Monthly Book Spotlight!

[Hippiepoet]

Book Spotlight

I was thinking it might be cool to focus on a new and different book each week. Anyone can join in with a book they want to talk about, or just make someone else aware of. This week I am choosing, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey ,because this particular book is in our local news. Apparently some parents in Mexico, Mo. feel like the book is too much for their children to read. Vulgar language and adult situations.

Some of the parents have gone to the school board to BAN the book (http://tinyurl.com/2hep7q). Oh god, banning books to me is just wrong. If I don't like a book or it's content, I won't read it. Plain and simple. Personally, I have read this book and feel like when my daughter is in high school, she too should read the book.

How do you Demons feel about the book?
How do you feel about the banning of books?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/68/Cuckoo_nest.jpg/200px-Cuckoo_nest.jpg
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

From Wikipedia:

Author: Ken Kesey
Country: United States
Language: English
Genre(s): Novel
Publisher : Viking Press
Publication date: 1962
Media type : Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN: 0451163966

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) is a novel written by Ken Kesey. It is set in an Oregon asylum, and serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind.

Plot introduction
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was a direct product of Kesey's time working as an orderly at a mental-health facility in Menlo Park, California. Not only did he speak to the patients and witness the workings of the institution, he received electroconvulsive therapy and took psychoactive drugs (notably LSD, psilocybin, mescaline and DMT) as well as the same drugs as the patients to gain a deeper insight into their lives.

Plot summary
Narrated by the gigantic but docile and schizophrenic Columbian Indian "Chief" Bromden, who has pretended to be a deaf-mute for years, this story focuses on the antics of gleefully rebellious Randle McMurphy, a transferee from a workfarm prison to a mental hospital. The all-male asylum is based upon the old Pendleton, Oregon asylum (now the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution). With little medical oversight, the hospital ward is run by the buttoned-up, middle-aged Nurse Ratched (or "the Big Nurse") and her orderlies, whom the Chief describes as resentful black men.
McMurphy constantly antagonizes the Big Nurse and upsets routine. Betting on himself, McMurphy tries and fails to lift a heavy shower room control panel. He runs a card table, captains the ward's basketball team, comments on Nurse Ratched's figure, incites the other patients on the ward to conduct a vote on watching the World Series on television, and organizes a supervised deep sea fishing trip. The Chief, opening up to McMurphy due to the latter's rebellion, reveals late one night that he can speak and hear. McMurphy presents a discipline problem and challenge to the Big Nurse's authority, and the two become engaged in a power struggle. After a fight incident, the Big Nurse sends McMurphy off the ward for two weeks for electroshock therapy on a cross-shaped table and electrodes that resemble a "crown of thorns", as one patient describes it.

One night, after bribing the night orderly, McMurphy breaks into the pharmacy and smuggles bottles of liquor and two prostitute girlfriends onto the ward for a party, including some of the patients. McMurphy persuades one of the women to seduce Billy Bibbit, a timid, boyish patient, with a terrible stutter and no experience with women. Neglecting to clean up before the morning shift arrives, McMurphy and the other patients fall asleep. The staff returns and discovers the aftermath of the party. The staff finds the night orderly and the rest of the ward, in the minds of the patients, comically askew. The Big Nurse finds Billy Bibbit and the prostitute in each other's arms, partially dressed, and admonishes him. Billy asserts himself for first time, answering the Big Nurse without stuttering. The Big Nurse then threatens to tell Billy's mother what she has seen. Billy has an emotional outburst, and once left alone in the doctor's office, fatally slits his own throat. Nurse Ratched angrily blames McMurphy for the loss of life. Provoked, McMurphy attempts to strangle her, ripping off the front of her uniform, and he is removed to the Disturbed ward, where he undergoes a lobotomy.

When McMurphy returns, he is wheeled onto the ward on a bed, in a near-vegetative state similar to its most elderly patients. The Chief realizes that if other patients see McMurphy in that condition, Nurse Ratched will have ultimately "won," demoralizing the patients who were only beginning to assert themselves as men because of McMurphy's influence. The Chief smothers McMurphy with a pillow to suffocate him during the night. He does this so that McMurphy can die with dignity rather than lie there as a representation of what happens when one tries to buck the system. Chief Bromden then lifts and carries the shower room control panel to the window, throwing it through the window and escaping.

http://tinyurl.com/yw6s6z

[swivel]

Great post! I look forward to these.

I just hope Morbid doesn't see this post. We may never get him out of here.

[Hippiepoet]

For my spotlight this week, I chose the book The Good Earth (http://www.amazon.com/Good-Earth-Oprahs-Book-Club/dp/B0008EH6NC/dreamindemon-20) by Pearl Buck. Again this book was chosen for purely selfish reasons. The Good Earth was a book that I had to read in English Lit. class. I remember at 17, it left a very lasting impression. Last summer, on one of my garage sale sprees (yes, I am a garage sale freak), I came across an old paper-back edition of The Good Earth. To my delight, I paid only a quarter for the thing.
I promptly starting rereading this wonderful book. It was as good as I remembered if not better. So, to any of you that haven't ever read this classic book, I'd highly recommend it. If you have read The Good Earth, then please feel free to leave some comments.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/GoodEarth.jpg
Author Pearl S. Buck
Original title The Good Earth
Country United States
Language English
Series None
Genre(s) Historical fiction
Publisher John Day Publishing Co.
Publication date March 2, 1931
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages 375 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN ISBN 0-381-98033-2 (first edition, hardback)
Preceded by East Wind: West Wind
Followed by Sons

