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GYOZA'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2016
JANUARY
1.
by
Gertrude Himmelfarb
Finish date: January 10, 2016
Genre: Essays, Philosophy, Religion, Culture
Rating: A
Review: This is an excellent series of essays on various thinkers and philosophical ideas that have filtered out of academia and become influential in the modern world to the detriment of clear and logical thinking based on objective truth.
Her essay on John Stuart Mill, Liberty: One Simple Principle is especially good as an introduction to Mill's work, particularly On Liberty and the effects it has had on how people define "liberty" today. Also particularly enjoyable is the essay on footnotes Where Have All The Footnotes Gone?, which suggests that their increasing absence in scholarly works, and scholars' increasing insistence on dispensing with them, is a symptom of the blurring of the line between history and fiction, footnotes being one of the ways a scholar's work can be checked by readers.
by
John Stuart Mill
1.
by
Gertrude HimmelfarbFinish date: January 10, 2016
Genre: Essays, Philosophy, Religion, Culture
Rating: A
Review: This is an excellent series of essays on various thinkers and philosophical ideas that have filtered out of academia and become influential in the modern world to the detriment of clear and logical thinking based on objective truth.
Her essay on John Stuart Mill, Liberty: One Simple Principle is especially good as an introduction to Mill's work, particularly On Liberty and the effects it has had on how people define "liberty" today. Also particularly enjoyable is the essay on footnotes Where Have All The Footnotes Gone?, which suggests that their increasing absence in scholarly works, and scholars' increasing insistence on dispensing with them, is a symptom of the blurring of the line between history and fiction, footnotes being one of the ways a scholar's work can be checked by readers.
by
John Stuart Mill
FEBRUARY
2.
by
Sigrid Undset
Finish date: February 6, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: A
Review: I first heard of Sigrid Undset a couple of years ago after coming across an article about a new English translation of her Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy. Since it's such a huge book, I thought I would read one of her shorter works first and decided on this one.
Gunnar's Daughter is a dramatic story of a woman who was raped by the man she wanted to marry, and how this betrayal of trust changed the whole course of both their lives. That the story is set when Norway and Iceland were in a time of transition between paganism and Christianity, so that the characters sometimes act in a Christian manner, sometimes not, makes it even more interesting. We get a sense of what it was like to live in a time when infanticide, Viking raids, and blood feuds were normal and people were only beginning to question the morality behind those practices. These days one comes across quite a few people who like to dwell on the imperfections of societies with long Christian histories, blame them on Christianity, and think things would be so much better if Christianity were done away with altogether. Beware of what you ask for.....
I knew Undset was trying to emulate the style of the Icelandic sagas when she wrote Gunnar's Daughter, but I thought a saga was a long epic poem, like the medieval lays or the Iliad and the Odyssey. Turns out that the saga is a very pared down prose style that focuses on actions and events and does not dwell on descriptions or the thoughts of the characters. As a result, the story moved at a fast pace and the style gave it a timeless quality. I could not put it down and finished it in one (late) night! The spareness of the style actually gives more scope to the reader's imagination since everything is not spelled out.
Looking forward to reading more by Sigrid Undset.
by
Sigrid Undset
2.
by
Sigrid UndsetFinish date: February 6, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: A
Review: I first heard of Sigrid Undset a couple of years ago after coming across an article about a new English translation of her Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy. Since it's such a huge book, I thought I would read one of her shorter works first and decided on this one.
Gunnar's Daughter is a dramatic story of a woman who was raped by the man she wanted to marry, and how this betrayal of trust changed the whole course of both their lives. That the story is set when Norway and Iceland were in a time of transition between paganism and Christianity, so that the characters sometimes act in a Christian manner, sometimes not, makes it even more interesting. We get a sense of what it was like to live in a time when infanticide, Viking raids, and blood feuds were normal and people were only beginning to question the morality behind those practices. These days one comes across quite a few people who like to dwell on the imperfections of societies with long Christian histories, blame them on Christianity, and think things would be so much better if Christianity were done away with altogether. Beware of what you ask for.....
I knew Undset was trying to emulate the style of the Icelandic sagas when she wrote Gunnar's Daughter, but I thought a saga was a long epic poem, like the medieval lays or the Iliad and the Odyssey. Turns out that the saga is a very pared down prose style that focuses on actions and events and does not dwell on descriptions or the thoughts of the characters. As a result, the story moved at a fast pace and the style gave it a timeless quality. I could not put it down and finished it in one (late) night! The spareness of the style actually gives more scope to the reader's imagination since everything is not spelled out.
Looking forward to reading more by Sigrid Undset.
by
Sigrid Undset
Bold and caps for the month of February in post #3, Gyoza....you had a slip of the finger!!!!! Thanks and happy reading.
3.
by
Stefan Zweig
Finish date: February 10, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian Literature
Rating: B+
Review: I first became interested in this story and its author when I watched Max Ophuls's excellent 1940's film adaptation of it starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan.
It's the story of a young woman who falls in love at age 13 with a well known 25 year old writer who lives in her building. She comes to idolize him to the extent that he becomes the sole focus of her life, but he barely even notices her and is known to bring home a series of different women to spend the night. Once she is grown up enough to attract him, they have a few encounters together resulting in a child, but he doesn't remember her after any significant absence. Not wanting to be a burden to him she never tells him about the child and basically sacrifices her entire life to her quiet obsession with him.
It's a very mysterious little story as it is told entirely from her point of view (he is reading a letter she wrote him that was delivered after her death) and there is something a bit surrealistic about the premise that the man just can't remember her even after their affair. Although to be fair, she never tells him her name and falls in with his desires just like anyone else in the long string of women he takes home, so why would he remember her?
The story can be read as a warning about the dangers of idolizing unworthy things, and also about what a lot a person can miss when they go through life being too self centered and not seeing others for the fellow human beings they are.
by
Stefan ZweigFinish date: February 10, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian Literature
Rating: B+
Review: I first became interested in this story and its author when I watched Max Ophuls's excellent 1940's film adaptation of it starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan.
It's the story of a young woman who falls in love at age 13 with a well known 25 year old writer who lives in her building. She comes to idolize him to the extent that he becomes the sole focus of her life, but he barely even notices her and is known to bring home a series of different women to spend the night. Once she is grown up enough to attract him, they have a few encounters together resulting in a child, but he doesn't remember her after any significant absence. Not wanting to be a burden to him she never tells him about the child and basically sacrifices her entire life to her quiet obsession with him.
It's a very mysterious little story as it is told entirely from her point of view (he is reading a letter she wrote him that was delivered after her death) and there is something a bit surrealistic about the premise that the man just can't remember her even after their affair. Although to be fair, she never tells him her name and falls in with his desires just like anyone else in the long string of women he takes home, so why would he remember her?
The story can be read as a warning about the dangers of idolizing unworthy things, and also about what a lot a person can miss when they go through life being too self centered and not seeing others for the fellow human beings they are.
Jill wrote: "Bold and caps for the month of February in post #3, Gyoza....you had a slip of the finger!!!!! Thanks and happy reading."
Done!
Done!
Skeetor wrote: "Gunnar's Daughter looks interesting...added to my TBR list. Thanks!
by Sigrid Undset"
You're welcome!
by Sigrid Undset"You're welcome!
