the way in this book, compared to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, they still got very involved in it. It seemed so much longer, reading it outloud, but I really liked its focus on faith and the rewards of staying faithful.

It was hard to explain all the strange and random Greek creatures - that part is a bit bizarre. My kids did good at just letting that go and got completely caught up in being with their friends Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy again - and loved, especially Caspian and the honorable mouse Reepicheep. Enough adventure for all of us.

The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor

book 5 of the Expanding Your Horizons Challenge

Naylor is a master of words. She's not just trying to tell me a story - she's choosing each phrase with care, painting a picture of a life that is completely unfamiliar to me. And yet, she's showing me that what's inside the women of Brewster street is also inside of me - the same hopelessness you have to overcome to feel peace, the same need for acceptance and love.

Life on this run-down block is not easy - once you arrive there, you're either at the end of your rope, or you're stopping there on your way, you hope, to something better. The book is a novel in seven stories - and characters you've already met are interwoven throughout the stories of the women you're meeting. It's a harsh world, full of alcohol, libertine living, landlords who don't provide heat or sanitary living conditions, and neighbors who are so wrapped up in the pain of their own lives that everyone is always lashing out at each other. A few characters move through the book - Mattie and Kiswana - that seem to be a balm to all those others who have a continual desire to add fuel to the never-ending fires of hatred and distrust that rule among the residents of Brewster place. There are things that are very hard to read, especially the rape of a lesbian resident - apparently evidence that each person, no matter how "low down" you are, is looking for someone lower than themselves to push down.

One thing about the book that was a little disconcerting, was the fact that you never meet a single male character that is stable or provides in any way for his lover, wife or family. They are all deadbeat, womanizing and selfish. I don't know if this is really the way it is on streets like Brewster Place, and I don't know if she was just trying to focus on the strength (or weakness) of the women (hence the title), but it bothered me that there wasn't a single male with a redeeming quality. I really liked, however, reading about Cora, whose decision to visit a performance of Midsummer Night's Dream, awoke in her a desire to finally begin caring for her children and trying to provide them with a better life - without depending on a man.

If you can handle the harshness of this book, it is well worth reading - a portrait of a place and of a people that deserve to have their story told and considered.