PLOT SUMMARY
The story begins on Wang Lung's wedding day and follows the rise and fall of his fortunes and his connection with the land. The land is a recurring theme throughout the novel, seemingly accepted and nurtured by the protagonists, and rejected and ruined by the antagonists. The House of Hwang, a family of wealthy landowners, live in the nearby town and contrast with Wang Lung's humble philosophy and lifestyle. As the House of Hwang slowly declines due to opium use, frequent spending, and uncontrolled banking, Wang Lung, through hard work and labor, slowly gains respect and dignity, while being financially secure. Wang Lung, along with his elderly father and new wife O-Lan, fare relatively better than other farmers in the village, enough to refurbish his house with furniture and the roof with tiles. However, when a devastating drought affects Wang Lung's community, the family, now grown to include three children, must flee to the Southern City to find work. Wang Lung's malignant uncle offers Wang Lung silver for his possessions, including his land, but significantly less than their value. They sell their newly-bought possessions, but refuse to sell the land. Wang Lung then faces the long journey south, contemplating which of his starving children will die, when he discovers that the "Fire Wagon", a newly-built train in the village, takes people south for a fee. Wang Lung spends all of his money for the train ride and goes south to a city called Kiangsu.

While in the city, O-Lan, and the children turn to begging while Wang Lung pulls a rickshaw. Wang Lung's father refuses to beg, and sits appreciating the sights of the city instead. They find themselves aliens among their more metropolitan countrymen who look different and speak in a fast accent. They no longer starve, due to the one-cent charitable meals in the city of rice gruel, but still live in abject poverty. Wang Lung's work is barely able to pay for the rickshaw rental, and the children make almost nothing from their begging. Meanwhile, the hostile political climate worsens, as rumors of revolution linger in the air, and Wang Lung more than ever longs to return to his land. He can only work at night, at a fraction of his former pay, for fear of being conscripted into the army. Eventually, a riot occurs, and a mass of people break into the local wealthy family's palace. Wang Lung encounters an obese and inebriated rich man who hasn't managed to flee. The rich man is frantic, believing Wang Lung will kill him, and offers gold in exchange for his life. Wang Lung, who is strongly against stealing and committing immoral actions in general, reasons that the man is giving him the money, and that the money would return him to his land. Wang Lung takes all of the man's gold and escapes the palace, taking his family north once more.

Upon returning to their ransacked home, the family fares better. With the money from the city, Wang Lung buys an ox, farm tools, and even hires servants to help him work the land. He is eventually able to send his sons to school, build a new house, and live comfortably. The wealth of the family is tied to the harvests of Wang Lung's land, "the good earth." Wang Lung eventually becomes a prosperous man, with his rise mirroring the downfall of the Hwang family, who lose their connection to the land. Using jewels O-Lan looted from the house in the city, they buy the House of Hwang's remaining land. As Wang Lung becomes more prosperous and wealthy, the yearly flood covers all of his farm land, halting his and his servants' farming activity. Wang Lung, finding himself restless and idle every day with no work to do, falls to the vices of the city: rich food and prostitutes. He buys a concubine named Lotus, who had placed a spell on him, and obsesses over her, forgetting O-Lan, his family, and the land. O-Lan, who remains humble and subservient to her husband, slowly deteriorates and becomes deathly ill. O-Lan dies, but not before witnessing her first son's wedding. Later, the widowed Wang Lung and his family move into town and buy the old House of Hwang. Wang Lung, now an old man, wants peace in his family, but there are always disputes, especially between his first and second sons. Wang Lung's third son runs away one day and joins the Boxer Rebellion For his last days on Earth, Wang Lung lives in his old house with Pear Blossom and Poor Fool, his mentally challenged daughter. At the end of the novel, Wang Lung overhears his sons planning to sell the land he has worked his entire life, and makes a desperate, feeble argument to persuade them otherwise. They humor the old man with reassurances that they will do exactly as he wishes, but the sons seem determined to carry out their plan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Earth

[aspartame]

Some of the parents have gone to the school board to BAN the book. Oh god, banning books to me is just wrong.

I totally agree Hippy, when I was younger and even now I devoured any book I could get my hands on. I had a bit of trouble in HS because we would take half a semester to read a book and I would finish it in a couple of days. so I would be bored out of my mind in English. my teacher did not believe me the second time that I had finished and understood the book, that she challenged me she told me that if I could take the book final and get a C or better I did not have to come to her class for the rest of the semester. and what ever grade I got on the final would be my letter grade in class. :) well I aced it. lol

[Hippiepoet]

This week I am spotlighting, We're All in This Together (http://www.amazon.com/Were-All-This-Together-Novella/dp/B000OFOIZY/dreamindemon-20), the first book by Owen King. Owen was born in 1976 and is an American author. He is the youngest son of Stephen King.
King's first book, We're All In This Together, is a collection of three stories and a
novella, published in 2005.

"Andrea Sachs interviewed King about the book for Time Magazine; she asked him what it was like to be the child of Stephen and Tabitha King. Owen answered: "I understand people's curiosity and yet, I've made a really decided effort to write in a way that's individual to me, and do as much as I can possibly do on my own without being insane about it."

"In his novella, King tells the story of George, the teenage son of a single mother, and the only grandson of a family of union organizers in Maine. George's grandfather Henry, obsessed with the outcome of the 2000 election, has planted a giant billboard of homage to Al Gore in his front yard that he suspects has been defaced by the paperboy, now a sworn enemy. Meanwhile, George's mother is about to marry Dr. Vic, who, besides being possessed of an almost royal obliviousness, may even have voted for George W. Bush. George is a nervous accomplice to his grandfather's increasingly unhinged behavior, and a righteous adversary at war with his mother over her marriage. George's struggle is a funny and moving parallel for our times: How will we fight? All together, or all alone? Funny, insightful, and always entertaining, We're All in This Together launches the career of an extraordinarily talented writer."

