While I would not call myself an expert on Mormonism, I can very confidently say that Mennonites are not the same as the followers of Joe Smith and Mr. Young. In fact, Mormonism has very little to do with this post at all so perhaps it's a bad idea to have it in the title... well I didn't major in English so deal!
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
Memoir
I am a proud flying dutchman! This is yet another book recommended to me by my mother and it did not disappoint. Only after she finished it, laughing til the very end, did she notice that Ms. Janzen is a professor of English at my dear Hope College. Boy do I envy you English majors! Not only can you appropriately title a blog with relevance to the subject, you also have the opportunity to study with such a fun person. At least she sound extremely fun in her writing. You would never guess that her main field of study is poetry (at least until she told you, which she does within the confines of this memoir). Janzen treats her childhood, her family, and her origins with candid humor, deep love and appreciation. While she pokes fun at her Mennonite heritage, it is more like she's laughing with her subjects, not at them. She celebrates her upbringing in all its strangeness and glory. Definitely a worthwhile summer read, especially for any woman with a vendetta against her ovaries... The first chapter will have you hooked ;)
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Simple yet Satisfying
Emma by Jane Austen
Novel (Classic)
One of my favorite things about Jane Austen is how the first sentence sets up each of her books. I struggle with the first sentence of anything that I write be it letters, essays, lab reports etc. And I can't continue writing until I have a first sentence - huge writer's block! Makes me wonder how long Austen had to think about the story she was writing in order to write the absolute perfect sentence to start the whole thing off.
I tried reading Emma in my senior year of high school and had to stop about half way through because I couldn't get any further. I hadn't tried again until this summer. A housemate of mine is an Austen fan and Emma is one of her favorites. I couldn't face her without the shame of knowing that I hadn't read the book. It honestly weighed on my conscience heavily; but i struggled to start it again due to worry that I'd stopped because I didn't like it. My fears were put aside when I re-read the first sentence.
I don't know how it happened, but I did not absorb a single bit of the story the first time I tried. I could not remember a dang thing. The story in general moves slow... as slow as most of life. What I love about Austen is how she dared to represent the middle class female life in all its simple beauty. I love character development and Emma is full of it! The characters were more believable in my opinion than those in Sense and Sensibility and the love stories were less abrupt than Pride and Prejudice. Emma is, I must admit, the first Austen book that I've read before seeing the movie and I was able to follow it better. I prefer Pride and Prejudice as a book but I like the characters in Emma the best.
As a side note, I was reading this while working out on the exercise bike in our basement, and laughed several times. My mom asked what I was reading and upon hearing said "You can laugh while reading Jane Austen?"
How could I resist?
Novel (Classic)
One of my favorite things about Jane Austen is how the first sentence sets up each of her books. I struggle with the first sentence of anything that I write be it letters, essays, lab reports etc. And I can't continue writing until I have a first sentence - huge writer's block! Makes me wonder how long Austen had to think about the story she was writing in order to write the absolute perfect sentence to start the whole thing off.
I tried reading Emma in my senior year of high school and had to stop about half way through because I couldn't get any further. I hadn't tried again until this summer. A housemate of mine is an Austen fan and Emma is one of her favorites. I couldn't face her without the shame of knowing that I hadn't read the book. It honestly weighed on my conscience heavily; but i struggled to start it again due to worry that I'd stopped because I didn't like it. My fears were put aside when I re-read the first sentence.
I don't know how it happened, but I did not absorb a single bit of the story the first time I tried. I could not remember a dang thing. The story in general moves slow... as slow as most of life. What I love about Austen is how she dared to represent the middle class female life in all its simple beauty. I love character development and Emma is full of it! The characters were more believable in my opinion than those in Sense and Sensibility and the love stories were less abrupt than Pride and Prejudice. Emma is, I must admit, the first Austen book that I've read before seeing the movie and I was able to follow it better. I prefer Pride and Prejudice as a book but I like the characters in Emma the best.
As a side note, I was reading this while working out on the exercise bike in our basement, and laughed several times. My mom asked what I was reading and upon hearing said "You can laugh while reading Jane Austen?"
How could I resist?
Monday, June 13, 2011
Reading List
Since I caught up on all the books I had read, there's now a bit of a waiting period until I finish the next book. Wah wah. So I figured I would post my anticipated reading list for all of you current and potential followers to review, and comment:
1. (current) Emma - Jane Austen
2. Menonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen
3. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
And that's all that I remember currently.