4.
by
Sigrid Undset
Finish date: February 13
Genre: Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: B
Review: This is one of Sigrid Undset's contemporary novels, written and set in the 1930's. It explores how changing ideas about marriage and family affect people's lives.
Ida Elisabeth is a young woman who makes the unwise choice to marry an amiable but irresponsible man (from a whole family of similarly amiable irresponsible people) who isn't anchored firmly enough in reality to reliably support his family. She becomes the breadwinner, then decides to leave him and move away with her children when she discovers his infidelity. She meets a much more eligible man in her new town but is torn between her love for him and doing what is in her children's best interest, as she senses his incompatibility with her children. On top of that, her ex comes down with a bad case of TB and she feels duty bound to help him during his stay at the local sanatorium.
This book is what one might call a "kitchen sink drama" about ordinary people, their decisions, and their dilemmas. I like this genre, so I did enjoy reading it, especially as Ida's problems are ones that are even more common today. Loyalty and the unfashionable virtues of reliability and fulfilling one's obligations are major themes in the book.
by
Sigrid UndsetFinish date: February 13
Genre: Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: B
Review: This is one of Sigrid Undset's contemporary novels, written and set in the 1930's. It explores how changing ideas about marriage and family affect people's lives.
Ida Elisabeth is a young woman who makes the unwise choice to marry an amiable but irresponsible man (from a whole family of similarly amiable irresponsible people) who isn't anchored firmly enough in reality to reliably support his family. She becomes the breadwinner, then decides to leave him and move away with her children when she discovers his infidelity. She meets a much more eligible man in her new town but is torn between her love for him and doing what is in her children's best interest, as she senses his incompatibility with her children. On top of that, her ex comes down with a bad case of TB and she feels duty bound to help him during his stay at the local sanatorium.
This book is what one might call a "kitchen sink drama" about ordinary people, their decisions, and their dilemmas. I like this genre, so I did enjoy reading it, especially as Ida's problems are ones that are even more common today. Loyalty and the unfashionable virtues of reliability and fulfilling one's obligations are major themes in the book.
5.
by
Stefan Zweig
Finish date: Feb. 16, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian Literature
Rating: B
Review: A man staying at a country hotel defends the actions of a married woman also staying in the hotel who decides to run away with a younger man, abandoning her husband and children. His defense of the woman's folly prompts a respectable elderly widow to confess a similar incident in her own past.
Like other Stefan Zweig stories I have read, this one features a story told within a story, with interesting characters, psychological insights, and unusual situations. Well worth a read. The atmosphere and subject matter is very similar to Dostoyevsky's The Gambler.
by
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
by
Stefan ZweigFinish date: Feb. 16, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian Literature
Rating: B
Review: A man staying at a country hotel defends the actions of a married woman also staying in the hotel who decides to run away with a younger man, abandoning her husband and children. His defense of the woman's folly prompts a respectable elderly widow to confess a similar incident in her own past.
Like other Stefan Zweig stories I have read, this one features a story told within a story, with interesting characters, psychological insights, and unusual situations. Well worth a read. The atmosphere and subject matter is very similar to Dostoyevsky's The Gambler.
by
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
6.
by
Stefan Zweig
Finish date: Feb. 15, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian Literature
Rating: A
Review: These two are my favorite Stefan Zweig stories so far, though admittedly I have not yet read all that many.
Both stories share the theme of the fragility and complexity of civilization. Building something worthwhile takes hard painstaking work, while destroying something is easy. In the Invisible Collection, a great art collection accumulated over decades is hollowed out within a few years in such a way that its owner is unaware that it has become worthless. In Buchmendel, a highly specialized talent is destroyed, and those who might have appreciated it, dispersed or dead, so that no one but the narrator and an elderly cleaning woman are even aware that anything was destroyed. Also, in both stories, the heavy hand of the state plays a big role in the destruction, with the hyperinflation that forced the man's formerly well off family to sell the collection, and the bureaucracy that trapped Mendel.
These are still very relevant ideas, not only for Stefan Zweig's time but for ours too. I can think of many areas of modern life where the fake is passed off as the real thing, where one thing is pronounced the same or as good as another, when it's clearly not, where fine but important distinctions are not recognized, and where barbarism is allowed to progress, whether by deliberate design, through ignorance, or sometimes through outright hostility towards what others have accomplished.
by
Stefan ZweigFinish date: Feb. 15, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian Literature
Rating: A
Review: These two are my favorite Stefan Zweig stories so far, though admittedly I have not yet read all that many.
Both stories share the theme of the fragility and complexity of civilization. Building something worthwhile takes hard painstaking work, while destroying something is easy. In the Invisible Collection, a great art collection accumulated over decades is hollowed out within a few years in such a way that its owner is unaware that it has become worthless. In Buchmendel, a highly specialized talent is destroyed, and those who might have appreciated it, dispersed or dead, so that no one but the narrator and an elderly cleaning woman are even aware that anything was destroyed. Also, in both stories, the heavy hand of the state plays a big role in the destruction, with the hyperinflation that forced the man's formerly well off family to sell the collection, and the bureaucracy that trapped Mendel.
These are still very relevant ideas, not only for Stefan Zweig's time but for ours too. I can think of many areas of modern life where the fake is passed off as the real thing, where one thing is pronounced the same or as good as another, when it's clearly not, where fine but important distinctions are not recognized, and where barbarism is allowed to progress, whether by deliberate design, through ignorance, or sometimes through outright hostility towards what others have accomplished.
Your reviews made me think that I ought to revisit Zweig again. Haven't read his books for a long time. Thanks.
Stefan Zweig
7.
by
Edith Wharton
Finish date: Feb. 29, 2016
Genre: Fiction, American Literature
Rating: A
Review: I first read this book some years ago when I was in college because I was putting off studying for an organic chemistry final. It was a very sad but beautiful story. If I wasn't in the mood to cram for chemistry before reading it, I was even less inclined to do so afterwards! Because I'm not usually in the mood for sad stories I never reread it, until this weekend when I watched the Liam Neeson/Patricia Arquette film adaptation from the 1990's. It is very true to the book.
The story still affects me in the same way, except that now that I'm older and hopefully wiser, I am now able to see that the consequences suffered by the three main characters are at least partly caused by their own self centeredness and bad choices, instead of just being tragic victims of fate.
I'm also better able to appreciate Edith Wharton's use of symbols to foreshadow events or states of mind throughout the novel, rather than concentrating only on the plot. This was the first of Wharton's books I had ever read and she has since become one of my favorite novelists.
by
Edith WhartonFinish date: Feb. 29, 2016
Genre: Fiction, American Literature
Rating: A
Review: I first read this book some years ago when I was in college because I was putting off studying for an organic chemistry final. It was a very sad but beautiful story. If I wasn't in the mood to cram for chemistry before reading it, I was even less inclined to do so afterwards! Because I'm not usually in the mood for sad stories I never reread it, until this weekend when I watched the Liam Neeson/Patricia Arquette film adaptation from the 1990's. It is very true to the book.
The story still affects me in the same way, except that now that I'm older and hopefully wiser, I am now able to see that the consequences suffered by the three main characters are at least partly caused by their own self centeredness and bad choices, instead of just being tragic victims of fate.
