Joseph Andrews, Pt. 2, Henry Fielding

Joseph Andrews, volume the second, was a bit of a let down from the humorous escapades and roaring good parody of the first volume. The second volume felt much more puritanical and preachy than the first, which to my sensibilities was not very enjoyable. The female love interest became less and less enjoyable as the reader got to know her, as she was little more than a helpless virgin trying to cling onto her purity long enough to marry Joseph so he could get her in the sack ('cause, you know, no one respectable would marry a rape victim back then). The parson was equal parts absent-minded professor, puritanical religious nut, and violent brawler in defense of his friends, which was at times an ungainly mix of characteristics. Some of the plot twists seemed like they may have been parodies mocking the unbelievable plots of the time; if they weren't then they were just poor plotting on the part of the author.

I do feel that most likely with more background and history in the literature of the era, specifically the cheap stuff that did not outlast the times (the paperback garbage of the day, so to speak), then perhaps the parody and humor of the second volume would have made sense to me. As it was, I just found it a bit dusty, preachy, boring, unbelievable, and occasionally offensive. I would give the second volume a two-and-a-half out of five, at best.

Review of "Savy Auntie" by Melanie Notkin

Savy Auntie is both a phrase and a movement, both begun by author Melanie Notkin, that gives a place and meaning to a growing demographic of men and women; the childless and child-free that still want to love the kids in their lives. Melanie Notkin is careful to include Moms with kids in her Savy Auntie description, but I personally feel that the Savy Auntie (or uncle) moniker is much more needed for those of us who cannot fit into the cultural boxes of mother/father.

As for the book, Savy Auntie, it wasn't quite what I expected, though in some ways it was probably more than I anticipated. The book is essentially a condensed guide to "parenting" condensed because as an auntie/uncle you don't need to know as much as a parent does. It guides the reader through infancy, toddler/kindergarten, and beyond, with tips and tricks for those who want to be very involved in a child's life without being a parent. As someone who is not an auntie yet, but an older sister (and child-free), I didn't find the book to have much relevancy to this stage in my life, and as the oldest of six kids I found much of the information to be "old hat" anyway. But it was still a very engaging read, and most likely an invaluable resource for those first-time aunties and uncles who are nervous and don't know what to do; never fear! Melanie has the answers for you!

I would give the book a four out of five. The only additional thing I would have liked to see would have been more focus on relating to older kids/teenagers, as that has more relevance to my life right now than babies and toddlers. But an excellent resource and great inspiration and encouragement for those who want to love kids but not have them!

Joseph Andrews Pt. 1 by Henry Fielding

Joseph Andrews is, for those of you who know your history of western literature (specifically American and British) is sort of a parody answer to the novel Pamela by Samuel Richardson. According to the author, the style of the prose was also greating inspired by Cervantes Don Quixote. But enough about history, let's get down to the juicy bits.

This book was a surprisingly quick read, for an older bit of literature (disclaimer; I've been told I'm a surprisingly quick reader). The story, though obviously meant to be comic and over the top in many places, moved quickly enough to keep me interested and turning the pages. There were a few places where I wasn't sure if the author was intending to send-up the over-the-top morals of his day or defend them (and there was one whole chapter of sermonizing by one of the characters that I skipped over) but the plot itself was engaging. The main character was, to me, not at all relatable, but as it was comedy and parody that worked okay anyway.

There were points where, as a modern feminist, I was a little uncomfortable with the surface moral of the book (which often implied that women are all just walking vaginas out to entrap a man). I wasn't quite sure if this was poking fun at the morals of Pamela (which suggested that man are all walking dicks and women must be careful not to be entrapped) or if the writer perhaps believed it to a degree. But, setting that aside, the story was enjoyable, at points laugh out loud funny, and an interesting bit of history trivia to add to my internal database. I would give the book a 3.5 out of 5.

Shopgirl by Steve Martin

Steve Martin, yes, the same Steve Martin from Roxanne, the Jerk, and many other hilarious and touching films. Steve Martin the comedian and actor extraordinaire. Steve Martin the now accomplished and recognized writer, with a brilliant sense of prose as well as a searing insight into the human mind and heart.

Shopgirl is a short story or novelette (I honestly am not sure which one, as it was much, much shorten than the modern novel but a little lengthy for a short story). It has been turned into a movie (with Steve Martin in it, ironically enough), although I have not seen it yet. I have a strict book-first-then-the-movie policy. Okay, it's kind of strict most of the time.

The book was beautiful, and despite the small size of the volume it really packed a punch in terms of emotional impact and memorability. I really felt the characters, for lack of a better expression (hell, I'm still a young writer, cut me some slack). I was surprised by the book in many places, by the twists and turns it took, but it was not a disappointment. In the end I was supremely content with the way the book ended, even though I could not have predicted it. That made it all the more enjoyable and delightful a story. A great read, and a book I'm sure I will reread over the years. Steve Martin has hit it out of the park.

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

This is not the kind of book people typically expect me to read, although that may be because the world is under some sort of delusion that since I am a cute and small 20-something that means I must be this innocent virginal character that is perfectly vanilla and suburban. But I digress.