Let the comments begin!
1. (current) Emma - Jane Austen
2. Menonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen
3. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
And that's all that I remember currently.
Let the comments begin!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Note for Those Just Starting: Scroll down to the bottom first
Last one for tonight:
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai
Memoir
I've been at this one off and on for a while now. Not that it's boring or otherwise unpleasant, rather it takes some time to digest. Maathai is a remarkable woman and her thoughts and memories kept me thinking long after I finished a chapter. She tells her story like an African story teller. It is not the linear Beginning-Middle-End that is really uncharacteristic of most people's lives. Sometimes it got confusing and difficult to track what was happening when because she refers to the end from the very beginning. The book weaves and spirals through her life, connecting the dots as she feels they connect. It is not "literature" with allusions, archetypes, and what have you (not that I diss literature). It is simply told. What is beautiful about the book is the author.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in the aid of developing nations and would press it on anyone thinking of traveling to a developing area to assist the locals. This is an inside view of the people you wish to help and an understanding is vital to your success in helping.
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai
Memoir
I've been at this one off and on for a while now. Not that it's boring or otherwise unpleasant, rather it takes some time to digest. Maathai is a remarkable woman and her thoughts and memories kept me thinking long after I finished a chapter. She tells her story like an African story teller. It is not the linear Beginning-Middle-End that is really uncharacteristic of most people's lives. Sometimes it got confusing and difficult to track what was happening when because she refers to the end from the very beginning. The book weaves and spirals through her life, connecting the dots as she feels they connect. It is not "literature" with allusions, archetypes, and what have you (not that I diss literature). It is simply told. What is beautiful about the book is the author.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in the aid of developing nations and would press it on anyone thinking of traveling to a developing area to assist the locals. This is an inside view of the people you wish to help and an understanding is vital to your success in helping.
There's a bit of a back log
My summer technically started about 3 weeks ago so I've got a small list built up of previously read books. Since this is a Friday night and I have no plans whatsoever, I might as well catch up.
Dingley Falls by Michael Malone
Novel
Gotta admit it was a bit of a disappointment. For those of you proverbial followers who are keeping up (with the now two posts so far) you will notice this is the same author as Handling Sin about which I unashamedly raved. Dingley Falls however falls far short of the mark. I was highly intrigued by the review shown on the front of the book (obviously hyped up in order to sell but sometimes they're true too) which stated "if not the Great American Novel, it is surely the Great American Comedy." Well it's neither, and don't call me Shirley. I still haven't figured out if the plot is more of a mystery or prose or a romance novel. Needless to say, it is not the book for me. For those of you followers who know me personally, you will know that the topic of sex leaves me fairly uncomfortable. I don't like sex scenes in movies, I don't like sex scenes in books, and I don't like sex scenes in conversation. In the words of Reader's Digest: "Sex is not a spectator sport"
Having never actually performed the sacred or carnal (depending on your view of it) act, I have no idea how I am supposed to respond to a description of sex, especially in written form. Should I be intrigued, disgusted, turned on? Thus the bounty of sex in this book, no matter whether it was between husband and wife, young lovers, or home wreckers, left me disengaged.
The plot was gripping at points, then lost at other times. I kept getting excited about the development only to get hung up again by some romance or something. Then the climax lasted a whole two pages (with the exception of the more poetically described, but still uncomfortable, sex scene). When I looked back in my memory for the story, I felt like I'd been dragged for miles of useless plot and clues that left me worn out and disgruntled. I'm horrible at predicting endings but I guessed every single outcome from the third chapter, making the 67th very disappointing indeed.
I won't say that I got ripped off however. I got this one at a close out sale of a Borders, marked down 80% so for the entertainment it offered, $4 wasn't too much to spend. Thus, proverbial follower, if all of this is what makes your clock tick then pick up Dingley Falls at your local bookstore. If you're like me, best to leave it alone.