I'm also better able to appreciate Edith Wharton's use of symbols to foreshadow events or states of mind throughout the novel, rather than concentrating only on the plot. This was the first of Wharton's books I had ever read and she has since become one of my favorite novelists.
Jill wrote: "Your reviews made me think that I ought to revisit Zweig again. Haven't read his books for a long time. Thanks.
Stefan Zweig"
There is something addictive about his stories. Kind of like Frito Lays chips--you can't read just one!
Stefan Zweig"There is something addictive about his stories. Kind of like Frito Lays chips--you can't read just one!
Mod
by
Edith Wharton
Very interesting prose throughout. If the publishing world would only take a break for a few decades to let everyone catch up on the classics....
Gyoza wrote: "FEBRUARYThanks for the review of this book (Gunnar's daughter) ! I'm adding it to my list...
2.
by Sigrid UndsetFinish date: February 6, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: I first hea..."
MARCH
8.
by
Sigrid Undset
Finish date: March 5, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: B+
Review: Sigrid Undset has a great talent for creating realistic characters and evoking the atmosphere and way of life in medieval Norway. I very much enjoyed reading this first installment of the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, which covers Kristin's childhood up to age 17, when she gets married. As with real people, Kristin is sometimes a sympathetic character and sometimes not. She starts out as a gentle, obedient child to become a rebellious young woman who betrays her parents' trust by making an unwise decision to start an illicit affair with an older man of dubious reputation and lots of baggage (rather reminiscent at times of Marianne Dashwood in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility). Except that Kristin is not so lucky as Marianne because the affair does not stay platonic. It leads to consequences that are all too forseeable (a pregnancy), and she succeeds in getting her parents to give their consent to the marriage--which includes breaking her betrothal to a more honorable man.
As with other Undset books I have read, the power to make decisions, the responsibility to shoulder the consequences, and the effects of one's decisions on other people are a major theme in The Wreath.
Have already started on the second book in the series, The Wife. The plan was to get back to my nonfiction reading after my month long fiction binge, but I guess I'm hooked.
by
Jane Austen
by
Sigrid Undset
8.
by
Sigrid UndsetFinish date: March 5, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: B+
Review: Sigrid Undset has a great talent for creating realistic characters and evoking the atmosphere and way of life in medieval Norway. I very much enjoyed reading this first installment of the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, which covers Kristin's childhood up to age 17, when she gets married. As with real people, Kristin is sometimes a sympathetic character and sometimes not. She starts out as a gentle, obedient child to become a rebellious young woman who betrays her parents' trust by making an unwise decision to start an illicit affair with an older man of dubious reputation and lots of baggage (rather reminiscent at times of Marianne Dashwood in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility). Except that Kristin is not so lucky as Marianne because the affair does not stay platonic. It leads to consequences that are all too forseeable (a pregnancy), and she succeeds in getting her parents to give their consent to the marriage--which includes breaking her betrothal to a more honorable man.
As with other Undset books I have read, the power to make decisions, the responsibility to shoulder the consequences, and the effects of one's decisions on other people are a major theme in The Wreath.
Have already started on the second book in the series, The Wife. The plan was to get back to my nonfiction reading after my month long fiction binge, but I guess I'm hooked.
by
Jane Austen
by
Sigrid Undset
9.
by
Augustine of Hippo
Finish date: March 7, 2016
Genre: Autobiography
Rating: A-
Review: This was a beautiful account of one man's spiritual journey away from God and back again. St. Augustine had had a Christian upbringing as his mother St. Monica was a pious Christian woman, but he fell away from the faith when he went away to school and became overly occupied with worldly ambitions and pleasures. Given how common this trajectory still is today, it was surprising how familiar his story seemed when it was written 1,700 years ago.
Many have commented on how unnecessarily nitpicky St. Augustine seems to be about sin, like when he talks about the incident with the pears when he was a child. While the pears in themselves are a minor thing, you have to admit that there is something very disordered about a child stealing pears, not primarily because they look good and he wants to eat them, but because he enjoys the act of stealing. It's the difference between pursuing a good thing in the wrong way and enjoying evil for its own sake. One would think that any parent aware of such a tendency in his child would consider it a serious fault and take steps to correct it instead of dismissing it as childish pranks.
The autobiographical part of the Confessions is in Books 1-9, and then the 10th book is an interesting read about the nature of memory--at the end of which is his most famous (and one of my favorite prayers): "Late have I loved you." In Books 11-13 he gets into philosophical and theological matters that were way beyond me, so I just skimmed through that part.
I read the French edition translated by Robert d'Andilly, which was beautifully clear and easy to read. I'm sure this book has been translated into most languages by now.
by
Augustine of HippoFinish date: March 7, 2016
Genre: Autobiography
Rating: A-
Review: This was a beautiful account of one man's spiritual journey away from God and back again. St. Augustine had had a Christian upbringing as his mother St. Monica was a pious Christian woman, but he fell away from the faith when he went away to school and became overly occupied with worldly ambitions and pleasures. Given how common this trajectory still is today, it was surprising how familiar his story seemed when it was written 1,700 years ago.
Many have commented on how unnecessarily nitpicky St. Augustine seems to be about sin, like when he talks about the incident with the pears when he was a child. While the pears in themselves are a minor thing, you have to admit that there is something very disordered about a child stealing pears, not primarily because they look good and he wants to eat them, but because he enjoys the act of stealing. It's the difference between pursuing a good thing in the wrong way and enjoying evil for its own sake. One would think that any parent aware of such a tendency in his child would consider it a serious fault and take steps to correct it instead of dismissing it as childish pranks.
The autobiographical part of the Confessions is in Books 1-9, and then the 10th book is an interesting read about the nature of memory--at the end of which is his most famous (and one of my favorite prayers): "Late have I loved you." In Books 11-13 he gets into philosophical and theological matters that were way beyond me, so I just skimmed through that part.
I read the French edition translated by Robert d'Andilly, which was beautifully clear and easy to read. I'm sure this book has been translated into most languages by now.
Mod
10.
by
Sigrid Undset
Finish date: March 14, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: A-
Review: **spoiler alert** I enjoyed this book just as much as The Wreath. Its focus is Kristin's married life with Erlend on his ancestral estate of Husaby. Kristin bears seven sons, and it is largely to her efforts and leadership that the badly managed farm and household are brought into shape, farming not being one of her husband's interests. He is much more interested in politics, and this is where he gets involved in a group of partisans who prefer a different successor to the throne and falls out of favor with the king. Kristin's younger sister Ramborg gets married...to Simon, who was Kristin's betrothed before she broke the engagement to marry Erlend. She also loses her parents in this book, which is bad news to me because her father Lavrans is my favorite of all the characters in the story! His gradual decline in health, and the account of Lavrans's taking leave of her on horseback after a visit to Husaby, which is when Kristin realizes that her father will not be around forever, is particularly moving and made me cry!
This book, just like The Wreath, is quite detailed on how the people of medieval Norway lived and did things, but Sigrid Undset presents their lifestyle as an integral part of the story, so it never feels as if one is just absorbing a bunch of boring facts. I'm actually surprised at how few footnotes are needed to clarify some custom or other to modern readers.