The book is, in case you didn't know, actually a short story, though with enough charge and content to reasonably make a good movie out of (actually, it's easier to fit a whole short story into a movie than a novel nowadays). I did not see the movie, however, though I am an admirer of the director, Ang Lee. I have this weak stomach thing and rarely see R-rated movies, but I'm just a big pacifist, so back to the book.

The book is pretty bare-bones, but beautifully descriptive of the area. It is about two cowboys who end up beginning an affair on "Brokeback Mountain" when they are herding livestock there together. The book manages to explore themes of love and social expectations which have relevance beyond just LGBT fans. It was a very moving piece of fiction, and even if (or perhaps especially if) you don't want to watch the movie, I recommend the book; it will give you a greater understanding of a great piece of literature and culture. I cannot recommend highly enough immersing yourself in understanding the LGBT culture especially if, like me, you identify as straight.

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

Okay, I will admit that I started this book mostly because my mother-in-law said that the level of language in it was "foul." A) I like books with language, and B) I like doing things my mother-in-law disapproves of. With that confession out of the way, let's move on.

This book was fantastic. Real, honest, funny, down-to-earth, and completely delicious. I devoured this book, almost literally. For the several days it took me to read it, it literally went everywhere with me; I read it on the bus, waiting in line, sitting at the doctor's office (hell, I'll even admit to reading it when my husband was talking to me and thought I was listening to him; yes, I am a little ashamed, but it was a really damn good book). I finally finished the book at about two in the morning. My husband had gone to bed and I was sitting up by candlelight, reading feverishly (I shit you not, I really did that; and no, I don't do that often, I am not a throwback to the dark ages, that's my mother-in-law, remember).

In fact, this book helped remind me of how much I love food, why I love food, and that I can be a modern woman (not a fifties housewife) and still love to cook without having to give up my modern ideas of what it means to be a "woman" (which, I'll be honest, I'm still figuring out what the hell that means; but I know it doesn't mean cooking, cleaning, and baby-making/rearing).

So, if you can handle a little language (well, let's be honest, a lot of language) and you have any love of food at all, to any degree, this is a fabulous, fabulous, fabulous read (and it is about so much more than cooking too). I highly recommend this book.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

First, I am aware that the book was published (at least in my country, the good old U. S. A., as The Sorceror's Stone; I am also aware that the author preferred her original title, and out of respect for her, I am referring to it by her title).

Second, I am aware that everyone under the sun has either read this book, read a review about this book, or talked to someone who has read this book or read a review about this book. There is no one besides hermits and those who live under rocks who has not heard of this book, and its six sequels. So I am trodding all-ready trodden ground, and I know I will not do nearly the justice that this book deserves, or that others before me have done. But I can't really call myself a book reviewing blog without addressing these marvelous books that have turned into an international phenomenon.

I first read the book, or rather my dad read it aloud to us, when I was fifteen. It was a magical, captivating experience of a book (especially since it had taken years for my dad to be willing to expose us to something so controversial, since he was at that time a pastor; but don't get me started on that barrel of monkeys). It was so moving that in the next week I read the second, third, and fourth books. The third book I read, from start to finish, in under three hours straight. I was hooked.

I stopped, for the time being, after the fourth book largely because my dad still wasn't sure he was entirely comfortable with the series (come on, dad, it really isn't a big deal) but also partly because the main character was growing up into a teenager. And if there is one thing I never, ever had much patience for (haha, pun) it's teenage boys. Even when I was a teenager and had crushes on teenage boys, I still couldn't stand most of them (including the ones I had crushes on).

Eventually I did read the fifth and sixth as well, but I still refuse to read the seventh (I literally could not stand Harry any more after the sixth book, plus I knew the seventh would just be sad, sad, sad; I could just feel it). But I'm a bit off topic.

Ahem. The Philosopher's Stone. A gem of a book, one that every child and every adult should read or have read to them at least once in their life. This is a children's classic that people will still be reading in fifty, a hundred, two hundred years (and beyond). This book inspires me; inspires me to read, inspires me to write, inspires me to live my life to the fullest. I literally cannot impress upon you how amazing this book is, and if you are one of those few people who hasn't read it, you really really must. Really.

Unless you are one of those religious nuts who thinks it promotes sorcery or witchcraft (in which case I would have to say you are dead wrong and closing yourself off to a moving and central piece of modern literature and culture; reconsider, because it was actually written by a woman struggling with christian faith, not with wicca or satanism).

To sum up. Read this book. Read this book. Also, read this book.

The Wind in the Willows

I apologize for my absence. My husband has been recovering from an accident involving a broken hip and surgery for the last two and a half months, so I hope you'll excuse my negligence.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame is a classic piece of literature, generally classed as children's lit or family friendly, but as an adult (without kids and never intending to, thank you very much) I found the story charming, beautifully rendered, and very telling. It had much to say about pride, about happiness, about addiction and learning from your mistakes. But then, nobody reads books for their morals anymore. No, it wasn't the morals that I loved, it was the brilliantly convincing story line as well as the moving, lyrical prose and the explosively lovely setting. It was exactly my kind of book, and it was moving. I devoured the book in just over 24 hrs.