Dingley Falls by Michael Malone
Novel
Gotta admit it was a bit of a disappointment. For those of you proverbial followers who are keeping up (with the now two posts so far) you will notice this is the same author as Handling Sin about which I unashamedly raved. Dingley Falls however falls far short of the mark. I was highly intrigued by the review shown on the front of the book (obviously hyped up in order to sell but sometimes they're true too) which stated "if not the Great American Novel, it is surely the Great American Comedy." Well it's neither, and don't call me Shirley. I still haven't figured out if the plot is more of a mystery or prose or a romance novel. Needless to say, it is not the book for me. For those of you followers who know me personally, you will know that the topic of sex leaves me fairly uncomfortable. I don't like sex scenes in movies, I don't like sex scenes in books, and I don't like sex scenes in conversation. In the words of Reader's Digest: "Sex is not a spectator sport"
Having never actually performed the sacred or carnal (depending on your view of it) act, I have no idea how I am supposed to respond to a description of sex, especially in written form. Should I be intrigued, disgusted, turned on? Thus the bounty of sex in this book, no matter whether it was between husband and wife, young lovers, or home wreckers, left me disengaged.
The plot was gripping at points, then lost at other times. I kept getting excited about the development only to get hung up again by some romance or something. Then the climax lasted a whole two pages (with the exception of the more poetically described, but still uncomfortable, sex scene). When I looked back in my memory for the story, I felt like I'd been dragged for miles of useless plot and clues that left me worn out and disgruntled. I'm horrible at predicting endings but I guessed every single outcome from the third chapter, making the 67th very disappointing indeed.
I won't say that I got ripped off however. I got this one at a close out sale of a Borders, marked down 80% so for the entertainment it offered, $4 wasn't too much to spend. Thus, proverbial follower, if all of this is what makes your clock tick then pick up Dingley Falls at your local bookstore. If you're like me, best to leave it alone.
Let's Start at the Very beginning...
Well here goes! I have never written more than a few one liner Facebook status updates to be published on the interwebs so this is, for me, a first.
The point of this enterprise is to essentially keep me reading. Supposedly there are people all over the globe who could access this blog and I don't want to let them down by never posting. These proverbial followers shall guilt me into completing the book list that I've been assembling for the past 21 years (Ok I didn't know how to read when I was born but I'm all about hyperbole). Now for the report on the first book I finished this summer:
Handling Sin by Michael Malone
Novel
This was my second reading of this book and it was even more entertaining than my first. I was recommending this one before I'd read it simply because my parents adored it so much. I have many memories of hearing my dad's giggle and my mom's guffaw from their bedroom downstairs on lazy mornings or from the inside the camper on one of our many camping trips. My mom received Handling Sin as a gift from a friend just before my grandpa's funeral "for when you want to laugh." She started into it on the plane ride home and attests that she was rolling in the aisle with laughter.
Handling Sin is a farcical comedy about a southerner racing towards the "American Dream" and his riotous family, orchestrated by his vulgar father, tripping him up. Malone weaves the narrative with comedic grace, keeping the story captivating and light-hearted, while addressing many of the deep-rooted issues in American society. Without assaulting the reader or presenting an argument, Malone deals with racism, sexism, death, life, belief and faith in God, heresy and blasphemy, marriage and infidelity. In short, he displays human nature without filter. The social commentary rings of Dickens with its comic relief and blunt honesty. I pass this onto you, proverbial follower, for when you need a laugh.
The point of this enterprise is to essentially keep me reading. Supposedly there are people all over the globe who could access this blog and I don't want to let them down by never posting. These proverbial followers shall guilt me into completing the book list that I've been assembling for the past 21 years (Ok I didn't know how to read when I was born but I'm all about hyperbole). Now for the report on the first book I finished this summer:
Handling Sin by Michael Malone
Novel
This was my second reading of this book and it was even more entertaining than my first. I was recommending this one before I'd read it simply because my parents adored it so much. I have many memories of hearing my dad's giggle and my mom's guffaw from their bedroom downstairs on lazy mornings or from the inside the camper on one of our many camping trips. My mom received Handling Sin as a gift from a friend just before my grandpa's funeral "for when you want to laugh." She started into it on the plane ride home and attests that she was rolling in the aisle with laughter.
Handling Sin is a farcical comedy about a southerner racing towards the "American Dream" and his riotous family, orchestrated by his vulgar father, tripping him up. Malone weaves the narrative with comedic grace, keeping the story captivating and light-hearted, while addressing many of the deep-rooted issues in American society. Without assaulting the reader or presenting an argument, Malone deals with racism, sexism, death, life, belief and faith in God, heresy and blasphemy, marriage and infidelity. In short, he displays human nature without filter. The social commentary rings of Dickens with its comic relief and blunt honesty. I pass this onto you, proverbial follower, for when you need a laugh.
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