Already started on the third volume The Cross.
by
Sigrid Undset
by
Sigrid Undset
by
Sigrid UndsetFinish date: March 14, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: A-
Review: **spoiler alert** I enjoyed this book just as much as The Wreath. Its focus is Kristin's married life with Erlend on his ancestral estate of Husaby. Kristin bears seven sons, and it is largely to her efforts and leadership that the badly managed farm and household are brought into shape, farming not being one of her husband's interests. He is much more interested in politics, and this is where he gets involved in a group of partisans who prefer a different successor to the throne and falls out of favor with the king. Kristin's younger sister Ramborg gets married...to Simon, who was Kristin's betrothed before she broke the engagement to marry Erlend. She also loses her parents in this book, which is bad news to me because her father Lavrans is my favorite of all the characters in the story! His gradual decline in health, and the account of Lavrans's taking leave of her on horseback after a visit to Husaby, which is when Kristin realizes that her father will not be around forever, is particularly moving and made me cry!
This book, just like The Wreath, is quite detailed on how the people of medieval Norway lived and did things, but Sigrid Undset presents their lifestyle as an integral part of the story, so it never feels as if one is just absorbing a bunch of boring facts. I'm actually surprised at how few footnotes are needed to clarify some custom or other to modern readers.
Already started on the third volume The Cross.
by
Sigrid Undset
by
Sigrid Undset
11.
by
Sigrid Undset
Finish date: March 22, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: A
Review: I think his final book of the Kristin Lavransdatter series is the best of all, because it's where the threads of the many interwoven lives, not just Kristin's, are resolved. The books in this trilogy are not as self-contained as the books in other multivolume novel series I've read, such as for example Anne of Green Gables or The Chronicles of Narnia. In those you can read just some of the books, or mix up the order, and it doesn't really affect your enjoyment of the books. Not so for Kristin Lavransdatter, which is really best treated as one long novel instead of three separate ones. I know I will be reading this series again, as there was so much to take in! My favorite novels are always the ones that seem to create a whole world that feels real in my imagination, and Sigrid Undset definitely excels in this.
by
L.M. Montgomery
by
C.S. Lewis
by
Sigrid UndsetFinish date: March 22, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: A
Review: I think his final book of the Kristin Lavransdatter series is the best of all, because it's where the threads of the many interwoven lives, not just Kristin's, are resolved. The books in this trilogy are not as self-contained as the books in other multivolume novel series I've read, such as for example Anne of Green Gables or The Chronicles of Narnia. In those you can read just some of the books, or mix up the order, and it doesn't really affect your enjoyment of the books. Not so for Kristin Lavransdatter, which is really best treated as one long novel instead of three separate ones. I know I will be reading this series again, as there was so much to take in! My favorite novels are always the ones that seem to create a whole world that feels real in my imagination, and Sigrid Undset definitely excels in this.
by
L.M. Montgomery
by
C.S. Lewis
Mod
by Sigrid UndsetFinish date: March 22, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: A
Review: I think..."
There's a very cute animated movie about Sigrid Undset that won an Academy Award at
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p...
Gyoza wrote: "11. by Sigrid UndsetFinish date: March 22, 2016..."
I'm adding the first book of the trilogy to my TBR list, thanks!
by
Sigrid Undset
Vicki wrote: "Gyoza wrote: "11. by Sigrid Undset
Finish date: March 22, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: A
R..."
That is cute! Thanks for the link.
by Sigrid UndsetFinish date: March 22, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, Norwegian Literature
Rating: A
R..."
That is cute! Thanks for the link.
Skeetor wrote: "Gyoza wrote: "11. by Sigrid Undset
Finish date: March 22, 2016..."
I'm adding the first book of the trilogy to my TBR lis..."
You're welcome!
by Sigrid UndsetFinish date: March 22, 2016..."
I'm adding the first book of the trilogy to my TBR lis..."
You're welcome!
APRIL
12.
by
Sigrid Undset
Finish date: April 3, 2016
Genre: Norwegian Literature, Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This is a very sad story of a young woman artist who lost first her father, then a loving stepfather, too early in life and who has learned to put too high a value on independence. One of her best friends describes Jenny as generous, reliable, and always there for others, but with a strong tendency to withdraw when she herself needs help. She expresses doubt about whether it is possible to love someone and also to be dependent on them. I enjoyed reading it because it explores many of the ideas about relationships and the strong emphasis on independence that are so common now, and that are apparently not as new as we think (Jenny was published in 1911, 105 years ago).
12.
by
Sigrid UndsetFinish date: April 3, 2016
Genre: Norwegian Literature, Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This is a very sad story of a young woman artist who lost first her father, then a loving stepfather, too early in life and who has learned to put too high a value on independence. One of her best friends describes Jenny as generous, reliable, and always there for others, but with a strong tendency to withdraw when she herself needs help. She expresses doubt about whether it is possible to love someone and also to be dependent on them. I enjoyed reading it because it explores many of the ideas about relationships and the strong emphasis on independence that are so common now, and that are apparently not as new as we think (Jenny was published in 1911, 105 years ago).
13.
by
Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: April 8, 2016
Genre: History, War, Politics
Rating: A
Review: Brilliant last installment of Winston Churchill's World War II series that clearly outlines the surrenders of Germany and Japan to the Allies, the fateful decisions made about strategy and troop allocations among the different operations, from the Normandy landing to the Mediterranean to the Pacific theater and how these decisions shaped postwar Europe, particularly the formation of the Iron Curtain, the partition of Germany, and Soviet efforts to grab even territories that had been liberated by the Americans and British. Churchill remarks on the differences between how Roosevelt and Truman handled the war, how the invention of the atomic bomb and its use in Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed not only how wars could be fought, but the calculations behind the decisions connected with war. Also included are accounts of the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek against the Chinese communists, India gaining independence from Britain, its partition into India and Pakistan, and Churchill's thoughts on Gandhi and Nehru (given how we tend to lionize Gandhi today I was surprised at some of these!).
I listened to the audiobook of the abridged version and am now motivated to read the full version because there are so many things just touched on briefly that I want to learn about in more detail! In sum, an extremely interesting book that I know will take much re-listening to digest since it covers so much ground, and quickly too.
by
Winston S. ChurchillFinish date: April 8, 2016
Genre: History, War, Politics
Rating: A
Review: Brilliant last installment of Winston Churchill's World War II series that clearly outlines the surrenders of Germany and Japan to the Allies, the fateful decisions made about strategy and troop allocations among the different operations, from the Normandy landing to the Mediterranean to the Pacific theater and how these decisions shaped postwar Europe, particularly the formation of the Iron Curtain, the partition of Germany, and Soviet efforts to grab even territories that had been liberated by the Americans and British. Churchill remarks on the differences between how Roosevelt and Truman handled the war, how the invention of the atomic bomb and its use in Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed not only how wars could be fought, but the calculations behind the decisions connected with war. Also included are accounts of the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek against the Chinese communists, India gaining independence from Britain, its partition into India and Pakistan, and Churchill's thoughts on Gandhi and Nehru (given how we tend to lionize Gandhi today I was surprised at some of these!).