"Owen King is a graduate of Bangor High School and Vassar College. He holds an M.F.A. from Columbia University, and his stores have appeared in Book Magazine and the Bellingham Review. He has been nominated for a National Magazine Award and is a recipient of the John Gardner Award for Short Fiction. He currently resides in Brooklyn."
http://www.bookpage.com/0507bp/images/wereallin.gif
"Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
From the 26-year-old scion of literary giant Stephen King comes a compelling, imaginative debut collection of four short stories both creepy and heartfelt, plus a compassionate novella about a 15-year-old son of a single mother. Set in Maine around the 2000 election, the title novella captures the teenage narrator's anger over his mother's impending marriage to Dr. Vic, while his family, led by a union organizer grandfather, seethes over Bush's election. George lays siege to his mother's relationship and helps his grandfather build a sniper's nest from which to attack the paperboy who defaces the old man's "Al Gore is the Real President" sign. Freaks and weirdos—external symptoms of his protagonists' inner struggles—people King's shorter stories, which strive to balance the lurid with a reach for emotional truth. In "Wonders," about a baseball player who takes his pregnant girlfriend to a Coney Island circus freak abortionist, the macabre and the heartfelt feel discordant, and the story ends with unearned violence. But in "Frozen Animals," King achieves a surreal blend of gory, vivid description of unanesthetized dental surgery layered with the drug-addicted dentist's intermittent memories of a happier past. This original collection heralds the arrival of the next generation."
This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Details
* Paperback: 242 pages
* Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (July 11, 2006)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1582345880
* ASIN: B000OFOIZY
* Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
* Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
* Average Customer Review:

24 Reviews
5 star: 45% (11)
4 star: 41% (10)
3 star: 12% (3)
2 star: (0)
1 star: (0)
http://www.owen-king.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_King

[So Jaded]

Really? Do they still wanna do the burning books thing?? I thought that fad passed years ago.

Vulgar language and adult situations. Do their children NOT watch TV? Ever? I would much rather my child sit down and read a book than turn on the TV. The language they read in books can't be any worse than the language used in the hallways at school. As far as adult situations....kids are growing up quicker these days. I don't think it's possible to shield them from any kind of adult situation.

While I probably wouldn't suggest the book (One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest) to my 12 year old...I would definitely suggest it to my 17 year old. That's how I got her to read Catcher In The Rye...by telling her it was banned at one time. ;)

[Hippiepoet]

The focus this week is on a simple novel. I say simple because the story is about a wonderful, scarred (inside and out) woman named Noble Finch, who runs the local cemetery. The book is called A Gracious Plenty (http://www.amazon.com/Gracious-Plenty-Novel-Sheri-Reynolds/dp/0609803875/dreamindemon-20) and was written by author, Nancy Reynolds.

I chose this book because a dear friend of mine sent me a copy when I was going through a rather rough time in my life. (Reprobate who is a member here....but hardly on due to lack of computer access:mad: ) Anywho, the novel is a quick read and a good one. Noble Finch will touch your heart and open your mind. Noble made me look at things differently, and made me think hard about people and their lives. The trials and tribulations of living come to life in a cemetery. Enjoy!
http://www.sherireynolds.com/bookcovers/a_gracious_plenty.gif

Finch Nobles suffered third-degree burns about her face and shoulders as a toddler when she pulled a pot of boiling water off her mother's stove. She survived, and healed enough physically to go on living, but the psychological scars from the event and its aftermath still burn. The daughter of cemetery caretakers, Finch continues her parents' work after their deaths. Finch becomes a fixture in her little Southern hometown, an eccentric, stubborn outcast.

Since her early teens, Finch has been able to talk to and see the spirits of the dead populating her graveyard. The dead who have yet to completely "lighten" and ascend are responsible for keeping the world running. They color growing plants, they bring rain, they tickle the flowers to surprise them open. Finch tends the graveyard lovingly, planting real flowers on the graves and planting trees to shade the departed. She develops a friendship with a young dead beauty queen whose mission is to force her mother to acknowledge that her death was not a murder but suicide. Lucy Armageddon, as this young woman has renamed herself, asks Finch to urge her mother toward that realization. So Finch mouths the word "suicide" to Lucy's mother whenever they see each other, otherwise going about her business growing incredible vegetables, tending graves and sleeping with a veritable army of half-wild cats. The town children tease Finch cruelly by calling names and by vandalizing the cemetery, but Finch just keeps on with her life, alone and friendless in the world of the living.

Lucy's mother finally makes a complaint to the local police and is granted a restraining order. The order is served by Leonard Livingston, the grown, disappointing son of the mayor. Leonard and Finch's history goes all the way back to first grade, when Leonard burst into tears at the sight of Finch's untimely wizened face and got moved to a different seat. Leonard's baby brother, the mayor's great hope, lies buried inside the cemetery gates, where he cries without ceasing, unable to tell his story and so unable to lighten and ascend. Finch and Leonard start to forge a tentative truce, although Leonard refuses to believe that Finch truly speaks with the dead.

The most recent member of the cemetery community is William Blott, a reticent man whose permanently transient lifestyle prompted the local women's Sunday School class to make him their project. William is at first reluctant to speak, but he becomes immediately popular among the dead of Nobles Hill when he reveals a unique ability to quiet the squalling Livingston baby. As William reveals more of himself, a discovery by the church women to whom his property was bequeathed results in a complete reversal by the town toward his memory. Finch's life becomes focussed on repairing the rifts between the living and the dead of her community. As she moves toward a tentative acceptance by and of the living, she risks losing her relationship with the dead that has moored her almost all of her life.