I could keep going, but one of two things would happen. Either I would spoil the plot (in which case, you would want to stop reading) or I would just go on saying the same lovely things about the book (and in that case, you still might as well stop reading). So I will just end this post saying, this book was amazing, one of my new favorite books of all time, and you really, really, really should read this book!

Oh, and this book is free to read on the kindle. So now you have no excuses.

Kana de Manga Special Edition, a Book Review

Kana de Manga Special Edition: Japanese Sound FX is a delightful read by Glenn Kardy and Chihiro Hattori. Not only is is cute and engaging, but it really helped advance both my Japanese language study and my understanding of the Japanese culture. The book is sort of a follow-up to the original Kana de Manga book, so if you haven't read that one you should probably start there (unless, like me, you already have a basic grasp of both hiragana and katakana).

The book is divided into five sections with different categories of sound effects (animal, human, mechanical, nature, and other) which makes it handy to search for a specific sound effect (if for some reason you need to know it). I also thought that the layout of the book made it easy to make your own flashcards of sounds that you want to learn or work on (which I did).

As a reference for fun sound effects or a motivator to practice, practice, practice your Nihongo, this book is great! A great gift idea for anyone interested in Japanese language or manga/anime (and yes, that is a hint to my family and friends ^_^).

Common Sense, a Book Review

Common Sense by Thomas Paine is--for those of you that don't know--an important piece of American history. A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine, it was released in 1776 (an important date, for those of you who don't know your history and/or live under a rock). While the pamphlet dealt with the immediate issue of revolt from England, Paine expresses thoughts about government that--while in some ways based on antiquated ideas--can still bear contemplating today. Paine also gives us a glimpse into some of the thoughts, feelings, and ideas of the time, invaluable from a historian's perspective (or so I would assume, though I make no claims to be a historian).

Paine's work can be a little daunting at first. Even though the work is short, the language is more formal and older than what we are used to reading today, and while for some it may seem like a lot of hard work, I found it got easier as I got into it. Paine eloquently expresses thoughts about freedom, liberty, and government that many of us will find easy to identify with still.

On the other hand, some of his thoughts on government did not make as much sense to me, although that may be because I am not particularly well read on political theories. Paine was a man who advocated for a system of government very like the one we have to this day with electors choosing a president. While the system has worked I don't think I agree with the theory behind the practice, which is that the masses do not know enough about what is good for them to be trusted with the direct responsibility of choosing a president.

But if one only ever read books that one agreed entirely with, one would never have expanding horizons or increased knowledge. So why not give it a try? I read it on my kindle and it was only 100 pages on my kindle (and normally the kindle breaks one page into two or three or more) so it's a pretty short read. I recommend it especially to anyone interested in American history, government, or politics.

Misogyny; The World's Oldest Prejudice (A Review)

Misogyny by Jack Holland was for me, a riveting read, made all the more riveting because it was written by a man with the same vehement passions against misogyny that I myself feel. While there are clearly expressed points of judgment against or in favor of certain actions taken in history by misogynists, I felt that the author in general was able to take a step back and place the actions within the greater framework of history (in a way that I myself probably would not have been able to do). For that alone, I applaud the author of this book.

But equally as impressive was the author's commitment to the facts, as plainly evidenced by the mountains of research done to compile such a complete, if somewhat abridged, history of his subject. I found myself jotting down the names of numerous sources, intrigued by the references he gave and curious to find out more than the abridged history he was able to fit in 300 pages. This is one of the few reads that compelled me to go through the entire "For Further Reading" section to find some more good reads.

What I valued most out of this book, though, was the compassion of the author and the hope that he gave that we can do something about this. Even though the author did not attempt to lay out any clear course of action for the future, examining closely the phenomena of misogynistic practices in our world puts us that much closer to a day without prejudice, hatred, or fear. Excellent book!

Polite Lies; a review

Polite Lies by Kyoko Mori is a brilliantly written work of non-fiction (autobiographical) and a moving look into the Japanese culture and one woman's struggle between the Japanese culture and that of the Midwest (interesting juxtaposition, yes?). I'm obviously fascinated by the Japanese culture, so when I saw this book I had to read it. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone (and I can't capture any of her subject matter as well as she can) so this will probably be a short review.

The book is only 12 chapters, but some of them are dense chapters. Each one is arranged into short essays (sort of) and they are all arranged around one theme, given in the title of the chapter (i.e., family, home, rituals, to name a few). I thought that was a really good way to arrange her essays to give the book a good flow which made it very readable. I admit, I devoured the book in just two days.

Mori's prose is very easy to read, she covers the facts well, but it's also very moving prose, not just cold hard facts about her life or the cultures she has lived in. It was interesting to me how she managed to be very emotional and very detached at the same time, especially considering that the events she was discussing were emotional events from her own life. It gave the work a lot of personality, and I felt I got to know the author and her personality from reading the book. It felt very honest, very sincere, very real. Overall great read, and I'm now looking to pick up a copy of her novel and read it as well.