I listened to the audiobook of the abridged version and am now motivated to read the full version because there are so many things just touched on briefly that I want to learn about in more detail! In sum, an extremely interesting book that I know will take much re-listening to digest since it covers so much ground, and quickly too.
Gyoza wrote: "13. by Winston S. ChurchillFinish date: April 8, 2016
Rating: A
Review: Brill..."
I hope your enthousiastic review will appear on the book's GR page as well
14. Recherche la paix et poursuis-la: Petit traité sur la paix du coeur by
Jacques Philippe
Finish date: April 14, 2016
Genre: Religion
Rating: A
Review: This book gives advice on how to cultivate peace and interior serenity in life by the acceptance of our own limits and developing a habit of daily prayer. We are often worried because of perfectionist attitudes and this book reminds us that God does not expect perfection from us. This book is also available in English:
by
Jacques Philippe
Jacques PhilippeFinish date: April 14, 2016
Genre: Religion
Rating: A
Review: This book gives advice on how to cultivate peace and interior serenity in life by the acceptance of our own limits and developing a habit of daily prayer. We are often worried because of perfectionist attitudes and this book reminds us that God does not expect perfection from us. This book is also available in English:
by
Jacques Philippe
15.
by
Ivan Turgenev
Finish date: April 17, 2016
Genre, Fiction, Russian Literature
Rating: A-
Review: This book gives an illustration of the contrast in ideas and attitudes between older and younger generations, between experience and enthusiasm, between abstract thinking and the ability to recognize the limits of reality. Also, it also explores how members of the younger generation learn, eventually, to accept reality as it is when it collides with their pet theories. It is not a plot-heavy novel, but more of a slice of life type of novel, where the author presents various interactions and conversations among the characters during one summer when the sons return home from university. The book was written in the 1860's, but the clash between the generations is timeless.
by
Ivan TurgenevFinish date: April 17, 2016
Genre, Fiction, Russian Literature
Rating: A-
Review: This book gives an illustration of the contrast in ideas and attitudes between older and younger generations, between experience and enthusiasm, between abstract thinking and the ability to recognize the limits of reality. Also, it also explores how members of the younger generation learn, eventually, to accept reality as it is when it collides with their pet theories. It is not a plot-heavy novel, but more of a slice of life type of novel, where the author presents various interactions and conversations among the characters during one summer when the sons return home from university. The book was written in the 1860's, but the clash between the generations is timeless.
16.
Sigrid Undset
Finish date: April 23, 2016
Genre: Essays, Religion, Hagiography, Culture
Rating: A
Review: Continuing on my exploration of Sigrid Undset's work: This is a collection of six essays written by Sigrid Undset in the 1930's. The theme that is common to all is that each details how various ideas or attitudes that had been established by the Catholic Church and that helped shape Western culture were lost when the faith in which they originated was lost or adulterated--starting with the Reformation.
In the first four essays, she presents a Catholic idea or custom, how it disappeared or is disappearing, then shows how that idea was manifested through the life of a prominent Catholic, many of whom are now canonized as saints. I liked how she picked less well-known people because it gave me the opportunity to learn about them. The four are:
- Spanish mystic Ramon Lull de Palma, who established a monastery in North Africa to enable friars to study Hebrew and Arabic, and whose goal was to spread the faith through persuasion and argument as Christ had directed
- English martyrs St. Robert Southwell and St. Margaret Clitherow, victims of the state taking control of the church
- Italian founder of the Ursuline order, St. Angela Merici, whose life shows how women with unconventional callings were respected in Catholic societies
To St. James is about the harmfulness of the sin of gossip--one that is only all too neglected today.
The last, Reply to a Parish Priest deals with later developments in the Christian world that are controversial issues even today, such as changes in the definition of marriage, and euthanasia.
Sigrid UndsetFinish date: April 23, 2016
Genre: Essays, Religion, Hagiography, Culture
Rating: A
Review: Continuing on my exploration of Sigrid Undset's work: This is a collection of six essays written by Sigrid Undset in the 1930's. The theme that is common to all is that each details how various ideas or attitudes that had been established by the Catholic Church and that helped shape Western culture were lost when the faith in which they originated was lost or adulterated--starting with the Reformation.
In the first four essays, she presents a Catholic idea or custom, how it disappeared or is disappearing, then shows how that idea was manifested through the life of a prominent Catholic, many of whom are now canonized as saints. I liked how she picked less well-known people because it gave me the opportunity to learn about them. The four are:
- Spanish mystic Ramon Lull de Palma, who established a monastery in North Africa to enable friars to study Hebrew and Arabic, and whose goal was to spread the faith through persuasion and argument as Christ had directed
- English martyrs St. Robert Southwell and St. Margaret Clitherow, victims of the state taking control of the church
- Italian founder of the Ursuline order, St. Angela Merici, whose life shows how women with unconventional callings were respected in Catholic societies
To St. James is about the harmfulness of the sin of gossip--one that is only all too neglected today.
The last, Reply to a Parish Priest deals with later developments in the Christian world that are controversial issues even today, such as changes in the definition of marriage, and euthanasia.
MAY
17. Let Dons Delight: Being Variations on a Theme in an Oxford Common Room by
Ronald Knox
Finish date: May 13, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, British Literature
Rating: A-
Review: The premise of this book is very interesting, as it traces the conversations that take place in one Oxford common room over centuries, at intervals of 50 years each, starting with the year 1588, the just before war with Spain and the Armada, and ending in 1938, when World War II is approaching. The reader (along with the narrator) gets to hear what questions and ideas are being debated in the university during each time and compare them with those in other times. Prominent among the subjects are questions of church and state, the relationship between them, Catholic vs. Protestant ideas, university politics, the changing role of the university, and, of course, occasional jabs at its rival, Cambridge.
The (fictional) Oxford college where the book is set is humorously named after Simon Magus, a Biblical figure who converted to Christianity, not because he believed its teachings, but because he wanted to acquire the ability to perform miracles. He thought the Apostles would confer this power upon him if he offered them money. Simony is named for him and he was known as the first heretic.
You do have to be familiar with the events of English history from 1588-1938 to get the most out of this book. Chapters set during times I knew something about (like 1588 and the victory over the Spanish Armada, the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the loss of the American colonies) were the ones I enjoyed the most. The ones set during times I knew little about, like the early 1700's, I could not appreciate as much.
17. Let Dons Delight: Being Variations on a Theme in an Oxford Common Room by
Ronald KnoxFinish date: May 13, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, British Literature
Rating: A-
Review: The premise of this book is very interesting, as it traces the conversations that take place in one Oxford common room over centuries, at intervals of 50 years each, starting with the year 1588, the just before war with Spain and the Armada, and ending in 1938, when World War II is approaching. The reader (along with the narrator) gets to hear what questions and ideas are being debated in the university during each time and compare them with those in other times. Prominent among the subjects are questions of church and state, the relationship between them, Catholic vs. Protestant ideas, university politics, the changing role of the university, and, of course, occasional jabs at its rival, Cambridge.
The (fictional) Oxford college where the book is set is humorously named after Simon Magus, a Biblical figure who converted to Christianity, not because he believed its teachings, but because he wanted to acquire the ability to perform miracles. He thought the Apostles would confer this power upon him if he offered them money. Simony is named for him and he was known as the first heretic.
