Month: June 2006

Enslaved by Ducks

2 Comments

You have to like a book that has a title like that. Or at least smile. And you know, the book by Bob Tarte is just as good.

It’s essentially the memoir of a pathetic but endearing man and his complete incapability to say no to his pet-loving wife, Linda, whom he can not say no to. In reference to Linda’s ability to gain animals:

“We’ve been down this road before. Linda was driving a steamroller and nothing more substantial than a plywood cutout of a husband stood in her way. I might have succeeded in kidding myself that I had gained vast knowledge of animals over the years, but clearly I didn’t have a clue how to say no to my wife, particularly when the question involved a new pet that part of me secretly wanted, too — and that part was the knot inside my pine head.”

From the first pages, this book had me laughing: it begins a list of all the pets they’ve owned complete with short descriptions. Like “Stanley Sue, gender-switching African grey Timneh” and “Howard: amorous ring-neck dove” and “Turkeys — Hazel: victim of sneak attack/Lizzie: presumed perpetrator of sneak attack.” I could go on. And the pace and the humor keep up through the whole book. Bob’s reluctance and then acceptance of pets in rapid succession — from rabbits to parrots and parakeets then ducks, geese and turkeys — is amusing and, well, endearing (I’m lacking a thesaurus right now).

It’s great even if you’re not a pet-lover (I’m not especially; my idea of a good pet is fish). But, I think if you do love animals, you’ll enjoy this one even more. In fact, I’ve considered getting it for my brother-in-law, not because he loves animals (though I think he does), but because I can see my sister being like Bob’s wife Linda. Maybe it’s a warning for what might be coming in the future.

As for me, I thankfully can sit back and enjoy the life of pet enslavement from a distance. That is, until my husband and girls wear me down and talk me into getting that cow they’ve always wanted…

A Great and Terrible Beauty

3 Comments

I discovered this book by Libba Bray via Seven Sisters; something about it really intrigued me. Well, a lot about it intrigued me. It’s hard to explain the plot, but I’ll try. It’s 1895 and Gemma, who witnesses her mother’s suicide via a vision, gets sent off to Spence finishing college where she discovers a secret, magical Order that has access to the realms — the place between worlds. She makes friends — Felicity, Pippa and Ann — and with them discovers her magical powers and all that comes along with it.

Okay, I don’t make it sound very good. But it is, really. Well, mostly. I really enjoyed 3/4 of the book. It was funny, it was mysterious and suspensful; it capitvated me. I found myself drawn to the book and mulling it over when I wasn’t reading it (which wasn’t often). That’s a sign of a really good book for me.

But the end — ah, the elusive good ending — just didn’t live up. It was all set up and very little pay off for me. It all came to quick, and didn’t wrap itself up. Too many loose ends (is there going to be a sequel?). It’s not that I mind loose ends… no, it is. I mind loose ends.

Still, I think it’s worth the less-than-stellar ending for the rest of the book. It really is a lot of fun to read.

An addendum: I’m in Wichita, and as I was wandering through Borders (hadn’t found the indie bookstore yet) looking for a place to nurse baby K, I discovered that there is in fact a sequel (a “companion” as the cover page stated). Maybe that one will tie up the loose ends. 🙂

The Mermaid Chair

5 Comments

My dear husband gave me the chance this week to go to the library sans the kids. Made me ecstatic wandering the stacks without having to check every 30 seconds what the dear girls have gotten in to. Okay, only my 2 year old. The older ones are pretty responsible.

Still, I wandered looking for something to read (I even took my trusty list of recommendations, but none of them really sounded “right” at the moment. Speaking of recommendations, someone posted a comment a while back about an author who was a “modern day Jane Austin”. I know I wrote the name down, but can’t find it anywhere, and am too lazy to go searching through my blog looking for the comment. If you’re out there… PLEASE tell me who the author is!)

I discovered that Sue Monk Kid’s Secret Life of Bees was in, and it’s been on my list for a couple of years. But The Mermaid Chair was right next to it, and frankly, it sounded more interesting to me. So I got it instead.

First, let me say that I think Kidd is an excellent writer. Beautiful prose, very evocative imagry. And very Southern, which I loved.

But, this book made me peevish.

The story in short: Jessie is feeling despondent in her marriage and finds answers/escape/salvation when she visits her mother (who had cut off a finger with a meat cleaver on purpose) at her childhood home on Egret Island (off of South Carolina). It’s more complicated than that, of course, and it involves a monk. But that’s the basic jist of it.

I was talking to my husband about it after I finished last night (I liked the ending, by the way), and he suggested that I felt peevish because it’s asking some hard questions. And ones I relate to. I’ll be married 13 years this August (13 years on the 13th!). Am I happy in my marriage? Yes. Am I still my own person, though? Will I end up in 7 more years feeling like Jessie: trapped, despondent, an extension of my husband and children rather than my own person? How do I avoid that? I lay awake while feeding the baby early this morning thinking about all the ways in which I could find something that is myself , that isn’t “mom” or “wife”. And I haven’t found the answers yet.

