I was looking forward to reading this since it's been on my shelf for so long. Alas, I'm just not at all impressed with Wallace's 1972 best seller. The subject, publishing a New Testament Bible, is intriguing...but the writing style and characters are completely boring. I found myself saying, "Blah, blah, blah, and skimming ahead. So after 80 pages I've decided I've got lots better books to tackle and will not plod through the remaining 500 pages. Big relief to take this one off my shelf! So, Janice, you can roll the dice for my second list.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH  by John Steinbeck

I wish Mr. Steinbeck was alive today to continue his assessment of the marginalization of the economically oppressed in our society. Instead of reading this classic, I listened to an abridged audio production. It was delightful to hear the different voices of each character, although I'm sure in doing so, I missed some powerful and emotional passages. The message is no less important today than it was 75 years ago, in fact, it is perhaps of greater importance since the gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen.

The plight of the Joad family as they traveled from Oklahoma to California looking for a better life, was filled with hope and despair. From Ma Joad, who always believed that one should never lose hope, to Rose of Sharon, the pregnant and abandoned daughter-in-law, who never was able to see a way out. However, Steinbeck created a bizarre twist at the end of the novel that gives the reader a sense that there is always something that can be done to make life a little better.

The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought by Marilynne Robinson

This book is a gift for the mind!  I always enjoy reading Marilynne Robinson -- I love her thinking!  And this collection of essays was food for my own thinking -- it challenged, affirmed, and enlightened!  These essays push boundaries -- warning off complacency by encouraging engagement in our world -- a world with its myriad challenges!  

I guess my biggest takeaway is the importance of staying informed -- of receiving information from primary sources and not accepting sound bites that diminish meaning.  She warns us that the ideas which informed and emboldened our founders and shaped our nation have been diminished and erroneously summarized through the years. We should not trust the conventional wisdom we learn of thinkers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards but we should take responsibility by reading what they actually had to say!  Robinson bemoans our willingness to abdicate responsibility for the health of our environment as well the spiritual health of our citizens.

"The assumption of present responsibility for the present state of things was a ritual feature of life in this culture for two and a half centuries, and is entirely forgotten by us now."

I'm always stretched by the thinking of Marilynne Robinson -- and I'm especially happy that I  found my way back to this book via our TBR challenge!!!

"If you must err, do so on the side of audacity."

Sue Monk Kidd has a talent for dredging up the rawest of emotions, both in her characters and in this reader. How come I had never heard of the Grimke sisters, two abolitionists from the early 1800's? They were among the forefront of the movement to free the slaves. Call it what you want...audacity, courage, fierce belief in their cause...these two Southern white women faced unbelievable odds. Not only did women not have the vote, they barely had a voice. I wanted to stand and cheer when I read what Sarah told her male colleagues: "Do what you have to do, censure us, withdraw your support, we'll press on anyway. Now, sirs, kindly take your feet off our necks." I'm sure there were several dropped jaws and rolled eyes in the room. 

Hetty, aka Handful, was my favorite character in Kidd's novel. Although she did exist as a real slave to Sarah Grimke, Kidd created a longer life for Hetty in the novel. When Sarah taught Hetty the basics of reading, I knew their bond would be lifelong. Their relationship is depicted well in this quote from Hetty,

"People say love gets fouled by a difference big as ours. I didn't know for
sure whether Miss Sarah's feelings came from love or guilt. I didn't know 
whether mine came from love or a need to be safe. She loved me and pitied me. 
And I loved her and used her. It never was a simple thing. That day, our hearts
were pure as they ever would get."

In my reading of other accounts of America's history of slavery, both fiction and non-fiction, I don't recall feeling such compassion as I did with Kidd's, The Invention of Wings. Maybe it was more powerful because she did such an excellent job of depicting the painful truth of the time in all walks of society, both in the South and in the North. 

I also loved her metaphor of the quilt as a story of life, and the black triangles depicting birds' wings. I read in a review of the book that Kidd broke down in tears after she had written the last sentence in the novel. I understand why.

"When we left the mouth of the harbor, the wind swelled and the veils round us flapped, and I heard the blackbird wings. We rode onto the shining water, onto the far distance."



   

MYTHOLOGICAL TRAIL DRIVE

I have owned McMurtrey's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Lonesome Dove, for almost 30 years, so I'm glad I've finally read it. I also own, and have watched, the mini-series. The series is by far the better of the two. That being said, it's one book I will keep because it is a signed first edition. Might be worth something some day. This western tale is mythological in its proportions. Almost every character (Augustus McCrae and Clara Allen being the exceptions) is over drawn. The good guys are too good, the bad guys are beyond evil, the dumb guys are laughable and sad. The 3000 mile trail drive was so full of bad luck and bad weather, that I began to expect another death or storm. It became laughable. (However, I must admit that I was somewhat taken aback when Deets was killed while holding the Indian baby.) It was a relief to me that McMurtrey didn't take as many pages to get Captain Call back to Lonesome Dove as he did to get him to Montana. 