You do have to be familiar with the events of English history from 1588-1938 to get the most out of this book. Chapters set during times I knew something about (like 1588 and the victory over the Spanish Armada, the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the loss of the American colonies) were the ones I enjoyed the most. The ones set during times I knew little about, like the early 1700's, I could not appreciate as much.
18.
by
Sigrid Undset
Finish date: May 20, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Scandinavian Literature
Rating: A-
Review: This is one of Sigrid Undset's contemporary novels. It deals with the difficulties of married life, particularly infidelity.
Nathalie and Sigurd have been happily married for a long time. Nathalie, except for her inability to have a child, seems to have it all: a husband she loves and gets along with, a job she enjoys and is good at. Sigurd, on the other hand, has felt insecure since he had to give up his engineering practice due to some business problem with his partner, and has been an employee ever since then, not earning as much as he would like.
He starts an affair with Anne, a much younger woman who looks up to him, and Nathalie finds out about it when Anne gets pregnant. It's a very realistic story, and Undset shows her talent for characterization by making all the characters quite complex so that you see both the good and the bad in each one. These are three fundamentally decent people caught up in a dilemma. Great read.
by
Sigrid UndsetFinish date: May 20, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Scandinavian Literature
Rating: A-
Review: This is one of Sigrid Undset's contemporary novels. It deals with the difficulties of married life, particularly infidelity.
Nathalie and Sigurd have been happily married for a long time. Nathalie, except for her inability to have a child, seems to have it all: a husband she loves and gets along with, a job she enjoys and is good at. Sigurd, on the other hand, has felt insecure since he had to give up his engineering practice due to some business problem with his partner, and has been an employee ever since then, not earning as much as he would like.
He starts an affair with Anne, a much younger woman who looks up to him, and Nathalie finds out about it when Anne gets pregnant. It's a very realistic story, and Undset shows her talent for characterization by making all the characters quite complex so that you see both the good and the bad in each one. These are three fundamentally decent people caught up in a dilemma. Great read.
19.
by
Henry Hazlitt
Finish date: May 28, 2016
Genre: Economics, Politics, History
Rating: A
Review: This is an excellent introductory book on basic economic concepts, and how to think like an economist. Hazlitt states the all-important lesson that defines the aim of economics itself in Chapter 1:
"The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups."
The failure (or deliberate refusal) to consider all the implications of a policy, both direct and indirect, is the reason why people, even whole nations, fall into the trap of adopting laws or regulations that sound good on the surface but prove to be toxic to their own prosperity and freedom. This lesson cannot be repeated enough.
In chapters 2 through the end, Hazlitt shows how to apply this lesson in real world economic questions, among them, taxes, public works, tariffs, protecting failing industries, minimum wage laws, and inflation.
This book is a great choice for beginners who are just starting to study economics, those who need to brush up on basic concepts learned long ago, and those who have a weakness for supporting feel-good schemes that often help one special interest group in the short term at the expense of the general population in the long term.
I know I will be rereading this book lots of times!
by
Henry HazlittFinish date: May 28, 2016
Genre: Economics, Politics, History
Rating: A
Review: This is an excellent introductory book on basic economic concepts, and how to think like an economist. Hazlitt states the all-important lesson that defines the aim of economics itself in Chapter 1:
"The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups."
The failure (or deliberate refusal) to consider all the implications of a policy, both direct and indirect, is the reason why people, even whole nations, fall into the trap of adopting laws or regulations that sound good on the surface but prove to be toxic to their own prosperity and freedom. This lesson cannot be repeated enough.
In chapters 2 through the end, Hazlitt shows how to apply this lesson in real world economic questions, among them, taxes, public works, tariffs, protecting failing industries, minimum wage laws, and inflation.
This book is a great choice for beginners who are just starting to study economics, those who need to brush up on basic concepts learned long ago, and those who have a weakness for supporting feel-good schemes that often help one special interest group in the short term at the expense of the general population in the long term.
I know I will be rereading this book lots of times!
Gyoza.......great reviews. One little thing though....beginning with book #13, you have omitted the "genre" in your intro. Please go back and make those additions. It is an easy mistake to make but we want to stay consistent. Thanks so much.
Mod
by Henry HazlittFinish date: May 28, 2016
Rating: A
Review: This is an excellent introductory book on..."
This is one of the first econ books that I ever read! I am currently working on Menger's Principles of Economics. You might like that, and you might like Bastiat's That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen too. You can download them for free at mises.org. They have the Hazlitt book too and tons of other good stuff.
by
Carl Menger
by
Frédéric Bastiat
All fixed! Thanks for the heads up.
Jill wrote: "Gyoza.......great reviews. One little thing though....beginning with book #13, you have omitted the "genre" in your intro. Please go back and make those additions. It is an easy mistake to make but..."
Jill wrote: "Gyoza.......great reviews. One little thing though....beginning with book #13, you have omitted the "genre" in your intro. Please go back and make those additions. It is an easy mistake to make but..."
Thanks for the tips, Douglass! I already have Menger's Principles on my TBR list--hope to tackle that one soon, so stay tuned! The Bastiat was the book that got me interested in economics. It's the first econ book I ever voluntarily read, years after a horribly boring high school economics class that used this expensive hardback textbook full of colorful pictures and graphs...and that taught me nothing but that economics fully deserved its nickname of "the dismal science" and that I should stay away from any econ courses in college.
Douglass wrote: "Gyoza wrote: "19. by Henry Hazlitt
Finish date: May 28, 2016
Rating: A
Review: This is an excellent introd..."
Douglass wrote: "Gyoza wrote: "19.
by Henry HazlittFinish date: May 28, 2016
Rating: A
Review: This is an excellent introd..."
Mod
Amen to that! Economics is actually really interesting when you study it from the Austrian School perspective. Reading Mises and Rothbard makes you think. Reading Keynesian economics probably makes you want to quit reading economics... maybe quit reading anything... maybe just quit life.
20. Amok by
Stefan Zweig
Finish date: May 29, 2016
Genre: Austrian literature, Fiction
Rating: A
Review: I rank Amok up there with The Invisible Collection and Buchmendel, my favorite Stefan Zweig stories. As in many of his other stories, it is told second hand, through the eyes of someone who met one of the protagonists, from whom he heard it. This tends to keep the reader at a distance from the events, as if we were being told a legend. It's the story of a doctor who takes a job at a colonial outpost. He falls in love with a proud, aristocratic married woman who comes to him for a secret abortion, which he won't give her, not because it is immoral, but because her demeanor was too haughty for his tastes. He changes his mind, goes into the city in search of her, but in her desperation she had already decided on a more dangerous remedy.
It's a tragic story about those who repent too late, those whose devotion fails the people to whom they are devoted, and those who get themselves into knotty situations that they try to cover up, when a little more strength of character would have enabled them to either resolve the problem in a more honest way or avoid it altogether.
This collection also has Leporella, which I read separately, and Star Above the Forest, a beautiful but also tragic story about hopeless love that leads to despair. Obviously, this is not the book for you if you are looking for happy endings!