Finch Nobles is immensely likable, her voice a gruff and stubborn one that masks the longing and insecurity hidden inside. A Gracious Plenty lures the reader quickly into the story, and refuses to release its hold on your imagination until you've read it through. This novel of eccentricity and inner beauty transcends the way we often categorize both the living and the dead. Sheri Reynolds shows rare talent and inventiveness, and deserves every bit of attention she gets.
http://www.sherireynolds.com/images/sheri_photo.jpgSheri Reynolds was born and raised in rural South Carolina. She graduated from Conway High School in 1985, Davidson College in 1989, and Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992.

Also an associate professor and the Ruth and Perry Morgan Chair of Southern Literature at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, Sheri teaches creative writing and literature classes. She won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia in 2003, and in 2005, she received a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts in playwriting. She has also taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, The College of William and Mary, and Davidson College.
http://www.sherireynolds.com/
http://tinyurl.com/2xto6z

[Hippiepoet]

This week I chose a book that you guys may have seen on the Best Seller Lists. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for 44 weeks. The book is A Thousand Splendid Suns (http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Splendid-Suns-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/1594489505/dreamindemon-20) by Khaled Hosseni. I had to purchase this book, figuring if it's been on the NYT Best Seller List this long, it must be pretty damn good. I started reading this book a couple days ago, and frankly it is hard to put down. I'm currently starting on Chapter 16. It is a lovely story, a brutal story, and a glimpse into a life of two women brought up in Afghanistan. I'm probably going to have to venture into Mr. Hosseini's first novel The Kite Runner (http://www.amazon.com/Kite-Runner-Riverhead-Essential-Editions/dp/1594481776/dreamindemon-20) , for he writes a really good story.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51f2xhsXaHL._SS500_.jpg

"With his second novel, Khaled Hosseini proves beyond a shadow of doubt that "The Kite Runner" was no flash in the Afghan pan. Once again set in Afghanistan, the story twists and turns its way through the turmoil and chaos that ensued following the fall of the monarchy in 1973, but focuses mainly on the lives of two women, thrown together by fate.

The story starts decades before the Taliban came into power in 1996, and ends after the era of Taliban rule. The main character begins life as a "harami" - the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man and one of his housekeepers. Forced to live in a small shack with her emotionally disturbed and possibly epileptic mother, Mariam lives for Thursdays, the day her father comes to see her, bearing small gifts and showering her with the affection she craves. Naturally, Mariam wants to be a part of her father's life and fit in with his legitimate family, but when she attempts to force his hand, she is rebuffed and feels betrayed by his reaction. Her impetuous actions bring an end to the life she has known for fifteen long years, and lead to an arranged marriage to a much older man, a shoemaker, whose views on the rights of women mirror those that the Taliban would soon enforce.

During the time that Mariam is dutifully enduring her unhappy marriage, a neighbor gives birth to a baby girl, whom they name Laila. By her ninth birthday, Laila has grown up to be a beautiful child with blonde hair, turquoise-green eyes, high cheekbones and dimples. Unfortunately, her mother lives only for the day her older sons will return home from fighting the jihad, and is consumed by the vision of a free Afghanistan. Laila's best friend is a boy named Tariq, her confidant, defender and co-conspirator, and by the end of communist rule in 1992, Laila is fourteen, and beginning to see Tariq in a different way that she does not quite understand.

The enthusiastic rejoicing at the end of the jihad is silenced by the internal battles of the Mujahideen, and when the bombs start falling on Kabul, Laila and Tariq are forced apart. Circumstances can make strange things happen, and Laila soon becomes a part of Mariam's husband's household, by necessity rather than choice. The rest of this unforgettable story reflects the heart-rending sacrifices of these women, and allows the reader a peek behind the burqa, to the heart of Afghanistan.

There are parts of this book that will have grown men surreptitiously blotting the tears that are on the verge of overflowing their ducts, and by the time you get to the middle, you won't be able to put it down. Hosseini's simple but richly descriptive prose makes for an engrossing read, and in my opinion, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is among the best I have ever read. This is definitely not one to be missed."

[Hippiepoet]

This week the spotlight is on J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" (http://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/0316769177/dreamindemon-20). I picked this book for a couple of reasons. First of all SoJaded mentioned it in regards to a book that had been banned, yes, this book has gone under scrutiny more than a few times in schools. I myself remember reading the book in High School. I've a copy on my shelf in paperback that I should pick up again and read, for it has been a good long while. Mr. Salinger stirred up a good many folk when this book was published, and I love that. Nothing like words all written together into a story, to rile idiots up.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Rye_catcher.jpg
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J. D. Salinger. First published in the United States in 1951, the novel has been a frequently challenged book in its home country for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and teenage angst.

Originally published for adults, the novel has become a common part of high school and college curricula throughout the English-speaking world; it has also been translated into almost all of the world's major languages. Around 250,000 copies are sold each year, with total sales of more than 65 million.

The novel was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.

The novel's protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon for teenage rebellion and defiance. Written in the first person, The Catcher in the Rye follows Holden's experiences in New York City in the days following his expulsion from Pencey Prep, a college preparatory school.

Plot summary

The novel covers 72 hours in the life of Holden Caulfield, a tall, skinny, anxious and depressed teenager who academically flunked out of Pencey Prep, a boarding school. Holden is 17 when he tells the story; he was 16 when the events occurred.

His story starts on Holden's last day at Pencey Prep. He is standing on the crest of a hill that overlooks the football field. It is the final game of the season, but Holden has never cared much for established tradition. He instead runs across the street to the residence of Mr. Spencer, his history teacher. It is revealed here that Holden has been expelled and that he doesn't particularly care.

