The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink

2012 Book 29: The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink (2/14/2012)

Reason for Reading: Filled in a 1001 Books and an International Fiction slot in my 12 in 12 challenge (and it was nice and short)

My Review 3.5/5 stars
15-year old Michael has a love affair with an older woman, who then disappears leaving him with uneasy feelings of guilt and abandonment. Years later, he discovers that she was a guard at Nazi concentration camps. While he attends her trial, and in the years following, Michael explores what it means to love someone who has done terrible things. For me, this was a new way to view the Holocaust, and so the story was very interesting. However, it’s not the type of book I generally enjoy, so this is the only reason I gave it a lower rating. I think it’s a very well written and thought-provoking book.

Physics of the Impossible, by Michio Kaku


2012 Book 27: Physics of the Impossible, by Michio Kaku (2/12/2012)

Reason for Reading: Because it was there

My Review: 3.5/5 stars
Physics of the impossible explores common themes in science fiction, and explains in simplified physics whether such things are possible soon, or far in the future. Kaku has an engaging writing style, and his physics is basic enough that most popular readers would be able to follow. However, I don’t think people who follow physics regularly would enjoy the simplified science. I enjoyed this book, though I have one major complaint: Kaku would give examples of science fiction phenomena from popular novels. Apparently assuming that everyone has read all of these books, he almost always tells the ending of the book. I hadn’t read several of these books and was quite annoyed since telling the end of the book did not add any merit to his own arguments. The book lost star-points because of this problem.

The Voyage of QV66, by Penelope Lively


2012 Book 28: The Voyage of QV66, by Penelope Lively (2/13/2012)

Reason for Reading: I bought this book at a library booksale years ago and it’s been sitting on my shelves ever since. I’m really glad I dusted it off and tried it out.

My Review 4/5 stars
In a post-apocalyptic world devoid of humans, 7 talking animals unite for a quest to London where they wish to discover the identity of one of their friends. On the way, they meet quite a few interesting animals and exciting adventures. This is an adorable book appropriate for pre-pubescent children, with a reading level of perhaps a 10 year old. It is also quite enjoyable for adults who like children’s lit. I wish it were still in print!

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde


2012 Book 26:The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde (2/12/2012)

Reason for Reading: 12 in 12 Fforde February

My Review: 5/5 stars
SpecOps officer Thursday Next is swept away into a dangerous mystery when Jane Eyre is kidnapped. She has to literally jump into the story in order to rescue Miss Eyre. This book has hilarious British humor and word play. Its alternative universe setting is creative and fun. And I love books with so many references to literature. This book is awesome, and I can’t wait to start the second in the series. I hear they only get better.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

2012 Book 22: One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (2/5/2012)

Reason for Reading: This book was recommended by a couple of friends. It’s been on Mt. TBR for quite a while now.

My Review: 4/5 stars
One Hundred Years of Solitude chronicles 100 years of a family (of Buendia) and a village (city) that the “first of the family line” founded. The prose is lyrical and flows as smoothly as a river. That is, sometimes there are rapids and other times calm. The genre is magical realism, and it is fascinating watching the magic evolve with the family and village. After finishing this book, I’m not 100% certain what Marquez meant by it, though. It has anti-war and anti-oppressive-regime themes, but there’s something more that I haven’t quite put my finger on yet. I may need to re-read it after letting it settle for a while.

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgeson Burnett


2012 Book 23: The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgeson Burnett (2/5/2012)

Reason for reading: Working on reading some of the classics that I should have read when I was a child but never got to (despite my parent’s encouragement).

My Review: 4/5 stars
10-year-old Mary was being raised as an emotionally neglected, but very spoiled, brat in colonial India when she is suddenly orphaned by a cholera epidemic. She is sent to the house of a rich uncle in England, where she is ignored. Despite these tragic events, Mary somehow manages to make friends, and discover the magic of nature, for the first time in her life. This was an adorable book, though greatly contrasted from A Little Princess, in which the main character was sweet and lovable all the way through. I hadn’t thought I’d seen the movie when I read this book, but clearly I have since I knew the story too well. I will have to re-watch the movie now.

The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

2012 Book 24: The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi (2/7/2012)

Reason for reading: I wanted to read a YA book with Muslims in it, though this turned out to be neither YA nor to have very much about the Muslim faith. But it was still enjoyable.

Personal note: I am currently reading The Landmark Xenophon’s Hellenika and I keep coming across the word “satrap,” which is the title of a governor of a provence in ancient Persia. So it was very amusing to me to come across the modern Persian name Satrapi. I feel like I’ve made a connection. 🙂

My Review: 4/5 stars
Persepolis is a graphic memoir about Marjane Satrapi, a young “modernized” girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution. Due to the trials of being an outspoken modern girl in this oppressive regime, she must leave her family and live alone in Austria to finish her education. There, she loses herself before finally coming to terms with her own identity. It was a heartbreaking memoir. The story and art were very dark, but humorous as well. I thought this book would be for young adults, but feel it would appropriate only for a VERY mature teenager. It has topics such as torture, rape, violence, and drugs. It was very educational about the revolutionary regime, though I don’t know how biased it is.

Prince Caspian, by C. S. Lewis


2012 Book 19: Prince Caspian, by C. S. Lewis (1/30/2012)

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy return to Narnia centuries after their departure to help Prince Caspian wrest the kingdom out of the hands of his tyrant uncle. A very cute story with a wonderful moral. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. I’m reading them in publication order, so this is the second book. 5/5 stars

Another attempt at reading some of the books I should have read as a child.

Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli


2012 Book 20: Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli (1/30/2012)

When homeless runaway Jeffrey “Maniac” Magee arrives in the highly segregated town of Two Mills he meets Amanda Bealle, an African American girl who shares his love of reading. Soon, Maniac Magee moves in with the Bealles, enraging racial tensions among their African American neighbors. He ends up sleeping on the streets, or sometimes with other down-and-outs, all the while amazing everyone with his friendly nature, athletic feats, and complete color-blindness. Maniac Magee’s story is engaging not only because of the positive social theme, but also because of the delightful prose and wonderful characters. A wonderful book for kids around the age of 9-12, I’d say. 5/5 stars

Catch Me if you Can, by Stan Redding


2012 Book 21: Catch Me if you Can, by Stan Redding (2/1/2012)

This is the autobiography of Frank Abagnale, Jr. a con-man and counterfeiter who made millions passing fraudulent checks all around the world and, meanwhile, posed successfully as a Pan Am pilot, a pediatrician, and a lawyer. I enjoyed the movie based on this book so I hoped the book would be better. Although the book certainly provided more information about the scams and how he got away with it, Abagnale himself was much less charming in the book. He was too much of a womanizer and a…well…con-man. Emotions weren’t expressed (other than relief at escaping one or another of his women), making it difficult to empathize with him. Also, the adult Abagnale (who took part in writing the book) didn’t seem to feel much remorse about his activities. He rationalized: “I never conned a square John out of money,” but ignores the emotional strain that he must have put on many of his victims. Also, I am a little skeptical of the “true” part of this “true crime” story. I believe that the basic idea is true, but there were just too many convenient coincidences for his story to be entirely accurate. He must have taken bits and pieces of different escapades and pasted them together into a unified story, and over-emphasized his own cleverness. Clearly, he’s a genius, but I still would have liked a little more “oops, that was stupid” in his story. It would have humanized him. Not even a genius can be clever all the time! 3/5 stars