Seabiscuit

Title: Seabiscuit: An American Legend
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Genre: Biography
Pages (words): 453 (119,056)
Readability: 7.7
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Seabiscuit is a racing horse unlike any other, and not in a good way.  He's built like a tank and runs with an odd gait.  But Tom Smith sees something in him that no one else does, and decides to train him to see what he can do.  Seabiscuit: An American Legend details the horse's historic rise and ultimate triumph in thoroughbred racing, during which he becomes an icon of hope for America in the Depression.
Thoughts: Seabiscuit's story is the thing that a movie studio dreams of: a runt horse beats the odds to become a champion.  The fact that the story is true is just icing on the cake.  And, just like everyone else, I'm a sucker for the underdog, so I really enjoyed this book.  But, although I certainly enjoyed the story (and the book is very well written, I might add), I knew the basic plot already from Seabiscuit the movie.  But the book had so much more detail than the movie, and that's what made it captivating.  I was fascinated by the intricacies of horse racing and the back story of the men who owned, trained, and rode Seabiscuit.  It was almost enough to make me want to watch the next Kentucky Derby.  Really a great book.
Disclaimer: The jockeys and trainers tend to use some rather coarse language, but besides that this book is quite clean.

The book list is back!

Confession:  When school started all recreational reading stopped for me for about a month as I tried to adjust to having a new baby and absolutely insane amounts of homework to attend to.  After a few weeks of reading only economics textbooks (with such thrilling titles as Microeconomic Theory, and Dynamic Programming in Economic Applications), I was going nuts.  In my desperation I grabbed a book that was sure to be both light and captivating at the same time: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  The plan was to re-read just this first book in the Harry Potter series and then get back to my regular reading whenever I could find the time.  Well, all you Potter-philes out there can probably guess what happened.  When the first book was done, I thought I'd try the second one since, after all, it had been over seven years since I read it the first time.  Well, one thing led to another and yesterday I finally finished the seventh and last book in the series.  That's why the book list has been at a standstill for the past six months.

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I've got big news for the book list in 2009:  For Christmas I got a sweet mp3 player (the Sansa Clip) which I will use to listen to audiobooks on my commute.  As it is, at least half of my commute is walking and waiting for the bus, so being able to listen for all of this time will allow me to get through a lot more than I could last semester.  I'm already most of the way through Seabiscuit, and I've got East of Eden all lined up and ready to go.  In short, the book list is back!

The Grapes of Wrath

Title: The Grapes of Wrath
Author: John Steinbeck
Genre: Classic (1939)
Pages (words): 619 (N/A)
Readability: N/A
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Steinbeck's classic depression-era novel follows the Joad family as they are forced to leave their Oklahoma homestead and head to California in search of a better life. As they encounter the harsh reality of an American divided into Haves and Have-nots, they battle to simply sustain themselves and maintain their dignity.
Thoughts: I tried to read this book a couple of years ago and couldn't get past the first 100 pages. Jenn also started it but didn't get far before giving up. So this time I was determined to read it, like it or not, because it just seemed like I needed to read this book in order to be well-read. The first 100 pages were a real struggle again, but I pushed through and I'm really glad that I did. I'm not sure why I disliked the preliminaries so much...I just got really bored with it. But eventually the plot begins to move, and by the end of the book I was really enjoying it a lot. It has so much to say about human nature, ranging from how awful we can be when we have power, to how noble we are when we band together. The ending (I won't ruin it) was especially poignant. It's definitely a landmark book, and a worthwhile read, even if I didn't give it five stars.

As a sidenote, I couldn't help but compare The Grapes of Wrath to How Green Was My Valley, which I reviewed just before this book. Both were written in 1939, and both are viewed as books that define a nation in the midst of major transitions: How Green Was My Valley chronicles Wales' transition from small farming communities to an integral part of the United Kingdom, while The Grapes of Wrath is the Depression-era novel for the U.S. Both novels are extremely moving, and have a lot to say about human nature. But How Green Was My Valley made me want to be better, while The Grapes of Wrath simply taught me a lot about people in general. The Grapes of Wrath a worthwhile read, to be sure, but for me, How Green Was My Valley is the better book.
Disclaimer: This book has plenty of "farm language," and some references to sex, but nothing explicit. It deserves a rather mild warning.