Holden talks with old acquaintances at school and gets into a fight with his roommate before leaving for New York City, electing to stay there. He considers hitchhiking out west and building a cabin away from everyone he knows. At one point he propositions an ex-girlfriend to join him on the trip, even though he doesn't particularly like her. She declines his offer suggesting it is impractical.

The next day, he arranges to have his younger sister, Phoebe, meet him at lunchtime. She is carrying one of Holden's old suitcases full of clothes. Phoebe tells Holden that she is going with him. He angrily refuses, feeling that he has influenced her to want to go with him instead of staying in school. She cries and refuses to speak to him. Knowing that she will follow him, Holden walks to the zoo, letting her anger lift. Phoebe starts talking to Holden again, and Holden promises to forget about his plan to run away and return home on Wednesday. He buys her a ticket for the carousel in the park and watches her ride an old horse on it. As Holden watches her ride the carousel, his own mood lifts. Soon he is nearly moved to tears with remorse, longing, and bittersweet happiness.

At this point in the book, he explains that he will be going to another school in the fall again but doesn't know for sure if he will start applying himself. He mentions that he is being psychoanalyzed and finishes with the words, "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."

Controversy

In 1960, a teacher was fired, and later reinstated, for assigning the novel in class. Between 1961 and 1982, The Catcher in the Rye was the most censored book in high schools and libraries in the United States. In 1981, it was both the most censored book and the second most taught book in public schools in the United States. According to the American Library Association, The Catcher in the Rye was the 13th most frequently challenged book from 1990–2000. It was one of the 10 most challenged books in 2005, and came off the list in 2006.

The challenges generally begin with vulgar language, citing the novel's use of words like "fuck" and "goddamn", with more general reasons including sexual references, blasphemy, undermining of family values and moral codes, Holden's being a poor role model, encouragement of rebellion, and promotion of drinking, smoking, lying, and promiscuity. Often, the challengers have been unfamiliar with the plot itself. Shelley Keller-Gage, a high school teacher who faced objections after assigning the novel in her class, noted that the challengers "are being just like Holden ... They are trying to be catchers in the rye." A reverse effect has been that this incident caused people to put themselves on the waiting list to borrow the novel, when there were none before.

Mark David Chapman, who assassinated John Lennon, was carrying the book when he was arrested immediately after the murder and referred to it in his statement to police shortly thereafter. John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was also reported to have been obsessed with the book.

http://tinyurl.com/njary

http://www.geocities.com/deadcaulfields/images/lottejacobiLarge.jpg
On the 20th of November, 1952, J.D. Salinger (author of Catcher in the Rye) came to the studio and said he wanted a portrait of himself for his mother and his fiancee. Since I didn't [know] as much then as I do now, I set up the camera and light and sat him right down. His expression was so rigid and self-conscious [that] I was at my wits end. Nothing happened. I decided on something I had never done before with an adult. I excused myself, went up to my apartment and came down with "Catcher in the Rye." I brought him a table and ashtray, set down the book (why the hell didn't I ask him to autograph it?) and suggested he do anything he pleased. Read to himself. Read aloud or just smoke.

If I'd thought he was going to be so damned famous, I'd have written down everything we talked about to get the expression we did. I took 48 5x7 negatives. Serious, thoughtful, smiling, laughing, howling with laughter. White shirt, white background. Black suit, black background. But I don't remember a thing.

He was pleased with the results, but asked me not to show the portraits publicly. When I asked why, he said when people recognized him, they usually behaved peculiarly because they thought he would write about them. I promised I wouldn't and I kept that promise for thirty years. My 1982 exhibition was titled "Thirty Years of Color and J.D. Salinger." Enough was enough and anyway who the hell would recognize him after 30 years and if they did, would it matter? What I have found astonishing is that over the years, when I mention J.D. Salinger, young people's eyes open wider and a deep breath is taken. That's the pattern.

Photographer Antony di Gesu
Quotation courtesy of San Diego Historical Society
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/digesu/digesu2.htm

[Hippiepoet]

On April 11, Mr. Scott Turow celebrated his birthday. While I was preparing the "Notable Writers Born Today" List, I came across his latest novel, Limitations (http://www.amazon.com/Limitations-Scott-Turow/dp/0312426453/dreamindemon-20), which came out in 2006. I've read Scott Turow before, and I thought this sounded like a good read.

http://www.bookreporter.com/art/covers/140w/0312426453.jpg
Scott Turow's "Limitations" is the story of George Mason, a fifty-nine year old former criminal defense attorney who is now an appellate court judge. The case currently keeping him up at night is "People vs. Jacob Warnovits." Four white men, now in their middle twenties, were convicted of criminal sexual assault for depraved acts that they committed back in high school. The victim was fifteen-year-old Mindy DeBoyer, an African American girl who passed out after a night of heavy drinking at a party; Jacob Warnovits assaulted Mindy while she was unconscious, and he subsequently videotaped his buddies raping her. Warnovits kept the tape and later showed it to his fraternity brothers in college. Someone tipped off the authorities, and the young men were arrested, tried, convicted, and given the mandatory minimum sentence of six years. They remain free on bond pending the results of their appeal.

Judge Mason and his colleagues must decide whether to affirm or reverse the lower court's ruling. Possible arguments for reversal are that the three-year statute of limitations passed before the case came to trial, and that the videotape, which was illegally shot and prejudicial in nature, should not have been admitted into evidence in the first place. Mason is perturbed, not only because the law is unclear, but also because he himself had been guilty of a sexual indiscretion back in college. He fears that his personal history may taint his ability to act impartially.

