Tag: books and reading

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books and reading

Revolutionary Suicide

I was dreading having to read a political memoir for the 2016 book challenge. I just had no idea where to begin and I really didn’t want to read anything presidential. It just doesn’t interest me at all. I debated on reading The Motorcycle Diaries by Che, but that was mostly because it was short. However, a friend recommended this one, and given the times, I was willing to give it a chance.

This book is really half political and half memoir. Written by Huey P. Newton, the founder of the Black Panthers, we learn a lot of his history. His childhood, family, upbringing, educational experiences, and his troubles. His first 16 or so years was very formative and shaped his political beliefs. He graduates high school not being able to read, but knew that he needed to teach himself. He used Plato’s Republic as a guide, asking his brother for help, looking words up in the dictionary, and learning all he could. Republic was the first book he ever read. And once most people today have never read. This should tell you quite a bit about the kind of man Newton was.

While in college, he began to speak out of the injustices facing Black people in our nation. He, along with a few friends, began to gather and discuss what they could do about it. They created the 10 point platform which was the foundation for the Black Panther Party. And, much to many people’s surprise, they weren’t a violent group at all. They obeyed the letter of the law because they knew the police were targeting them (and they were…the sheer number of times Newton was pulled over is staggering). They learned the law and what their rights were.

At one point, Newton was pulled over and shot by police, for (as he states) no reason. He was falsely accused of murder and, through a jury of 11 white people and 1 black man, he was sentenced for the crime. He was not given the death penalty, however, he fully expected to spend the rest of his life in prison. He had been in and out of jail for various minor offenses, and because of his fame and reputation with authority figures, he was kept in near solitary confinement. While most people broke down, Newton never did. He kept his mind, his focus, and never lost his soul.

Newton was murdered in 1989. At this point, the Black Panther Party had lost its focus (according to the brief research I have done. This isn’t in the book, of course). It was being targeted as a hate group. However, Newton still worked to help Black communities. His last words were “You can kill my body, and you can take my life, but you can never kill my soul. My soul will live forever!” And this is absolutely the truth. Newton saw real problems facing the Black community in the 1960s. And, you know what, they are the exact same problems facing Blacks today, which leaves me wondering when will we ever learn from our past mistakes?

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books and reading

All Involved

I have so many ebooks on my Kindle that I’ve had to resort to a lottery system to select my books. There are so many that I’ve bought when they went to $1.99 on Amazon and I just add them to my Kindle and then never read them. I’m trying to clear all these books out. So, I literally draw numbers to select my next book. My only rule is that if I select a book that is the middle of a series, I go to the first book instead. So far, that hasn’t happened. But I’m sure it will at some point, given the number of series I have.

So, when the lottery selected All Involved, my first thought was “oh, yay!” because I’ve heard some great things about this one. Written from multiple perspectives, told in the days following the Rodney King LA Riots, the reader sees events unfolding from a variety races. The stories are mostly told from Mexican gang members, but there are some Koreans who are simply trying to protect their property, a nurse in a hospital treating victims, a fireman trying to keep the city from burning down, and some people trying to keep their heads above the water of crime.

The best part about this book is when one person dies (spoilers, but really, it’s pretty clear this will happen considering the people “All Involved” in the gangs) the next perspective picks up with the friend of the victim or even the killer. You never lose the path of the narrative, even after death. I don’t know much about the author, Ryan Gattis, but he crafted an excellent book that felt very in the moment of the few days it covers. I really enjoyed this book. The race relations presented are still a part of our society today, so it has a double impact on the reader.

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books and reading

Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls

I read Tampa, by Alissa Nutting, some time ago. And as hard as the story was to read, I was absolutely blown away by it. In Tampa, the main character is a middle school teacher who is obsessed with one of her students. She begins a sexual relationship with him. She is clearly a pedophile, preying on young men, but Nutting writes her so vividly and thoroughly, that even though you know what she is doing is beyond reprehensible, you feel badly for her because she lives such a miserable life. Tampa is a book that has stayed with me ever since I first read it.

Because I enjoyed Tampa so much, I wanted to read more of Nutting’s work, so I grabbed this short story collection, which (according to Goodreads) appears to be her only other published work. One is forthcoming in 2017, though. I admit that I’m not a huge short story fan. I can handle one here or there, but overall, I enjoy novels much more. That said, I really liked this collection a lot. The stories are all very adult oriented, namely sex in space, injecting ants into your body in the future, watching garden gnomes have sex (I loved this one, actually), going to Hell, and confronting the ghost of your mother.