How Green Was My Valley

Title: How Green Was My Valley
Author: Richard Llewellyn
Genre: Classic (written in 1939)
Pages (words): 494 (N/A)
Readability: N/A
Rating (out of 5 stars): *****
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: A coming-of-age novel about growing up in a Welsh coal-mining town, How Green Was My Valley follows Huw Morgan as he struggles with the reality that the way of life he has known is slowly being absorbed by the modern world. Through hardships and trials, both personal and town-wide, Huw's family is stretched and torn, and Huw struggles to make sense of it all and find his place.
Thoughts: Okay, I really struggled writing a description of this book, so don't judge it by that! This is only the third 5-star book that I've put on this list. I really enjoyed it a lot. It is narrated by the protagonist, Huw Morgan, who is only a boy for most of the book. This puts an incredible viewpoint on all of the events that happen, bringing issues which are important to a 12-year-old into sharp focus while other, more adult issues are left without much detail. That's not to say the book is childish; I just really enjoyed the writing style and it actually brought some things to the forefront that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. So, why five stars? 1) I loved the writing style. It was utterly Welsh, through and through. You'll know what I mean when you read it. 2) The book made me want to be a better person. For me, that's a requirement of a 5-star book. 3) It was extremely engaging. There isn't really a single climax in the book but more just a series of events in Huw's life that are all their own short stories. Each chapter had some tight spot that either he or someone else had to get out of, and that made it hard to put down. All in all, How Green Was My Valley is an incredible book, an important addition to English literature.
Disclaimer: How Green Was My Valley contains some light swearing, plenty of fist fights, and some sexual material. Although it does deal with sex, everything is very tastefully written and I was never uncomfortable while I read it. However, I probably wouldn't recommend it to someone under 16 or so.

Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood

Title: Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years
Authors: Jim and Charles Fay
Genre: Nonfiction Advice
Pages (words): 175 (N/A)
Readability:N/A
Rating (out of 5 stars): Advice: **** Writing: *
Reviewed by:Ben
Description: Gives advice on parenting techniques. Love and Logic is a method of dealing with disobedient children that was developed by the Fay's and they lay out their advice for parenting younger children in this book. The main idea is to (a) always show love towards your children and (b) help them solve their own problems with logic, hence "Love & Logic."
Thoughts: Jenn was introduced to the Love and Logic method back in her teaching days, and she is reading this book right now for her book club. I figured I'd better read it too so that I didn't screw up all that she was trying to do with Henry (and soon baby #2)! First, the bad: I really couldn't stand the writing style of this book. Okay, the authors aren't English majors, they're child psychologists, so I can cut them some slack. But really, a lot of things in the book were really cheesy and the whole book seemed more like a giant sales pitch even though they aren't trying to sell anything. The other thing that bugged me was that it was full of anecdotes that "proved" that their methods work, but there was no real data at all. Maybe that's just the academic in me coming out, but that bothered me. So, the writing in the book only gets 1 star. The good news is that the book is short, so I got through it quickly. The other good news is that I think that the actual advice is really good (worth 4 stars, even!). Much of what the book taught coincided with my personal beliefs about parenting, namely, that we should give children as many opportunities to choose for themselves as possible. We should even let them choose incorrectly and let them face the consequences of those mistakes. Even though that's what I wanted to do as a father before reading Love and Logic, the book gave tons of practical examples of how to actually do that with your children. Jenn and I have been trying a few things that the book suggests and have already seen a big difference in Henry as a result. I truly believe that if we follow what it advocates that we'll have a lot higher chance of being successful as parents, and enjoying parenthood more at the same time. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a parent--it will make a huge difference! Just be forewarned that the writing is pretty cheesy! :)
Disclaimer: None.

A Room With A View

Title: A Room With A View
Author: E. M. Forster
Genre: Classic (early 20th century)
Pages (words): 240 (65,952)
Readability: 6.1
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: A classic late 1800's/early 1900's novel about a girl who is beginning to discover herself and is forced to decide whether she will abide by the rules that society has set, or whether she will push them.
Thoughts: I have to admit, it took me a while to begin to really enjoy this book. I'm not sure why that was. Forster's writing style is a little bit vague (poetic?) and it was difficult for me to get used to. But, once the plot started moving along, I really enjoyed the book a lot. More than I really expected to, actually. I think that there are some good nuggets of wisdom hidden in some of the dialogue, and I felt that I connected to a few of the characters very well. Overall, I would give it 4 stars for plot, and 3 for style, so 3 1/2 stars overall seems fair. If you like Jane Austen or Edith Wharton, you'll really enjoy this book.
Disclaimer: None.

The Tipping Point

Title: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Genre: Non-fiction (popular science)
Pages (words): 294 (68,870)
Readability: 10.1
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: The Tipping Point is about epidemics of all sorts, exploring topics from the spread of STDs to the stellar success of Sesame Street. Gladwell summarizes research in epidemiology and concludes that in many cases very small changes push small movements past a Tipping Point and into worldwide epidemics.

Thoughts: I liked this book, but not as much as Blink. Still, I think that Gladwell does a great job of mixing together technical studies and particular case studies into a single theme that is both interesting and surprising at the same time. In The Tipping Point, sometimes he goes a bit far trying to make connections between different thoughts, but I think that his overall point that little things are often the difference makers is a good one. If you're looking for an interesting, easy-to-read, non-fiction book, this would be a good bet.
Disclaimer: None.

The Moonstone

Title: The Moonstone
Author: Wilkie Collins
Genre: Mystery/Detective
Pages (words): 482 (172,929)
Readability: 8.3
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: A large, mystic diamond from India is given to Rachel Verinder for her birthday. The next morning she awakes to find it has been stolen! Who took it? The family calls on the famed Sergeant Cuff to solve the mystery, but the story twists enough to fool even him.
Thoughts: T.S. Eliot called this book, "The first and greatest of English detective novels." I don't claim to know all that much about English detective novels, but I would have to agree that this is the best one that I have read. The author, who happened to be good friends with Charles Dickens, does a marvelous job of weaving the narrative and leaving you completely in the dark for most of the novel. Not only that, but there are several sub-plots (love! greed!) that really move the story along while Collins presents all of the evidence. Add on top of that some great writing, and you've got a super book. We got this book from Jenni Davis, so a big thanks to her!
Disclaimer: None.