Mason has other worries, as well. His devoted wife, Patrice, is being treated for thyroid cancer, and an anonymous individual has been sending him a series of threatening messages. There is speculation that Jaime Colon, the sadistic leader of an infamous street gang, may be out to take revenge on the man who upheld his conviction and sent him to prison.

Turow's cast of characters is varied and lively. They include Judge Nathan Koll, a brilliant megalomaniac who is as paranoid as he is ambitious, Cassandra Oakey, an aggressive law clerk who refuses to defer to her superiors, and Mason himself, who sometimes wonders whether anyone is capable of judging others fairly. "Limitations" refers not just to legal statues but also to the frailties and imperfections that are part of being human. In spite of his occasional self-doubt, Mason believes in the power of the law to mete out justice and impose a semblance of order on an often hate-filled and chaotic society.

Turow lucidly explores the complex issues raised in the emotionally charged Warnovits case. He puts the reader on the bench along with Mason and his colleagues; we get to decide what we believe the ultimate fate of the defendants should be. The book's sole flaw is the jarring and unnecessary story line about Mason's stalker. Not only is this plot element poorly integrated with the rest of the narrative, but its resolution is implausible and unsatisfying. This quibble notwithstanding, "Limitations" is an entertaining, fast-paced, and thought-provoking legal thriller.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d7/1scottturow.jpg/180px-1scottturow.jpg
Scott Turow (born April 12, 1949) is an American author, as well as a practicing lawyer. Turow has written eight fiction and two nonfiction books, which have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 25 million copies. Movies have been based on several of his books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Turow

[Hippiepoet]

I purchased this book from Amazon a little while back because it was listed as a recommended read on a book list I'd posted. It drew my interest because it said it was about this Vietnam Vet cop, Officer Hanson, who is a real go-getter. I confess to being fascinated by the Vietnam War and enjoy reading almost anything about it; Fiction or Nonfiction.

I'm damn near finished reading it, and I've not been disappointed. Hanson is a good guy but an asshole as well. I like him passionately at times and other times I am thinking.....this fucking guy is a nut case....which I may conclude by the end of the book. ;)

I'd recommend reading it, as I probably will again. Hanson, his partner Dana and one of Hanson's old Vet friends, Doc...are some interesting fucking characters to say the least. This book has got it all....sex, drugs, violence...life behind the scenes of a cop's world, written by a former cop.

Night Dogs

The night dogs of the title of Kent Anderson’s novel are explained at first as the dogs that roam the street of Portland, Oregon, scavenging and attacking the contents of the city. Either born feral or made that way, the night dogs are a danger to the residents of the city and as such must be got rid of. This leads to the game the police officers of the North precinct play, holding a count of how many each car kills when out on maneuvers, each time calling another car to verify the fatality.

Hanson is a police officer who tries to avoid these games. Having returned from the Vietnam War he has found that he can’t end the fighting, and so chooses to become a cop, providing the fighting with a context. He knows that he is no different from the criminals he abuses and is abused by and says as much.

As the story of Hanson’s tour of duty in Portland progresses, the difference between those who fought in Vietnam and those who didn’t becomes increasingly clear - everybody involved in the war is damaged. They are still fighting in a jungle environment; they are still ready to shoot anything that they do not trust.

The plots carrying on over the Vietnamese backdrop illustrate Hanson’s emotional support by Truman, the blind dog that he rescued, and his partner, Dana, as well as his bond with Vietnam vet, Doc, with whom he served.

Doc has chosen the other route of continuing the war and is involved in various non-specific illegal activities. When Dana is shot in the line of service Hanson starts to lose control, taking the cocaine Doc supplies him.

Hanson’s battle with his memories, which he can’t leave behind and can’t bear to face, have made him and others whom he must deal with night dogs themselves. They can no longer function easily within society and race through the streets, attacking people, cars, dogs and buildings.

What ultimately saves Hanson from staying in this state is the devotion of Truman, the dog he saved from joining the night dogs. Truman’s trust and uncomplaining loyalty stops him from being alone, and it is through his concern for the dog that he ends up saving himself by leaving the city.

http://tinyurl.com/3zdva5

[Hippiepoet]

A friend of mine loaned me this book by Caleb Carr and another by this author called "The Angel Of Darkness". I am about 1/4 way through and although I felt the start a tad slow, the book is definitely picking up the pace. A very detailed historical novel that I am finding extremely engrossing.

I also wanted to add that I mentioned this book to our very own Lizard aka Lisa who recommended this as a good read. (Thank you Lisa!)

The Alienist

The year is 1896, the place, New York City. On a cold March night New York Times reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned to the East River by his friend and former Harvard classmate Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, or "alienist." On the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge, they view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan's infamous brothels.

The newly appointed police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in a highly unorthodox move, enlists the two men in the murder investigation, counting on the reserved Kreizler's intellect and Moore's knowledge of New York's vast criminal underworld. They are joined by Sara Howard, a brave and determined woman who works as a secretary in the police department. Laboring in secret (for alienists, and the emerging discipline of psychology, are viewed by the public with skepticism at best), the unlikely team embarks on what is a revolutionary effort in criminology-- amassing a psychological profile of the man they're looking for based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before. and will kill again before the hunt is over.

Fast-paced and gripping, infused with a historian's exactitude, The Alienist conjures up the Gilded Age and its untarnished underside: verminous tenements and opulent mansions, corrupt cops and flamboyant gangsters, shining opera houses and seamy gin mills. Here is a New York during an age when questioning society's belief that all killers are born, not made, could have unexpected and mortal consequences.


http://tinyurl.com/4fkce7

[Hippiepoet]

This week I decided to go with an old classic novel by John Steinbeck. I read this years ago in high school and reread it in my early twenties. I was thinking it was about time to reread this novel again...(or at least spotlight it for now).;)
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced Anglo migrant ranch workers in Great Depression-era California.

