It is impossible for those of us who live in mild regions to imagine a storm like the blizzard of 1888, as described by David Laskin in this book. After 5 years in Iowa and 18 in upstate New York, I still can't grasp the ferocity of weather that attacked the Dakotas and other prairie regions in this famous blizzard. Laura Ingalls Wilder actually does a much better job of describing life with constant blizzards in The Long Winter. Laskin spends too much time for my taste on technical weather facts and the ins-and-outs of the Signal Corps. The book is titled The Children's Blizzard because of the hundred or so children who were lost in the blizzard on their way home from school. I'd rather have read more about the families and less about "the vagaries of forecasting." Still, this is an interesting book, which potentially could have been a fascinating book (and might be for someone who is interested in the technical parts of weather).
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Book Review: New Stories from the South, 2006
I used to be a voracious reader of short stories. Now I generally only consume this genre with the annual New Stories from the South collection, which Randy present to me on my birthday each year. (At this point, Dr. H. is singing "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof in his head--please don't sing out loud in your office, honey!) I don't know why I don't seek out short story collections more often. The short story is an amazing art form and exceedingly difficult to produce well. When I was in graduate school, I had a short-story workshop for one semester with the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley. It was pure torture. She was probably laughing her head off at my feeble attempts to incorporate all the elements of a short story into my pathetic slices of life. (More likely, she was scoffing in a dismissive sort of way.) I sure am glad I only had to take that for one semester! But anyway, I am always determined to read more short stories after finishing this annual collection. It's good for my brain to venture outside of my favored novels every now and then!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Book Review: Queen of Sheba
This is the final book in Roberta Kells Dorr's trilogy about the house of David. As I've said in my other two reviews, Dorr does an excellent job of filling out historical and archaeological research. This is the story of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon, which takes about a paragraph in the Old Testament. I enjoyed this trilogy very much (although I'm ready to move onto something else now)!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Book Review: Solomon's Song
This is the second book in the trilogy by Roberta Kells Dorr, which starts with Bathsheba and ends with the Queen of Sheba. Since reading Bathsheba a couple of weeks ago, my mom discovered that the author actually lives here in Maryville. Then our friend Tammy tells us that Dorr was a friend of her mother's and that she used to go play at her house as a child. Small world! Anyway, I enjoyed this fictional account of Solomon and Shulamit (Abishag) tremendously. I love to read the Biblical account and then see how Dorr takes those few lines and creates this living history. I'm looking forward to starting Queen of Sheba tonight.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Book Review: Arctic Son
This book had the potential to be rivetting because of its subject matter; unfortunately, Jean Aspen is not a great writer. This is a narrative of 14 months that the author, her husband, and their 6-year-old son spent living in Alaska's interior wilderness. The author always seemed to be whining to me. She often describes herself as brusque, seething and angry. I'd about had enough when she discusses with her husband what she'll do with his body if he were to die in the middle of winter. She seems to always be bossy and irritated. Maybe she is, but I didn't really want to read about that for 300 pages. On top of this, the dialogue is completely stilted and unbelievable, especially when it comes to her six-year-old. (What six year old says "regrouping" is stressful or "I feel like you're hurting me when I'm vulnerable"?) But when she actually writes about Alaska itself, she can be lyrical and display some really good writing. My endorsement: Skip this one unless you have an insatiable desire to live for a year in the Alaskan wilderness. This will cure you. Also, the title is misleading. This has very little to do with her son, although I suspect that the reality of their day-to-day life in interaction and conversation was much different than is portrayed in the book.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Book Review: Water for Elephants
I have to say that usually I don't like books about circus life. Two that jump out are John Irving's Son of the Circus and someone's Geek Love. Both of those left me feeling like I do when I come out of Walmart--somewhat nauseated and needing to wash my hands. I'm not even sure I like circuses that much, although I am going to Ringling Brothers/B&B next week. But I found this book by Sara Gruen to be an exception to my circus-book dislike. This is the story, told from the perspective of the 93-year-old narrator, of his first year as a circus veterinarian. He has just about graduated from Cornell's vet school when his life changes abruptly, leaving him with nothing. He ends up jumping a circus train, and the story takes off from there. I always appreciate books in which the main character is likeable, and Jacob certainly is. I could have done without a few of the somewhat graphic scenes, but otherwise, it's an excellent and fast read. Extremely satisfying ending, as well.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Book Review: Understood Betsy
Elizabeth Ann fell back on the bench with her mouth open. She felt really dizzy. What crazy things the teacher said! She felt as though she was being pulled limb from limb.
"What's the matter?" asked the teacher, seeing her bewildered face.
"Why....why," said Elizabeth Ann. "I don't know what I am at all. If I'm second-grade arithmetic and seventh-grade reading and third-grade spelling, what grade am I?"
The teacher laughed. "You aren't any grade at all, no matter where you are in school. You're just yourself, aren't you? What difference does it make what grade you're in? And what's the use of your reading little baby things too easy for you just because you don't know your multiplication tables?...What's the matter?" the teacher asked again.
This time Elizabeth Ann didn't answer, because she herself didn't know what the matter was. But I do, and I'll tell you. The matter was that never before had she known what she was doing in school. She had always thought she was there to pass from one grade to another, and she was ever so startled to get a glimpse of the fact that she was there to learn how to read and write and cipher and generally use her mind, so she could take care of herself when she came to be a grown up.
I love that moment of enlightenment. I love Betsy's teacher. Just imagine what our public education system would be like if students were actually allowed to learn and excel according to their potential and if teachers actually had the freedom to encourage them to do so--if teachers actually had the time to really know each student and her capabilities.
And I chuckle at that universal homeschoolers' experience of not having a clue what grade they are in! I've pointed out to my kids before that it's easiest just to give a pat answer ("I'm in 4th grade") rather than saying, "Well, I'm doing middle-school history, and I read at a 6th grade level, but I'm doing 3rd grade math, but this is actually equivalent to 4th grade programs in American schools...." As Betsy's teacher says, "You're just yourself, aren't you?" Great book. Another of those pleasures of homeschooling: getting to re-read fabulous children's books.