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling

Title: Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
Author: Richard Lyman Bushman
Genre: Biography
Pages: 561

Readability: N/A
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Many are calling this the definitive biography on Joseph Smith. Bushman (an emeritus Columbia professor, as well as a patriarch in the Mormon church) has spent his whole career researching church history, and beautifully pieces together all of his work in this book.

Thoughts: The subtitle to Rough Stone Rolling is "A cultural biography of Mormonism's founder." Growing up in the church, I never really thought about the culture that Joseph Smith grew up in, and what I really loved about this book is that it tells about Joseph Smith in the context of 19th century frontier America. Every chapter highlights how Joseph was a product of his age and geography, including the dirt and grit incumbent with living on the frontier. Of course Joseph was a "rough stone." At the same time, Bushman is careful to also show the ways in which Joseph was a visionary and revolutionary man, completely different from anyone else in any era. This book did nothing but increase my respect for Joseph as a man and a prophet, while at the same time adding a lot color to his personality that I didn't know about.
Disclaimer: None, except that this book is a long 561 pages. Unfortunately the text stats were not available on Amazon, but I'm sure this book is in the 98th or 99th percentile for length. And that's not even counting the nearly 200 pages of notes after the epilogue! Personally, I felt it was worth every page, but you should know that it's a bit of a project.

A Christmas Carol

Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Holiday/Classic
Pages (words): 86 (28,393)

Readability: 6.7
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: This classic tale tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the original Christmas humbug. Scrooge practically has no heart in him at all, until visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come show him the consequences of his steely demeanor. When he awakes on Christmas morning he is a new person compeltely, and spreads Christmas cheer the rest of his life.
Thoughts: This has really taken me a long time to post--sorry. I think that this story is familiar to almost everyone, but it is still worth an hour to read it Dickens' orignal version. I read it during my commute the last two days before Christmas, and really enjoyed it. Great moral, great writing, fun story.
Disclaimer: None.

2007 Books in Review

(Ben) I've read more this year than any year of my life due to ample reading time as I commute to work every day, so I wanted to write a "Year in Review" post to sum up my opinions on what I've read. Here goes:

I read 31 books this year, all of which have reviews posted on this blog. Jenn read 3 others that I haven't gotten around to, so they're not included in these statistics, although I definitely want to give an honorable mention to Crossing to Safety which she rated as a 5 star book. I've actually read Crossing to Safety, but it was quite a while ago and I can't remember it all that well. Anyway, of my 31 books I've broken them down into the following genres:

Classics - 8 books
Fantasy - 6 books
Memoirs - 2 books
Modern - 4 books
Mystery - 4 books
Non-fiction - 5 books
Philosophy - 1 book
Young Adult - 1 book

There was 1 book, The Pit: A Story of Chicago, that I didn't know how to classify. It's not really a classic because not that many people have even heard of it, but it was written about 80 years ago so you can hardly call it modern either. Let's put it in its own category: Muckraker. That's the best I can do with that one! Also, you may wonder what I mean by "modern." Books in this genre would be (1) fiction (2) written within the last 15 or 20 years and (3) not fantasy, mystery, or any of the other genres. In other words, this genre is basically just the modern version of the "classics" genre.

On average, I gave 3.6 stars (out of 5) to these 31 books. In my head, when I'm rating a book, I like to think of 3 as an average book, meaning it wasn't really remarkable in any way, but it wasn't painful to read either. So I feel pretty good about an average of 3.6, since I hope that I read better than average books in general, but I'm not being an easy rater and just giving them all 5 stars either. Remember with these ratings that it's just my general impression of the book, so there's no strict scale for how I rate them. One book might get an extra star for being really well-written, another for making me laugh, another for impacting my life. The best books (the 5-stars) combine several or all of these elements. Also, I tend to add extra weight to the "impacting my life" category, since that's the main reason why I read.

You can get a feel for my preferences by looking at average stars by genre:
Classics - 4.3
Fantasy - 3.3
Memoirs - 3
Muckraker - 4
Modern - 4.3
Mystery - 2.6
Non-fiction - 3.3
Philosophy - 2.5
Young Adult - 3.5

Clearly, I'm a fan of the classics and modern fiction, and fantasy and mystery aren't as much my cup of tea. Some of them I liked (e.g. Harry Potter!), but most weren't really my top books, and a few I really disliked.

One more interesting tid-bit, and then I'll get to the Best of 2007 list. Amazon.com has this really cool feature called "Text Stats" on all books that have the "Search Inside" feature. If you haven't seen this, you should check it out. Here is an example from the last book I read, The Prince and Pauper, by Mark Twain. In text stats they tell you things like how "readable" a books is, how complex the words in it are, and how many words or characters are in it. They also tell you how many words per dollar, so you know if you're getting good value! :) Anyway, the average length of the books I read this year was 93,642 words, which is longer than about 70% of all the books in Amazon. My longest book was The Three Musketeers, at 228,000 words. The shortest? Seedfolks, with only 11,478 words. For the statistically minded, the correlation between length of books and the number of stars I gave it is only 0.104, which means that I slightly preferred longer books to shorter ones, but not by much.