What I liked about this novel was the colorful imagery. The settings were beautifully described from the saloons and brothels to the rivers, plains, and big skies. McMurtrey's Texas roots were definitely evident throughout.

Janice's List of Ten Books that Made a Difference

I decided to jot down the books that came immediately to mind.  It wasn't as difficult a task as I imagined. . .

In chronological order by the age I was when I read them:

Magic or Not by Edward Eager  

This is the first book I read by Edward Eager and the other books in his series quickly followed!! These novels about time traveling brothers and sisters enthralled me!  It ranks #1 on my "books that made a difference" list because this is the series that created my passion for book stores! I think I was 7 or 8 years old!!!  I would beg Mother to take me to The House of Books the moment I finished one of these little novels so I could immediately start the next. I vividly remember walking into that store -- heart beating fast, and finding the next title on the shelf.  I would sit right down in the aisle and begin reading while Mother did her own browsing.  I adored putting the book on the counter and watching the clerk write out the ticket for purchase.  I think we actually had an old-fashioned store charge account there! 

The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle  by Hugh Lofting  

I read this when I was in fourth grade I think.  This was the first book I couldn't put down.  I sat on the sofa in the living room and read, and read, and read until Mother insisted I either come to dinner or go to bed.  It was probably the longest book I read to date, and so it changed my life because I realized how much I enjoyed loosing myself in a great book!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl  

Still in 4th or 5th grade I think...this was probably the first book that I found myself enjoying talking to friends who had also read it!  We laughed at the crazy characters and don't think we didn't all dream of finding a special ticket in our regular old Hershey Bars!!!  So this book makes the list because it introduced me to the joy of being in a community of readers!!!  Not to mention the fact that it was just a great, entertaining book!!

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien    

I read this when I was about 11 or 12.  I was absolutely captivated by Middle Earth.  This book taught me how to suspend disbelief and to let myself fall completely into other worlds when reading. 

The Outsiders by SE Hinton  

I read this as an assigned reading in 8th grade.  It was probably my first serious novel of Realistic Fiction.  It aroused my compassion, and my sense of social justice, and I simply loved the discussions around this book during class.  It taught me that I could enjoy moving beyond fantasy in my reading.  Life changing book, for sure!

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

I read this in 10th Grade and it is still my favorite among so-called classic literature!  I simply love the story.  And this book changed my reading habits so that I craved high quality writing ever-after.

The remaining books I read as a young adult.  

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver 

This one makes the list because I discovered my favorite author.  I love her voice -- her passion -- and her descriptive writing.  When I read a Kingsolver novel, I live in her world from first page to last.

Beloved by Toni Morrison

This book was a game-changer for me because it was my first experience reading an author who wrote so poetically.  The story captured me, of course, but her writing transcends through her use of metaphor.  Morrison stretched me as a reader.

A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman.  

I've always been fascinated my Medieval history -- but this book opened my eyes to how interesting and important a study of our history is because so much of it parallels our own experiences.  I think this might have been the first history book I read that was written in narrative form -- so, it also opened up an entirely new genre for me!

Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville
While this is technically not a novel -- it is far and away my most favorite short story and it was a game changer for my reading because I discovered the joy found in reading short stories.  In just a few pages Melville captured the human condition in his character of Bartleby.  It is a story I reread often -- more than any other.  

So there you have it.  This was a great exercise!!!!  Thanks for the challenge :-)

Patty's List ofTen Books That Made a Difference

I was challenged by a Facebook friend to list the top 10 books that I have read that someway or another resonated with me. It was a tough challenge to come up with just 10. The idea is not to spend too much time or think too hard, just list the ones that come to mind. OK, here they are and why:

1. Heidi, by Johanna Spyri, was the first novel I ever finished. I loved the mountain setting and how the characters helped one another.
2. Magic for Mary M., by Charlotte Baker. This East Texas writer of children's books set this tale in east Texas during the oil boom. Mary M. lived in her grandmother's boarding house, and the black cook talked to Mary M about God and how important it was to know him.
3. Watership Down, by Richard Adams. This tale about a warren of rabbits fulfilled my love of  fantasy and adventure.
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. What's not to remember about this classic?
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. The fictional character, Celie, was able to overcome insurmountable suffering by writing letters to God.
6. Oliver Wiswell, by Ken Roberts. This was an assigned reading in a study of American literature. I was fascinated by this perspective of our American Revolution from the viewpoint of a Loyalist.
7. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. The author tells the story of a boy from India searching for truth. The marvelous tale of survival on a raft with animals from his father's zoo is compelling. The ending is brilliant and left me questioning for days.
8. The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom. This auto-biography is another survivor story set during the Holocaust. Ms. Ten Boom's courage was beyond anything I could imagine.
9. Necessary Losses, by Judith Viorst. Ms. Viorst demonstrates what we have to give up in order to grow.
10. West with the Night, by Beryl Markham. This is a 1942 memoir about a woman pilot from Africa who ultimately accepts the challenge to fly solo from east to west across the Atlantic. Her inspiring story is well worth the read.

So there you have it. Janice, I challenge you to make your own list to share.