Stefan ZweigFinish date: May 29, 2016
Genre: Austrian literature, Fiction
Rating: A
Review: I rank Amok up there with The Invisible Collection and Buchmendel, my favorite Stefan Zweig stories. As in many of his other stories, it is told second hand, through the eyes of someone who met one of the protagonists, from whom he heard it. This tends to keep the reader at a distance from the events, as if we were being told a legend. It's the story of a doctor who takes a job at a colonial outpost. He falls in love with a proud, aristocratic married woman who comes to him for a secret abortion, which he won't give her, not because it is immoral, but because her demeanor was too haughty for his tastes. He changes his mind, goes into the city in search of her, but in her desperation she had already decided on a more dangerous remedy.
It's a tragic story about those who repent too late, those whose devotion fails the people to whom they are devoted, and those who get themselves into knotty situations that they try to cover up, when a little more strength of character would have enabled them to either resolve the problem in a more honest way or avoid it altogether.
This collection also has Leporella, which I read separately, and Star Above the Forest, a beautiful but also tragic story about hopeless love that leads to despair. Obviously, this is not the book for you if you are looking for happy endings!
21.
by
Stefan Zweig
Finish date: May 28, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian literature
Rating: A-
Review: This novella is about a simple minded, hardworking, thrifty domestic servant named Crescenza, nicknamed Leporella after an operatic character by one of her employer's girlfriends. Used to keeping her head down, working hard, minding her own business, and not expecting anything good from anyone, she becomes the housekeeper of an aristocratic married couple, where the husband earns her loyalty (and perhaps her love too), by being charming and considerate towards her. This man finds his marriage, and his wife, unpleasant, so he embarks on a series of secret affairs whenever he gets the chance. In her devotion to him and growing hatred for his wife, Leporella does what she can to cover for him and facilitate his happiness. Eventually the husband finds out just how fiercely loyal she can be, and that's what destroys her.
As with other novellas and short stories of Stefan Zweig's, this one shows his talent for creating strong characters, interesting situations, and psychological insight.
by
Stefan ZweigFinish date: May 28, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian literature
Rating: A-
Review: This novella is about a simple minded, hardworking, thrifty domestic servant named Crescenza, nicknamed Leporella after an operatic character by one of her employer's girlfriends. Used to keeping her head down, working hard, minding her own business, and not expecting anything good from anyone, she becomes the housekeeper of an aristocratic married couple, where the husband earns her loyalty (and perhaps her love too), by being charming and considerate towards her. This man finds his marriage, and his wife, unpleasant, so he embarks on a series of secret affairs whenever he gets the chance. In her devotion to him and growing hatred for his wife, Leporella does what she can to cover for him and facilitate his happiness. Eventually the husband finds out just how fiercely loyal she can be, and that's what destroys her.
As with other novellas and short stories of Stefan Zweig's, this one shows his talent for creating strong characters, interesting situations, and psychological insight.
22.
Stefan Zweig
Finish date: May 30, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian literature
Rating: A
Review: This is a brilliant short novel told through the eyes of a young boy, Edgar, who is on holiday with his mother at a resort. A baron, who is a fellow guest at the hotel takes a fancy to his mother, and befriends Edgar in order to try to seduce her. Edgar, well used to being dismissed and treated like a child by adults, is flattered that such a distinguished man would take the trouble to make friends and spend time with him as if he were an equal. He learns a hard lesson when he realizes that the baron had an ulterior motive. Edgar's mother also learns hard lessons when she weighs her marriage and her obligations to her family against the temptation to carry on an affair with an attractive stranger.
Stefan ZweigFinish date: May 30, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Austrian literature
Rating: A
Review: This is a brilliant short novel told through the eyes of a young boy, Edgar, who is on holiday with his mother at a resort. A baron, who is a fellow guest at the hotel takes a fancy to his mother, and befriends Edgar in order to try to seduce her. Edgar, well used to being dismissed and treated like a child by adults, is flattered that such a distinguished man would take the trouble to make friends and spend time with him as if he were an equal. He learns a hard lesson when he realizes that the baron had an ulterior motive. Edgar's mother also learns hard lessons when she weighs her marriage and her obligations to her family against the temptation to carry on an affair with an attractive stranger.
JUNE
23.
Thomas Sowell
Finish date: June 22, 2016
Genre: Economics, Politics, History
Rating: A
Review: Thomas Sowell takes several instances of false ideas about how the economy works and shows how they are not supported by real life evidence. He also shows how political policies based on these ideas often backfire and aggravate the problem they were supposed to solve. In many ways, this book is like a more modern version of Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson written in the mid-1940's. Not that Hazlitt's book is outdated, as many of the economic misconceptions being examined are stubborn ones that keep recurring no matter how many times they are debunked. Many of these misconceptions are ones that politicians love to use in their election platforms to manipulate the populace into voting for them, so this book is invaluable for people who wish to exercise their citizen duties responsibly.
23.
Thomas SowellFinish date: June 22, 2016
Genre: Economics, Politics, History
Rating: A
Review: Thomas Sowell takes several instances of false ideas about how the economy works and shows how they are not supported by real life evidence. He also shows how political policies based on these ideas often backfire and aggravate the problem they were supposed to solve. In many ways, this book is like a more modern version of Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson written in the mid-1940's. Not that Hazlitt's book is outdated, as many of the economic misconceptions being examined are stubborn ones that keep recurring no matter how many times they are debunked. Many of these misconceptions are ones that politicians love to use in their election platforms to manipulate the populace into voting for them, so this book is invaluable for people who wish to exercise their citizen duties responsibly.
24.
by
Pope Benedict XVI
Finish date: June 26, 2016
Genre: Biography, Interviews, Religion, Philosophy, Politics
Rating: A
Review: Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI always did have a talent for explaining things clearly and concisely--he must have been an awesome teacher. The interview in this book is no exception. In it, he talks about his upbringing, his thoughts on salvation, on various ideas and ways of thinking widespread in the modern world, on the declining influence of the Church in Europe, with a special section on Germany, and on what it needs to do to continue carrying out its mission. While maintaining a conversational tone, a lot of ideas are crammed in there and it covers plenty of ground for its size. A re-read is definitely in the cards for this one.
by
Pope Benedict XVIFinish date: June 26, 2016
Genre: Biography, Interviews, Religion, Philosophy, Politics
Rating: A
Review: Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI always did have a talent for explaining things clearly and concisely--he must have been an awesome teacher. The interview in this book is no exception. In it, he talks about his upbringing, his thoughts on salvation, on various ideas and ways of thinking widespread in the modern world, on the declining influence of the Church in Europe, with a special section on Germany, and on what it needs to do to continue carrying out its mission. While maintaining a conversational tone, a lot of ideas are crammed in there and it covers plenty of ground for its size. A re-read is definitely in the cards for this one.
JULY
25. (no image) Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution by
Robert C. Atkins
Finish date: July 29, 2016
Genre: Diet
Rating: A
Review: Very clear explanation of how to get on a low carb lifestyle, and how minimizing carbohydrates induces your metabolism to switch from burning primarily carbohydrates to primarily fat. I also appreciated the accounts of various patients' experiences on the diet and the recipes. It also outlines why a low carb diet is the best for those who have a predisposition to diabetes, which I definitely have given my family history.