The other text stat that I looked at was readability. Readability is an index that tells what grade level would be required to understand the book. Of the books I read, the average grade level was 7.25, so an eighth-grader could understand most of what I read. I'm a little bit disappointed in that, because I feel like the books I read aren't the easiest ones out there, but what can you do? If it makes any difference, Jenn and I think the grade levels are a bit low. For instance, a 5th grader might understand all of the words in Their Eyes Were Watching God, but I really don't think they'd get the idea of the book at all. At any rate, the hardest book I read was The Great Bridge, which is rated at grade 11.4. The easiest was Their Eyes Were Watching God, at 4.3. The correlation between readability and number of stars here was even smaller: 0.08. That means that the difficulty of the book basically had no impact on how much I liked it.

Okay, on to the list! Of the books I read, only three got 5 stars, so there is no surprise that they would be my top three from this year (links are to my reviews of these books, genre in parentheses):

My Antonia (Classic), My Name is Asher Lev (Classic), These is My Words (Modern)

I would highly recommend any of these books to anyone. They all have different strong points, but all of them really changed the way I tried to live my life this year in a positive way.

I also picked the top book in each genre, not counting the above top 3 books (given that the genre had more than 1 book in it!):

Classic: For Whom the Bell Tolls (barely beats out The Three Musketeers)
Fantasy: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Memoir: A Moveable Feast
Modern: The Kite Runner
Mystery: The Big Sleep
Non-fiction: The Great Bridge

Last and least, what was the worst book of the year? The Harlequin Tea Set, by Agatha Christie. I really like Christie, but this is just not her best book. This is one of the few this year that I didn't actually finish it was so bad.

I'd love to hear your comments and thoughts in the comments section of this post! Here's to another year of good literature!

The Prince and the Pauper

Title: The Prince and the Pauper
Author: Mark Twain
Genre: Classic
Pages: 224
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Towards the end of King Henry VIII's reign, his son Edward, the Prince of Wales, by accident changes places with a young pauper boy in London. Both the Prince and the Pauper learn valuable lessons what what it is like to be in the other's shoes as they get through difficult situations and cope with things they've never experienced before.
Thoughts: Mark Twain is just a great storyteller. There were several times I laughed out loud at the way he described things in this book, and the story was very enjoyable all the way through. The moral of the story is a good one, too: it pays to view things from someone else's perspective. The Prince and the Pauper was a pretty fast read, and highly enjoyable as well.
Disclaimer: None at all.

The Three Musketeers

Title: The Three Musketeers
Author: Alexandre Dumas (translated by Richard Pevear)
Genre: Classic Adventure
Pages: 673
Rating (out of 5 stars): **** 1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: D'Artagnan goes to Paris to make his fortune and ends up friend with three of the king's musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. The four men soon become inseparable as they work together to thwart the plans of Cardinal Richelieu and the treacherous Milady.
Thoughts: It took me about a week to read all 673 pages of this book. Maybe I'm just a kid at heart who wants to swordfight and save the damsel in distress, but I really liked this book a lot! There is quite of a bit of action throughout the plot, as well as plenty of mystery and intrigue that makes it difficult to determine what will happen next. Not only did I like the excellent plot, but I really liked Dumas' writing as well; he used great phrases and perfect dialogue (and I give a tip of the hat to Richard Pevear for excellent translation of the version I read). Anyway, if you've been looking for an exciting, fun read, this is your book. As a sidenote, I enjoyed Dumas' other famous book, The Count of Monte Cristo, even more than The Three Musketeers. Both are great books.
Disclaimer: As you can imagine, there is some blood and gore in this book. Also, several of the men have mistresses, although Dumas is completely modest in his treatment of that aspect of the way things were back then. Lastly, there dialogue is filled with French oaths (sacrebleu!), so if that offends you, you might want to stay away from this one!

P.S. Can anyone tell me how Cervantes' Don Quixote might compare to Dumas' work? I'm thinking of reading that one in the near future...thanks.
P.P.S. Blogger isn't letting me upload any images at the moment, no picture with this one. Sorry! BCI

These is My Words

Title: These is My Words
Author: Nancy Turner
Genre: fictional diary, family, romance
Pages: 384
Rating (out of 5 stars): *****
Reviewed by: Jenn
Description: This book is a novel written in diary format, as Sarah Prine tells her own story of living in the Arizona Territories from 1881-1901. Over this course of time, the rugged, uneducated, vivacious young Sarah grows into an informed, reflective, sincere (and still feisty) woman. The novel shows the dangers, excitement, injustice, hardship, loss, charm, romance, and value of life in the territories.