I look forward to reading more from Nutting. I’ve been very impressed with how she handles taboo and unpleasant topics with care and, oftentimes, humor. To write such a varied collection of short stories shows her creativity and imagination knows no bounds. I highly recommend both of her books.

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books and reading

Murder in Missoula

Here’s another book I got from Netgalley. I tend to select thrillers because I really do enjoy a good mystery, but this one left me wanting a bit more.

This story isn’t exactly a mystery, because you know who the killer is almost from the beginning. Instead, you are trying to see if the killer will be caught, who will figure out the killer’s identity, are there others involved, will an innocent person be arrested, and so on. I won’t tell you if any of the above questions are answered, though, but I will say the book does have a resolution. Whether it was an appealing one is left up to the reader.

My biggest issue with this book was the lack of emotion from any characters. A woman is murdered and her best friend just drinks a lot of wine as a result. I understand trying to drown your sorrows, but no tears? No sadness? It just seemed really strange to me. The main character, who is involved with the murdered woman, just needs to find the killer. He doesn’t show much sadness for the death, either. This was just really bizarre to me. Maybe I’m being too particular, but the characters just seemed really flat.

Overall, this was a pretty easy read, but not one that left me with tingles or anything. It was just a mediocre story.

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books and reading

Boy’s Life

Last year, I read Swan Song and absolutely loved it. I then recommended it to a friend, who also loved it. Swan Song is a wonderful book of horror, suspense, dystopia mixed with heart, character, and love. And even though it’s long and daunting, I read it quickly and vowed to read more by the author.

Which brings me to Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon. Just hearing a synopsis, I wasn’t moved to read this one. The premise, a year in one boy’s life, just didn’t appeal to me. However, I was completely wrong. I loved this book so much. Yes, it is one year in the life of Cory, a 12 year old living in Zephyr, Alabama in the 1960s, but it is much more than this.

The book starts with Cory and his father witnessing a murder, and the “whodunit” lasts through the entire novel, but it’s not a heavy storyline. Most of the book is told in vignettes about Cory, his friends, his family, and the people of the town. I laughed out loud a few times, namely at a monkey who terrorizes a Wed evening church service. I almost teared up at the end when Cory goes back to his town after having left for a number of years. Cory spends his year mourning losses, reveling in simple joys, discovering who he is, and becoming a man, whether he realizes it or not.

I grew up in a small town in the south, so Cory’s story resonated with me. Even though it wasn’t the 1960, the small town feel was still pervasive. Cory is a good kid from page one, and it was refreshing to read a book that was not only beautifully written, but one that captured life as a kid so perfectly.

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books and reading

The Brothers Karamazov

My gosh. I can’t believe I finished this book. It took me months! I’ve been reading off and on since the spring, and today, I sat down, knocked out the last 25 pages, and completed this beast!

Crime and Punishment is one of my favorite books. I’ve read it several times. I’ve taught it several times. I truly think it is a masterpiece. That said, it doesn’t even begin to hold a candle to this one. These brothers are something on an entirely different level.

The book is over twice as long as Crime and Punishment, with good reason. There is a lot of religious commentary in it, but none of that drags. It’s fascinating, honestly, and I would love to do some research into Dostoevsky to see what his religious beliefs were. This book is also a reflection of Russian politics and criminal world. About halfway through the book, a murder is committed. The second half is dedicated solely to finding the killer, the confession, the trial, and the sentencing and aftermath on all the parties involved. Learning about the Russian jury system, prosecution, and trial procedure of the time was really interesting.

If you are new to Russian literature, get your feet wet with C&P. It’s a lot more reader friendly. And once you are hooked, grab this monster and enjoy.

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No One Knows

I managed to get a lot of thrillers from Netgalley, including this one. I like a good mystery, especially one that is unique, has a great plot twist, or leaves me thinking. And up until the last few pages, I was ready to give this book four stars. However, the forced plot twist at the end dropped it to two stars. I was really disappointed by the time the book was over.

Without giving too much away, the main character, Aubrey, is mourning the death of her husband. He went missing five years ago and, since so much time has passed, he has been declared dead. Aubrey has spent much of this time either incarcerated, drunk, or barely hanging on. She was suspected of her husband’s murder, given the amount of blood found in their home, but was found not guilty due to the lack of evidence. She drank a lot just to numb the pain. But after hitting rock bottom, she cleaned herself up, got a teaching job, and is putting her life back together. Until a man, looking much like her husband, enters her life.