25. (no image) Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution by
Robert C. AtkinsFinish date: July 29, 2016
Genre: Diet
Rating: A
Review: Very clear explanation of how to get on a low carb lifestyle, and how minimizing carbohydrates induces your metabolism to switch from burning primarily carbohydrates to primarily fat. I also appreciated the accounts of various patients' experiences on the diet and the recipes. It also outlines why a low carb diet is the best for those who have a predisposition to diabetes, which I definitely have given my family history.
26.
by Carolyn Keene (no photo)
Finish date: July 30, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Children's books, Detective Novels
Rating: B
Review: I recently came across my old Nancy Drew set and couldn't resist rereading a couple of the books. My mom was a Nancy Drew fan when she was a child and she gave me her vintage set of about 25 books. These books are what helped instill a love of reading (and a love of detective stories) in me that continues to this day. I really did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. The Secret of the Old Clock is the first in the series, and Nancy's later friends Bess and George and her boyfriend Ned have not made their appearance yet. Some of the characters and dialogue do seem simple and formulaic to me now as an adult, but the story was good enough to hold my interest. These books are a great choice for school age children just starting to read longer books. I remember first starting to read them when I was 8, and lending them to friends who were also Nancy Drew fans. Nice trip down memory lane.
by Carolyn Keene (no photo) Finish date: July 30, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Children's books, Detective Novels
Rating: B
Review: I recently came across my old Nancy Drew set and couldn't resist rereading a couple of the books. My mom was a Nancy Drew fan when she was a child and she gave me her vintage set of about 25 books. These books are what helped instill a love of reading (and a love of detective stories) in me that continues to this day. I really did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. The Secret of the Old Clock is the first in the series, and Nancy's later friends Bess and George and her boyfriend Ned have not made their appearance yet. Some of the characters and dialogue do seem simple and formulaic to me now as an adult, but the story was good enough to hold my interest. These books are a great choice for school age children just starting to read longer books. I remember first starting to read them when I was 8, and lending them to friends who were also Nancy Drew fans. Nice trip down memory lane.
27.
by Carolyn Keene (no photo)
Finish date: July 31, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Children's books, Detective Novels
Rating: B
Review: While housecleaning I came across my old Nancy Drew books and couldn't resist re-reading a couple. I first read them more than 20 years ago as a child and forgot the stories sufficiently so as not to remember how they turned out. I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Yes, the stories and dialogue do sometimes come across as formulaic and simple to an adult, but the story was good enough to hold my interest. I also enjoyed the mid-20th century vintage atmosphere that the story was set in. It reminded me of lots of good times spent reading these books with a flashlight in my room when my parents thought I was asleep! And then being barely able to get up in time to make it to school the next day. These books, along with the Anne of Green Gables series and Louisa May Alcott's books are responsible for developing my longstanding reading habit. Great choice for school age kids. Just make sure yours are not equipped with a flashlight if you don't want them acting like zombies in the morning.
by Carolyn Keene (no photo)Finish date: July 31, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Children's books, Detective Novels
Rating: B
Review: While housecleaning I came across my old Nancy Drew books and couldn't resist re-reading a couple. I first read them more than 20 years ago as a child and forgot the stories sufficiently so as not to remember how they turned out. I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Yes, the stories and dialogue do sometimes come across as formulaic and simple to an adult, but the story was good enough to hold my interest. I also enjoyed the mid-20th century vintage atmosphere that the story was set in. It reminded me of lots of good times spent reading these books with a flashlight in my room when my parents thought I was asleep! And then being barely able to get up in time to make it to school the next day. These books, along with the Anne of Green Gables series and Louisa May Alcott's books are responsible for developing my longstanding reading habit. Great choice for school age kids. Just make sure yours are not equipped with a flashlight if you don't want them acting like zombies in the morning.
AUGUST
28.
by
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges
Finish date: August 6, 2016
Genre: History, Religion, Culture, War, Politics, Greco-Roman culture
Rating: A++
Review: I would give this book 6 or 7 stars if I could, but on Goodreads we are limited to 5, so 5 it is. This is a great exposition of the religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks and Romans and how that shaped the way they lived, their ideas, their government, and the culture they developed. When we think of Greek and Roman religion, we immediately think of gods like Zeus, Athena, Apollo, and Venus and such, but de Coulanges goes even further back than that, to the domestic gods that were the dead ancestors of each family, and that protected only that family and their property so long as the living members of the family faithfully carried out the proper rites and sacrifices and owned the property on which their tombs were located. Apparently, this ancestor worship was a religion the ancient Greeks and Romans shared with the Hindus and dates back to their common roots before the different groups diverged and migrated out to India and to Europe. As their beliefs and worldview changed, so did Greco-Roman culture change, giving rise to the Greek and Italian city states that later consolidated into the Roman Empire. In the last chapter, de Coulanges provides a brief outline of how radically Christianity changed the culture and outlook of the Roman Empire and why it brought an end to the ancient conception of the city.
This book is invaluable for those with an interest in the history of ancient Greece and Rome, those who are planning to read the classics and want to understand the mindset of the authors better, and those who want to see how a religion, or cultus, can shape the culture and civilization of a people. De Coulanges's purpose in writing it was to show how different the worldview of the ancient Greeks and Romans was from our own, to prevent the common mistake of believing the ancients to be too much like ourselves.
There is an English translation available, called The Ancient City
by
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges
28.
by
Numa Denis Fustel de CoulangesFinish date: August 6, 2016
Genre: History, Religion, Culture, War, Politics, Greco-Roman culture
Rating: A++
Review: I would give this book 6 or 7 stars if I could, but on Goodreads we are limited to 5, so 5 it is. This is a great exposition of the religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks and Romans and how that shaped the way they lived, their ideas, their government, and the culture they developed. When we think of Greek and Roman religion, we immediately think of gods like Zeus, Athena, Apollo, and Venus and such, but de Coulanges goes even further back than that, to the domestic gods that were the dead ancestors of each family, and that protected only that family and their property so long as the living members of the family faithfully carried out the proper rites and sacrifices and owned the property on which their tombs were located. Apparently, this ancestor worship was a religion the ancient Greeks and Romans shared with the Hindus and dates back to their common roots before the different groups diverged and migrated out to India and to Europe. As their beliefs and worldview changed, so did Greco-Roman culture change, giving rise to the Greek and Italian city states that later consolidated into the Roman Empire. In the last chapter, de Coulanges provides a brief outline of how radically Christianity changed the culture and outlook of the Roman Empire and why it brought an end to the ancient conception of the city.
This book is invaluable for those with an interest in the history of ancient Greece and Rome, those who are planning to read the classics and want to understand the mindset of the authors better, and those who want to see how a religion, or cultus, can shape the culture and civilization of a people. De Coulanges's purpose in writing it was to show how different the worldview of the ancient Greeks and Romans was from our own, to prevent the common mistake of believing the ancients to be too much like ourselves.
There is an English translation available, called The Ancient City
by
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges
Gyoza.....I got a chuckle out of your Nancy Drew reviews......I remember them well and also the flashlight under the bed clothes!!A couple of quick things that need attention.
Book 25.....Please put (no image) in front of the link to the book since there is no book cover
Book 26-27.....the words (no photo) go after the author link.
Thanks so much.
The History Book Club
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