Thoughts: This is one of my favorite books of the past year . . . I loved every page of it! Somehow when you read 20 years'-worth of a woman's diary, you grow to know her and love her (and the people in her life) so much. I felt myself laughing aloud every couple of pages about either Sarah's stories or her blunt way of expressing herself. And then I couldn't help but cry every few pages either as I mourned with her, loved with her, and lost with her. This book is a very rich, filling book -- perfect for a fall or winter read. I also must mention that it is one of the sweetest and most fun love stories I have ever read.

Disclaimer: This book has quite a bit of violence and trauma with all the fights between the Indians and the settlers. It also includes some remarks about marital intimacy, very tastefully and subtly described.

The Woman Warrior

Title: The Woman Warrior
Author: Maxine Hong Kingston
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 209
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Memoir of a Chinese-American girl who struggles to rectify her Chinese world at home with the American world around her. As her parents attempt to bring her up as a proper Chinese girl, she is also faced with the peer pressure of becoming American at school. Eventually she is forced to decide which world she is really going to live in.

Thoughts: Each section of The Woman Warrior tells a different story: some of them are fictional Chinese fables, some are from the girl's life. This gives the book a very disjointed feel, and I have to admit that I didn't really enjoy the fictional parts. They were kind of weird with lots of ghosts and dragons and such. On the other hand, I don't claim to know much about Eastern culture, and I'm sure that would have helped me out. However, the parts that were actually real were very enjoyable and well written. I also thought that the book gave an interesting view of the real culture clash that immigrants face when they move to the US. How tightly will they hold to their traditions? How much will the assimilate into America? I can see how this would be extremely difficult for both the parents, who want to hold on to the old ways, and the children who are trying to fit into the new. Overall it was a good book, but a challenging one as well.
Disclaimer: The very first section of the book tells about a girl in China who commits suicide after being ostracized from the community for adultery. There was nothing worse than PG-13 in this section, but it did make me just a little uncomfortable. The rest of the book was very clean.

O Pioneers!

Title: O Pioneers!
Author: Willa Cather
Genre: Classic, set in late 19th century Nebraska
Pages: 161
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Sorry if you thought this was about Mormon pioneers. This book is about the early settlers on the plains in Nebraska, who were mostly immigrants from Europe. In particular the plot follows a girl named Alexandra, who immigrated with her family when she was small. She grows up, takes over her father's farm, and successfully manages to tame the land, but not without tragedy along the way.
Thoughts: I would say that, more than anything, this is a novel about how different people cope with what life gives them. All of the characters in the book face some sort of tragedy, ranging from death to the loss of crops for a season. But each person deals with their lot in life differently. Some lash out at other people, some fight against it, and others accept their fate and make of it what they can. Cather does an incredible job of winding all of this around a single plot line, and adding in beautiful description of the land at the time. The book is somewhat slow moving at first, but by the end I stayed up late to finish it. Overall, My Antonia (also by Cather) is a better, more moving, story, but O Pioneers! isn't bad at all.
Disclaimer: None.

A Moveable Feast

Title: A Moveable Feast
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 207
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: A short memoir by Hemingway describing the early years of his career as a writer while living in Paris. It talks about his associations with several other notable authors of the time (James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, etc.), who were also living as expatriates in Europe. The memoirs also describe how happy his relationship was with his wife, despite his struggles to keep his head above water financially as he writes his first novels and short stories.
Thoughts: I enjoyed reading this A Moveable Feast because it gave a very interesting view into Hemingway's life. I guess it was particularly poignant knowing that Hemingway committed suicide about many years later, but he seems really quite happy during this period of his life. The very last sentence sums it up quite nicely: "But this is how Paris was in the early days when were very poor and very happy." He actually wrote the book shortly before he died (it was published posthumously), and I think we all have a tendency to look back on times in our life and remember them as better than they actually were, but even so I find it remarkable that Hemingway was happiest before he found success as a writer. The other remarkable thing about his life is the fact that so many really good writers and artists were all congregated in Paris at that one time. It makes me wonder how much they were all able to feed off of each other to create some really revolutionary work. Anyway, it was a nice, short read, and I would really recommend it to anyone interested in Hemingway, Paris, writing, or the "lost generation."
Disclaimer: There is one small section of this book where Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald discuss some intimate aspects of their marriages. Hemingway leaves out most details, and I didn't find it offensive, but you're forewarned. There also might be a swear word or two, but nothing serious.

Crossing to Safety

Title: Crossing to Safety
Author: Wallace Stegner
Genre: Fiction/Literature
Pages: 341
Rating (out of 5 stars): *****
Reviewed by: Jenn
Description: It's hard for me to describe what this book is "about" without making it sound boring. It's not boring, by any means. My heart and mind were both completely involved throughout the entire read. That said, the book is a story of the friendship between two young couples who meet during the Depression and remain close throughout their lives. As the plot follows their friendship, it opens up questions about marriage, failure/success, relationships, tragedy, wealth, and work in a very compelling way.
Thoughts: This is one of my favorite books. I haven't read it in years, and this time I read it for my book club (my choice because I have been craving the feeling of Crossing to Safety recently). Wallace Stegner blows me away. Somehow, he managed to write a book without some crazy, fanciful plot -- it's just about regular people and their fairly regular lives -- yet it truly wrapped me up as a reader. I found myself laughing, crying, worrying, and most of all -- probing the world as well as my own life for answers throughout the reading. I felt a special connection to the two couples this time, as they start out in the book in roughly the same stage we're in right now: young, poor, parents. I longed for a friendship comparable to what Larry and Sally find in Charity and Sid, and longed for their beautiful days picnicking near Battell Pond or their nights listening to good music and poetry together. I found myself really relating to Charity at the beginning of the book, only later to find myself horrified at how her (my?) jubilant, dominant personality backfired. I believe most people who have any sort of humanness in them could relate to and enjoy this book. Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: A few un-detailed, brief mentions of marital intimacy. Very mild language.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (no spoilers--don't worry!)

Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 759
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****1/2
Reviewed by: Ben and Jenn
Description: Follows Harry on his quest to conquer Lord Voldemort in the last book of the series.
Thoughts: We got to read this out loud together while she recovered from surgery, and we had a great time doing it! We actually finished it about a week ago, but didn't get this review up because we were in Utah for a wedding. Anyway, we both thought it was every bit as enchanting and exciting as the first six books of the series. Rowling did a superb job of wrapping everything up and adding in enough twists that no one could have ever guessed how it ends. We really don't have any complaints with the book. So, why not 5 stars? Well, we try to reserve the 5 star rating to books that are both captivating and great literature. HP7 was definitely captivating, but it is still a Young Adult book, so doesn't quite make the cut on our definition of "great literature." Still, it was an amazing book and an amazing series; anyone who enjoyed the first six will love the seventh!
Disclaimer: There actually were a few mild swear words in this one, as well as some magical violence. Nothing major, but parents should be aware of that.

Peace Like a River

Title: Peace Like a River
Author: Leif Enger
Genre: Modern Fiction
Pages: 311
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Reuben Land, the narrator, is an 11-year-old growing up in the Midwest in the mid-1960s. When his older brother, Davy, commits a serious crime and subsequently breaks out of jail, Reuben, his dad, and his sister do all they can to find and help him. The novel follows the family as they face various trials and upheavals that threaten to completely change their way of life.
Thoughts: The plot of Peace Like a River it is good, but not earth-shattering. However, this book deserves 4 stars simply because of the incredible prose. A critic put it better than I can: "You read it as much for the pure joy it offers on every page as to find out how it ends." (Tom Walker, The Denver Post). I knew basically nothing about this book when I started reading it (we borrowed it from Jenn's mom), so I was completely taken by surprise by the sort of earthy, western feel it has to it. All the way through the story I felt like I was listening to it being told to me at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, and Jenn can vouch for the fact that it literally made me laugh out loud in parts. The book is not all happy, but it has a great message about families and is all around a good read.
Disclaimer: None.

Sidenote: Jenn and I would highly recommend attending the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival! Jenn took me to it just after my mission, and we went every year after that when we were in Provo. It is held in Orem at the Scera Shell, and will be August 30 - September 1. We happen to be in town this year, and we're hoping to be able to go on Sept. 1st in the evening for Laughin' Night if at all possible. Since many of you might not know what a storytelling festival is, here's a quick run-down: Believe it or not, some people's profession is to tell stories. Every August Orem gets a bunch of these professional storytellers together for a festival where they give clinics during the day and tell their stories at night. On Laughin' Night each storytelling gets up and gives a sort of stand-up comedy routine based completely around a single story. The other night is called "My Favorite Stories" and is not as funny but every bit as enjoyable, really. Anyway, any of you that might be around then should consider going, and if you want to come with us, let us know!

The Age of Innocence

Title: The Age of Innocence
Author: Edith Wharton
Genre: Fiction (Classic/Drama/Victorian??)
Pages: 320
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Newland Archer is a member of New York's high society in the 1870s. While engaged to marry May Welland, he meets and falls in love with Ellen Olenska, who is a bit surrounded by scandal. Newland struggles between following the demands of a pompous society and the true feelings of his heart. The result: a tale of thwarted love, duty, and acceptance.
Thoughts: This book was exactly what I needed after all of the sci-fi I have been reading lately. I admit that I've always liked these classic romantic novels, so if you don't like Dickens or Austen you probably wouldn't enjoy this book much. That being said, there's a reason that The Age of Innocence was the first book written by a woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. There is no clear correct answer to the dilemma that faces Newland as he is caught between two generations. The "old school" that he was brought up in holds fast to tradition, and there is certainly something to be said for that. May, whom Newland is to marry, represents that old society. On the other hand, the upcoming generation willingly accepts changes and openly forgives those who, like Ellen (whom Newland actually loves), have made some serious mistakes, and mercy is something I believe in as well. Whom should Newland choose? I'm still not sure. At any rate, the book is a marvelous commentary on hypocrisy, duty, and ideals.
Disclaimer: None.