Based on Steinbeck's own experiences as a bindle stiff in the 1920s (before the arrival of the Okies he would vividly describe in The Grapes of Wrath), the title is taken from Robert Burns's poem, To a Mouse, which is often quoted as: "The best-laid plans of mice and men/ often go awry," though the phrase in the original Scots of the poem is "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men/ Gang aft agley."

Required reading in many American, Australian, British, New Zealand, Canadian and French high schools, Of Mice and Men has been a frequent target of censors for what some consider offensive and vulgar language; consequently, it appears on the American Library Association's list of the Most Challenged Books of 21st Century.

Plot summary

Two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression – George Milton, an average in stature, intelligent, and cynical man; and Lennie Small, an ironically named man of large stature and immense strength, but limited mental abilities – come to a ranch near Soledad south-east of Salinas, California to "work up a stake". They hope to one day attain their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the dream, which he never tires of hearing George describe, is merely to have soft rabbits on the farm, which he can tend. George protects Lennie at the beginning from himself by telling him that if he gets into trouble he won't let him "tend them rabbits"; they are fleeing from their previous employment in Weed where they were run out of town after Lennie's love of stroking soft things resulted in an accusation of attempted rape when he touched a young woman's dress.

At the ranch, the dream appears to move closer to reality. Candy, the aged, one-handed ranch-hand, even offers to pitch in with Lennie and George so they can buy the farm by the end of the month. The dream crashes when Lennie accidentally kills the young and attractive wife of Curley, the ranch owner's son, while trying to stroke her hair. A lynch mob led by Curley gathers. George, realizing he is doomed to a life of loneliness and despair like the rest of the migrant workers, and wanting to spare Lennie a painful death at the hands of the vengeful and violent Curley, shoots Lennie in the back of the head before the mob can find him. The shot occurs while Lennie is distracted by one last retelling of the dream.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Mice_and_Men

[So Jaded]

I abso-fuckin-lutely love this book!!!! :D I think I have read it no less than 4 times.

And, for once, I appreciated the movie that was made as well. John Malkovich made for a very believable character.

[Hippiepoet]

Last month while working on my Notable Writers Born Today thread, I happened upon this book and I thought it sounded like an interesting read. I love good Science Fiction and especially the older writes. If anyone has read this or anything else by James Blish let me know. I'd be quite pleased with any information.

Cities in Flight
"Amazon.com
Cities in Flight is an omnibus volume of four novels, originally published between 1955 and 1962, two of which are fix-ups of pieces that first appeared in various magazines in the early '50s. Despite having been conceived more than 50 years ago, and produced in episodic fashion, they stand head and shoulders above most SF available today.

In They Shall Have Stars, humankind's will to explore space is renewed with the advent of two discoveries: anti-gravity (the "spindizzy" machines) and the key to almost eternal life (anti-agathic drugs). By A Life for the Stars, centuries have passed and most of the major cities have built spindizzies into their bedrock and left earth, cruising the galaxy looking for work, much like the hobos of the Depression Era. Earthman, Come Home, told from the perspective of John Amalfi, the major of New York, was the first-written of the novels and--although not as tightly woven as the other segments--is still a masterly work. Blish gives the same weight and authority both to the sweeping cultural change wrought and suffered by the cities, and to the emotional growth of a man who is several hundred years old. We stay with Amalfi for the final episode, The Triumph of Time. New York is now planet-bound in the Greater Magellanic Cloud, but when Amalfi learns of the impending destruction of time itself, he is forced into space one more time, to take a last, desperate chance. The novel ends, literally, with a bang.

Despite the occasional, inevitable anachronism, such as vacuum tubes, Cities in Flight stands up remarkably well to modern reading. The novel's political and literary sophistication was unmatched in its time; there is very little to rival it even today. For most readers of a certain age, this was probably the first SF they encountered that was written from a mature standpoint and adult sensibility. The fact that Blish also manages to tell a fabulous, galaxy-spanning adventure tale makes this essential reading"

from Wiki
http://tinyurl.com/6r9tr2
Cities in Flight

Perhaps Blish's most famous works were the "Okies" stories, known collectively as "Cities in Flight", published in the science-fiction digest magazine Astounding Science Fiction. The framework for these was set in the first of four novels, They Shall Have Stars, which introduces two essential features of the series. The first is the invention of the anti-aging drug ascomycin; Blish's employer Pfizer makes a thinly disguised appearance as Pfitzner in a section showing the screening of biological samples for interesting activity. (Pfizer also appears in disguise as one of the sponsors of the polar expedition in a subsequent book, Fallen Star). The second is the development of an antigravity device known as the "spindizzy". Since the device becomes more efficient when used to propel larger objects, entire cities leave an Earth in decline and rove the stars, looking for work among less-industrialized systems. The long life provided by ascomycin is necessary because the journeys between stars are time-consuming.

They Shall Have Stars is dystopian science fiction of a type common in the era of McCarthyism. The second, A Life For The Stars, is a coming of age story set amid flying cities. The third, Earthman, Come Home, is a series of loosely connected short stories detailing the adventures of a flying New York City; it was selected as one of the best novellas prior to 1965 by the Science Fiction Writers of America and as such, was reprinted in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two.

For his fourth and final installment, The Triumph of Time (UK title: A Clash of Cymbals), Blish set the end of his literature's universe in 4004 AD. (The chronology in early editions of They Shall Have Stars differed somewhat from the later reprints, indicating that Blish, or his editors, may not have planned this at the beginning of the series.) A film version of Cities in Flight was in pre-production by Spacefilms in 1979, but never materialized."