I thoroughly admire what Jessie did in the end: she jettisoned her old life and found a new place for herself in her marriage, in the world. (I don’t approve of how she went about it, but it’s only a book, and it’s silly to pass judgment on fictional characters anyway.) I hope my life doesn’t come to that, though. I want to be able to keep what I’ve got, but find some… solitude of being, I think is what the characters called it.

But, then, isn’t that what we all want?

Three Cups of Tea

1 Comment

I’m torn about this book. As a book, it’s less than remarkable — the writing is sometimes gushy and melodramatic, and has an odd rhythm to it. But, as a person, Greg Mortensen is remarkable. His story is what kept me reading this, not the writing by David Oliver Relin.

In a nutshell: Three Cups of Tea is the story of how Greg Mortensen went from being a mountain climber (who only held down jobs in order to finance his next climbing expedition) to being the director of the Central Asia Institute, with the primary function of building schools, especially for girls, in rural Pakistan and now Afghanistan. And it’s remarkable what he went through in order to accomplish this goal. He started small — building one school for a village that helped him recover after a failed attempt at climbing K2 (in the Karakoram mountain range, I think).

The baby’s crying, so this will be short… it’s a remarkable book if only for the story. At the very least, it’s a remarkable cause, which makes for a remarkable story.

Home Buying for Dummies

2 Comments

I was reading this book, and C came in, read the title, and said, “But Mommy, you’re not a dummy.”

That had nothing to do with anything, but I thought it was funny.

I’ve been up to my ears in home-buying stuff for the past week and a half, ever since my husband took a job at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. Yes, we’re leaving the small town living of the past 5 years and moving back to the big(er) city. It’s both exciting and kind of stressful, and here’s where the really helpful dummy book comes in.

We really wanted to buy a house right off the bat, but after reading this book (true, we did get tons of advice from family and friends that helped!), we’ve decided to wait. It’s a great book (I’ve never read any of the Dummies books before) — helpful, in plain English, resourceful, and chock full of good advice. Much of which we’re going to take.

In the end, I got what I wanted out of this book; I now know a bit about what it takes to buy a home for the first time. And, unfortunately, it’s got me a bit stressed out. On top of that, I’m a visual person; I can’t read something and be calm about it. I didn’t understand the whole preganancy and labor thing until I went through it the first time. Reading the What to Expect When You’re Expecting book didn’t do much for me. It’s the same reason I’m down on parenting and self-help books. They really don’t help me much. But, for something like buying a house, while I still have to experience it to fully understand it, it’s nice to have a bit of a guideline to help me along. I think I’d like it even better if the authors — Eric Tyson and Ray Brown — would come to Wichita and hold my hand while we do this.

I guess that’s what family and friends are for (even if it is via email). 🙂

The Lightning Thief

3 Comments

This is the best youth fiction adventure book I’ve read since Half Blood Prince.

Really. I couldn’t put it down.

Basically, the book — by Rick Riordian, which on the back says he’s the author of the Tres Navarre series; I don’t read mysteries, but I guess they’re supposed to be good — is about Percy Jackson, who ends up being a demigod. Or, as they call it, Half-Blood. It’s an origin book: Percy goes from delinquent child to child of a Greek god, and then goes on a quest with two friends — another demigod and a saytr — to save the world. Honestly, though, I can’t do it justice here. It’s a great book. Fun, funny, exciting, and packed with references to Greek myths. (I LOVE the idea that Hades is under LA. Touche, but funny.) And I’m not even up on my Greek myths. I passed it along to M, who shares her father’s love of all things mythological. She’s excited to read it… and I’m betting she just loves it.

And it’s a series. Gotta find Book 2. (Though it’s not often that a series holds itself all the way through, but this one set it up quite nicely, so I’m hopeful.)

Zorro

Leave a comment

I feel like there should be some sort of exclamation point: Zorro! It’s not something you just casually say.

This book by Isabel Allende has made the rounds (well, a couple other people have read it): both Allison and Lisa have reviewed it. In fact, it was Allison’s review that sent me searching for the book. I figured it fit right in with my light and fluffy regiment. And, I was right.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book. To sum up: it’s the Zorro origin story. Deigo de la Vega, the son of a Spanish soldier (who becomes a wealthy landowner in California) and a Native Amerian. He grows up respecting both Spanish and tribal culture, yet sees the injustice in the way the Spanish treat the native populations. He’s educated in Barcelona, makes a couple of enemies, has to vacate quickly, makes a long voyage back to California, and once there, saves his father from prison. Whew. (All in a day’s work, right?)

I enjoyed the childhood of Diego de la Vega. There were strong female characters, Diego was an interesting person, and I liked his relationship with Bernardo. But… as he got older, it got less interesting. The whole escape from Barcelona was just forced, and long. I did like parts, but I found I had to force my way through chapters. And then it quickly wraps up in the end. Too much buildup, not enough pay off. Still, the ride was enjoyable, for the most part.

Lisa said that it wasn’t nearly as good as Allende’s other one, House of Spirits. I’ll see if I can find that one. Because Zorro wasn’t a bad book. I guess I just wanted something more.