read a book a month in 2008

The Fountainhead
Ayn Rand

The Fountainhead

Bridget Jones’ Diary
Helen Fielding

I know that I shouldn’t love this book (after all, it’s an affront to serious feminist ideals), but I do, I do, I do. Whenever I feel that my own life is becoming just a little bit ridiculous, Bridget never fails to show me that I could be ever-so-much-more neurotic. I have read the book countless times, and each time, I laugh afresh! V good.

””The rich, divorced-by-cruel-wife Mark – quite tall – was standing with his back to the room, scrutinizing the contents of the Alconburys’ bookshelves… It struck me as pretty ridiculous to be called Mr. Darcy and to stand on your own looking snooty at a party. It’s like being called Heathcliff and insisting on spending the entire evening in the garden, shouting “Cathy” and banging your head against a tree.” – Bridget

Heart and Soul
Maeve Binchy

Ugh. Just ugh. I’ve heard her described as the modern-day Austen. That statement is akin to blasphemy!

The novel basically concerns itself with a heart clinic in Dublin, and the various people who come across it in some way. Her characters and bland and under-developed, and her plot is irritatingly predictable. The wicked repent of their sinful ways, the good triumph and everyone, of course, ends up happily ever after.

What Girls Learn
Karin Cook

This novel is an unapologetic statement about how hard it is to grow up when you’re a young girl. Its treatment of adolescence, sexuality and discovery are at times heartwrenching and at others sickening, but always honest and always poignant. I felt as though I relearnt many things from reading it, and dwelt on feelings and experiences from my own trip into adulthood.

How to Mske an American Quilt
Whitney Otto

“In How to Make an American Quilt you will meet the ladies of the Grasse Quilting Circle. Glady Jo, her sister Hy, and friends Anna, Marriana, Constance, Sophia and Em gather once a week in Glady Jo’s home to assemble quilts. Their current project is to assemble Hy’s grand-daughter, Finn’s, marriage quilt. It is during this process that we get a glimpse into each of these women’s love stories and learn what stitches & fabrics their individual marriages are made up of.” – from amazon.com

This was a beatiful story about how interwoven we all are, and how love binds. I was almost tempted to capture my own life in a quilt when I put it down.

The Woman in the Fifth
Douglas Kennedy

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be bizarre. There is a undercurrent of “otherness” (not necessarily evil, but just resignation to the fact that humans are violent, base, and cruel) that twists its way through the novel. The times that I felt this most acutely was, interestingly enough, when the author is describing the more domestic tasks his protaganist undertakes.

The novel also represented Paris in a way that somewhat shattered my illusions of the city as a lovers’ retreat. Kennedy’s Paris is the world of immigrants, where the the concept of identity is irrelevant, and people aren’t what or who they seem.

Recommended. Don’t judge the book by its cover!

Anthem
Ayn Rand

I. Ego.

~ Malcolm Godwin.

I bought this book when it came out more than 10 years ago. I used to have a fully fledged dream-life, and kept a dream journal (starting in the mid 80’s) for many years, but it’s been neglected for ages now. I stopped recording, so for the most part, I stopped remembering too. I miss it.

As this is something I want to try to reconnect with in the new year, I’m going over some old dream logs and books, including this one, which I found to be one of the best I’ve read. It’s a deeply profound book (full of beautiful artwork as well), and one I highly recommend to anyone interested in dreaming (lucid or otherwise), reality, and consciousness.

(Reviews here.)

there has been no time for pleasure fiction book reading. Not that I am complaining, school is far more important. I am loving this class and learning so much. I will get back to the school in the fall. I don;t see any classes that I aam ready to take in the spring and I will then have more than enough opportunity to read for fun. I will instead join the toastmasters club.

So I am still reading The Talisman, and my textbook, Looking Out Looking In about interpersonal and small group communication. Great book and tons to learn.

Ten lost years: 1929-1939: Memories of Canadians who survived the Depression
~ by Barry Broadfoot

New month, new book. This is one Markus recommended after finding a nice first edition hardcover for pocket change at a used book store. A gritty but very engaging read so far.

Hundreds of ordinary Canadians tell their own stories in this book. They tell them in their own words, and the impact is astonishing. As page after page of unforgettable stories rolls by, it is easy to see why this book sold 300,000 copies and why a successful stage play that ran for years was based on them.

The stories, and the 52 accompanying photographs, tell of an extraordinary time. One tells how a greedy Maritime landlord tried to raise a widow’s rent was tarred and gravelled; another how rape by the boss was part of a waitress’s job. Other stories show Saskatchewan families watching their farms turn into deserts and walking away from them; or freight-trains black with hoboes clinging to them, criss-crossing the country in search of work; or a man stealing a wreath for his own wife’s funeral.

Throughout this portrait of the era before Canada had a social safety net, there are amazing stories of what Time magazine called “human tragedy and moral triumph during the hardest of times.” In the end, this is an inspiring, uplifting book about bravery, one you will not forget.