Xenocide & Children of the MInd

Titles: Xenocide and Children of the Mind
Author: Orson Scott Card
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 608 and 384
Rating (out of 5 stars): **
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: These are the last two books in the "Ender Quartet." In these two books, Ender has settled down with a family, but serious trials still await him and those he loves. Congress has issued and order to destroy the planet he lives, there is an adaptive virus loose that threatens to destroy all of humanity, and war is threatening to break out between humans and the 3 other sentient species they have discovered. Xenocide and Children of the Mind chronicle Ender's quest to save humanity one last time.
Thoughts: I'm reviewing these two books together because they are really one long book that Card broke up into two because of length. Really there is hardly and ending at all at the end of Xenocide, so you pretty much have to read Children of the Mind if you are going to read book 3. Anyway, I figured that I had already read books 1 & 2, so I might as well finish off the series. Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed in these last two books. I'm generally not a big sci-fi reader, so maybe I just lost interest, but I didn't really feel like these two books captured me nearly as much as the first two. My biggest complaint is that both Xenocide and Children of the Mind had far too many insurmountable obstacles that Ender and his gang had to overcome. I felt like in real life there would have been absolutely no chance for anything to work out, and yet Card simply tied up all the loose ends in the last few pages of the last book. I guess I felt like it was all too neat and tidy of a conclusion--there wasn't enough suffering or something was missing. Also, books 3 & 4 got even more science-fictiony (e.g. teleportation, people possessing 3 bodies at once, etc.) which turned out to be a bit much for my taste. However, rating the series overall, I really enjoyed it much more than expected and would recommend it to anyone with a science fiction bent. Speaker for the Dead (book 2) was the best of the quartet, followed by Ender's Game (book 1).
Disclaimer: A few light swear words, nothing more.

The Kite Runner

Title: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 371
Rating (out of 5 stars): **** 1/2
Reviewed by: Ben and Jenn (we read it aloud together)
Description: This book tells the story of Amir, a boy who comes of age in Afghanistan in its last few years of peace. Through him we see a stark portrait of the economic, racial, and political struggles facing Afghans. The book focuses on Amir's relationship with Hassan, a boy his same age who comes from a lower caste and worships Amir as a servant. While Hassan is fiercely loyal to Amir, Amir betrays Hassan and struggles with that for the rest of the novel.
Thoughts: First of all, this book is beautifully written. Hosseini, a first-time novelist, writes with distinctive accuracy, avoiding cliché and appealing to all five senses in his descriptions. At one point he describes a certain moment smelling like turnips, dried mulberries, sour oranges, sawdust, and walnuts -- a very unusual but tangible depiction. Despite the beauty of the prose, this book is also devastating and very haunting. Since it is a story about Afghanistan we expected that, but even so the story at times hits you right between the eyes. Although we were always apprehensive to find out what happened next, we still couldn't be kept from reading. The Kite Runner wrapped us up in a world and culture we had both wanted to understand better.
Disclaimer: This book has some pretty graphic violence, and the language gets somewhat harsh, including a few "F" words.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Title: Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Author: Thomas Hardy
Genre: Classic/Romance/Tragedy
Pages: 592
Rating (out of 5 stars): *** 1/2
Reviewed by: Jenn
Description: Tess, a girl who grows into a woman through the course of the novel, is a victim of her society and circumstances. After she is taken advantage of by Alec d'Urberville, her life is changed forever. Her rustic and crude parents don't do anything to help her case, and in the 18th century, a woman in her position doesn't stand a chance at having the life she dreams of. Still, Tess is uncommonly pretty, and when she falls in love with Angel Clare, things look promising. Can there be hope for a woman so feebly taken in sin? (I'm leaving this ambiguous, but if you're an idealist, don't forget to notice the genre above).

Thoughts: This novel is considered by some to be one of the greatest works of English literature. Hardy definitely knows what he's doing. He tells a compelling story that couldn't be a more perfect tragedy, complete with symbolism, allusions to all sorts of important texts, irony, and passion. I feel like his writing feels like a combination between Jane Austen and Dickens (although the subject matter is quite different). It is enjoyable and smooth reading, and it really makes the reader question what 18th century England could do to a poor girl, all without having any idea that they were doing anything unjust.

Disclaimer: None.

Notes: I listened to the audio version of this book read by Davina Porter, which I would recommend.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Author: Mark Haddon
Genre: Modern Fiction
Pages: 226
Rating (out of 5 stars): *** 1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Christopher Boone, a high functioning autistic, knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. The Curious Incident is written from his perspective, and details some traumatic events in his family, giving his perspective and understanding of what is happening.
Thoughts: This is another book that a co-worker sort of pushed on me, but I ended up really enjoying it much more than I expected to. For me, there were two reasons why this book was worth the read: 1) Haddon does an incredible job of writing with an autistic's voice. He is a creative writing professor, and it really shows. The book is interspersed with random facts that only an autistic person would know, along with diagrams of how Christopher works out all of the problems that he faces. I loved that aspect of the book. 2) Autistic people have a hard time understanding and feeling emotion, and so the issues that the book deals with are run through Christopher's autistic filter, putting a really different spin on the main conflicts that book discusses. It almost made the traumatic parts more poignant because they were completely devoid of any feelings. Overall, if you are looking for some good fiction that came out in the past five years, this book would be a good choice.
Disclaimer: The Curious Incident is set in England, where the F-word isn't as strong of a word as it is over here in the States. So that gets in there a fair amount, unfortunately. There are other swear words as well in some of the dialogue. Besides that, this book is clean.