I really was okay with the majority of this book. Is he dead? Did she do it? Did his mother, due to inherit a lot of money? Did his jailbird father? What about his mystery man who seems to know a lot about Aubrey? All of this, thankfully, is resolved by the end of the book, and there are a few plot twists along the way, but the final one just did me in. It was so unbelievable completely out of the realm of possibility given the rest of the book, that it just infuriated me. I have pretty high standards when it comes to plot twists. Even if I see them coming, that’s fine, but it has to be plausible. That’s my one requirement, and this book failed it, miserably.

 

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The Moon Dwellers

I might have hit the wall with YA dystopian. Not necessarily because of this book in particular, but I just don’t really enjoy it anymore. Stuff is too watered down and predictable. The two of the three series (Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games) that revolutionized YA and opened new doors for writers are worth reading. I hated Twilight, but I admit that it did shake things up in the paranormal romance dept. And each series just has so many spin offs (some worth reading, most worth skipping) and I feel like I’m done with this particular one. Maybe because I’m not a young adult.

The Moon Dwellers isn’t anything new. Set in the future, a young girl doesn’t know what has come of her family, but she has an electric connection with a young man who is the president’s son, but the son doesn’t want to be like his dad, so he runs away to find this mystery girl, so on and so forth.

A few YA dystopian books come to mind that *are* worth reading: The Legend series, The Chaos Walking series, and the Red Rising series. Other than that, the rest are just mediocre spin offs that are good for quick mindless reads. There is a place for these kinds of books. Sometimes I just want something simple to escape into. And, again, I’m not a young adult, so maybe the appeal of this kind of book is different for the target audience.

I have the rest of this series on my Kindle, as well a few other YA books, but for the most part, I think I’m on a YA break for awhile.

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books and reading

Treasure Island

For my “book that takes place on an island” I just went with the obvious choice. I’ve started this book a few times and just never got into it. However, this time around, reading was a breeze and a joy! I can’t believe we don’t teach this book more often. It’s really kid friendly. It has enough destruction to keep the attention of most kids, but is also easy enough to read and understand.

Basically, a kid whose family owns a tavern comes across a pirate who dies while living with them. The kid and his mom go through the man’s belongings to see what mysteries he was hiding. Bad guys come for the kid because he learned the secrets. The kid gets on a boat that is destined for mutiny, all to find the dead man’s treasure. Or something along these lines… Ha! I finished it a couple weeks ago and just haven’t had a chance to blog, so the details are a bit muddy already.

Anyway, the kid gets all wrapped up in the mutiny, has to choose sides, changes loyalty (or does he??) and has many adventures along the way. Thoroughly enjoyable quick read. I have taught Jekyll & Hyde, which is a great book, but much more challenging than this one. I also enjoyed that one, but in a different way. Treasure Island is just a really fun read.

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books and reading

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Originally published 2010 on another site

Again, this one has been on my list for awhile, and the seniors my school read it this past year, so many of them were talking about it. After having the ending entirely ruined by one of them (I didn’t teach her, so I didn’t feel like I could properly chastise her for posting a spoiler) I kind of dreaded reading it because I hated knowing where the book was going. I was still really pleased with the book, despite having it told to me in advance.

Miriam is an illegitimate child growing up with her mother, barely managing to survive. Her weekly visits from her father mean the entire world to her. Miriam, in a fit of desperation, runs away from her mother, begs to live with her father, but he turns her away. Miriam returns to find her mother has hung herself, so now her father has no choice. At a young age, Miriam is married off to a much older man and is taken away from all she knows. This man does not treat Miriam well, forcing her to cook, clean, stay hidden in the house, and punishes her for small things. Needless to say, she’s miserable.

Down the road is a young girl named Laila. She’s beautiful, smart, and is loved by her neighbor boy Tariq. Her father is an educated man, but her brothers are at war, so her mother remains in a state of depression, no matter how much Laila tries to please her.

Miriam and Laila’s lives converge in an instant, and this is where the story truly began for me. I found it interesting that I would entirely forget that the story isn’t set in America. You just get so wrapped up in the story, that the setting becomes less important. Then at other times, you realize how desperate Afghanistan was for many, many years and the setting smacks you in the face again.

I have also read The Kite Runner, by the same author, and would easily recommend both of his books. **update- I’ve read all three of his books, now, and they are all amazing. **  They bring life to a part of the world that is only referred to negatively these days. He captures Afghanistan’s glory days, but juxtaposes them with war, drought, hunger, misery, and survival.

Beautiful stories, but heartbreaking as well.