The Great Bridge

Title: The Great Bridge
Author: David McCullough
Genre: Non-fiction history
Pages: 518
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: McCullough tells the epic story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. The book focuses on three main aspects: 1) The political struggles that took place to get it built; 2) the incredible engineering feats accomplished in the building of the bridge; 3) the tremendous integrity and tenacity of Washington Roebling, the Chief Engineer.
Thoughts: If you ever go to New York and don't walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, you will have missed what would have been the highlight of your trip. In my opinion (and that of many New York natives, I might add), it is simply the most important thing to see in New York. There is just something about the Bridge that is awe-inspiring. That, combined with the fact that I'm a big McCullough fan, made me read this book, and I was not disappointed. It's a long book with small text, but it definitely merits its length. I especially enjoyed the sections about the engineering involved in just getting the thing built, and the lengths that the workers were willing to go to fulfill their duty. Imagine how hard it would be to build a suspension bridge, then imagine doing it during the 1870's. Many of their contraptions were pure genious. So, while the book is not as ubiquitous as 1776 or John Adams, I would definitely recommend it for anyone with an engineering bent. If you don't get around to reading it, I can give you the details on your next trip to NYC. :)
Disclaimer: None.

Blink

Title: Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
Author: Malcom Gladwell
Genre: Non-fiction phsychology/behavioral science
Pages: 320
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Gladwell sets out to examine how our brain reacts when there is not time to completely analyze the facts. He finds, counter-intuitively, that decisions made on the spur of the moment, with less than full information, can often be better than deliberate, well-informed choices.
Thoughts: I loved this book. I enjoyed it more than Freakonomics (see review below), and in my opinion his findings are even more surprising than Levitt and Dubner's are. In Blink, we learn about a curator who was able to glance at a sculpture and identify it, correctly, as a fraud, even after all of the scientific testing showed it to be authentic. We also meet a tennis coach who could always tell when a player was about to double-fault (20 times out of 20), but didn't know how he knew it. There are dozens of other examples. Perhaps what I liked most about the book was that it wasn't just a one-sided argument that in-the-blink-of-an-eye decisions are best. In fact, he spends a lot of time telling about people who make the wrong instantaneous decision. Instead of focusing just on his interesting findings, Gladwell tells us when to trust our instincts, and when we should doubt them.
Disclaimer: There is one section of the book that has the transcript of a crime taking place. There are several serious swear words in this part. Other than that, it is clean.

Freakonomics

Title: Freakonomics
Author: Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Genre: Non-fiction Economics
Pages: 336
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: A self-proclaimed "rogue economist" refuses to accept commonly accepted beliefs, instead using raw data and economic methods to draw surprising conclusions about various aspects of life. For example, he uses a person's name to predict their probability of being successful in life, he shows that drug dealers don't make nearly as much money as we would expect them to, and essentially proves that sumo wrestling matches are often fixed.
Thoughts: I actually listened to this book on CD (thanks, Dan) about a year ago, and I really enjoyed it quite a bit. When I listened to it I was in my senior year of my economics undergrad, so much of what he talked about was familiar to me, which was both a pro and a con. It was good because I could appreciate where he was coming from a bit more, but at the same time I think I was kind of missing the surprise factor that most people get because I'd actually heard of some of his conclusions in a few of my classes. However, there were several sections of the book that were completely fascinating and surprising to me (especially the chapter on parenting). Overall, this book is as enjoyable as economics gets (unless you're an econ nerd like me), so I highly recommend it.
Disclaimer: None.

Speaker for the Dead

Title: Speaker for the Dead
Author: Orson Scott Card
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 416
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Number two in the "Ender" series, this book tells the story of what happens to Ender following the great battle. It is mostly about Ender's quest to redeem himself for having completely destroyed an entire alien race.
Thoughts: So, my co-worker lent me this one as well, and since I enjoyed Ender's Game I went ahead and read it. Overall, I enjoyed Speaker more than book 1, mostly because I think the characters in this novel are richer and drive the plot more. There is less action, but a lot more mystery, which suits my taste. While there is a heavy dose of sci-fi, this doesn't really drive the plot at all. As with Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead gets the extra half-star for just being great storytelling.
Disclaimer: None.

Ender's Game

Title: Ender's Game
Author: Orson Scott Card
Genre: Sci-fi
Pages: 324
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Earth was attacked by aliens 70 years ago, and mankind fears that the aliens will attack again. So they put together a battle school of the brightest youth to prepare for the battle, and Ender emerges as the brightest and most talented. The plot then follows his progress until the big battle with the aliens.
Thoughts: Okay, I'm not much of a science fiction type of person. I can't think of the last sci-fi book I read, to tell you the truth. So I was kind of skeptical when my co-worker lent me this book and insisted that I read it. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It's not life-changing or anything like that, but it moved very quickly and was a lot of fun to read. There are some deeper themes in the book, but I didn't really find any of them relevant to my life. So, it gets the extra half star for being a really enjoyable read.
Disclaimer: There are a few swear words in this book, but nothing more.