[Hippiepoet]

I am so behind on my weekly goodies. All should be caught up soon, for my lovely satellite guy visited me today and replaced my poor sickassfucking transmitter on my dish. I've been taking clonazepam like candy today because I've been so excited about being here again.....(and freaking that I'm BEHIND)....bare with me my Demon friends.:crutch:

The Hobbit. Man, I am not sure why I went with this one. It just sort of popped in my head like two minutes ago.

I asked Mr. Hip. "Give me a damn good book. I haven't posted in like 3 weeks." Mr. Hip is like "Ummmmmm", and then shitfire, The Hobbit hits me. Maybe the trolls and what not nudged my mind, we seem to get a few on here every now and again.:madgrin:

I've had the pleasure to read this book numerous times. It is one of those adventures for me that damn near seem real when I am reading it. I remember reading this as a child and wanting to live at the Shire. Life seemed so beautiful and the lines of good and evil were easy to see. Bilbo Baggins. This little Hobbit had one hell of an adventure and I don't mind saying, when I read it, I wish I were there.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, written for children in the tradition of the fairy tale. Tolkien wrote the story in the late 1920s to amuse his three sons. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction. More recently, The Hobbit has been recognized as the "Most Important 20th-Century Novel (for Older Readers)" by the children's book magazine Books for Keeps.The book has sold an estimated 100 million copies worldwide since first publication.

The Hobbit is set in a time "between the dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men", and follows the quest of home-loving Bilbo Baggins (the titular "Hobbit") to win his share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. His journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into darker, deeper territory, meeting diverse denizens of the Wilderland along the way. By accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey and adventurous side of his nature (the "Tookish" side) and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo develops a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom.

The story is told in the form of an episodic quest: most chapters introduce a specific creature, or type of creature, of Tolkien's Wilderland. The prose adventure is interspersed with songs and poetry, many of which serve to lighten the tone of otherwise frightening or dramatic scenes. The final chapters deal with the climactic Battle of Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict. Critics have drawn parallels with Tolkien's own experiences and the themes of other writers who fought in World War I.

A sequel was requested by his publishers, and as work on the The Lord of the Rings progressed, Tolkien made accommodations for it in one chapter of The Hobbit. These few but significant changes were integrated into the second edition. Further editions followed, correcting minor errors and reflecting Tolkien's changing concept of the world into which Bilbo stumbled.

The work has never been out of print since the paper shortages of the Second World War. Its ongoing legacy encompasses many adaptations for stage, screen, radio, and gaming, both board and video games. Some of these adaptations have received critical recognition of their own, including a video game that won the Golden Joystick Award, a scenario of a war game that won an Origins Award, and an animated picture nominated for a Hugo Award.

Synopsis

Gandalf (a wizard) tricks Bilbo into hosting a party for Thorin's (head of the company of dwarves) band of dwarves, who sing of reclaiming the Lonely Mountain and its vast treasure from the Dragon Smaug. When the music ends, Gandalf unveils a map showing a secret door into the Mountain and proposes that the dumbfounded Bilbo serve as the expedition's "burglar". The dwarves ridicule the idea, but Bilbo, indignant, joins despite himself.

The group travel into the wild, where Gandalf saves the company from trolls and leads them to Rivendell. While there, Elrond (head of the elves) reveals more secrets from the map. Passing over the Misty Mountains, they are caught by goblins and driven deep underground. Although Gandalf rescues them, Bilbo gets separated from the others as they flee the goblin tunnels. Lost and disoriented, he stumbles across a mysterious ring and then encounters Gollum (once a hobbit who goes crazy from the One Ring)

The company enter the black forest of Mirkwood without Gandalf. In Mirkwood, Bilbo first saves the dwarves from Giant Spiders and then from the dungeons of the Wood-elves. Nearing the Lonely Mountain, the travellers are welcomed by the human inhabitants of Lake-town, who hope the dwarves will fulfil prophecies of Smaug's demise. The expedition travel to the Mountain and find the secret door; Bilbo scouts the dragon's lair, stealing a great cup and learning of a weakness in Smaug's armour. The enraged dragon, deducing that Lake-town has aided the intruder, sets out to destroy the town. A noble thrush who overheard Bilbo's report of Smaug's vulnerability reports it to Bard the Bowman, who slays the Dragon.

When the dwarves take possession of the mountain, Bilbo finds the prized Arkenstone gem and steals it. The Wood-elves and Lake-men besiege the Mountain and request compensation for their aid, reparations for Lake-town's destruction, and settlement of old claims on the treasure. Thorin refuses and, having summoned his kin from the north, reinforces his position. Bilbo tries to ransom the Arkenstone to head off a war, but Thorin is intransigent. He banishes Bilbo, and battle seems inevitable.

Gandalf reappears to warn all of an approaching army of goblins and Wargs. The dwarves, men, and elves band together, but only with the timely arrival of the eagles and Beorn do they win the Battle of Five Armies. Thorin, mortally wounded, lives long enough to part from Bilbo as a friend. The treasure is divided fairly, but, having no need or desire for it, Bilbo refuses most of his contracted share. Nevertheless, he returns home with enough to make himself a very wealthy hobbit.

Publication

George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London published the first edition of The Hobbit on 21 September 1937. It was illustrated with many black-and-white drawings by Tolkien, who also supplied a design for the dust jacket. As Tolkien's original effort would have required several print colours, increasing the expense, the publisher gave the artwork to an anonymous designer to redraw. The original printing numbered a mere 1,500 copies and sold out by December due to enthusiastic reviews. Houghton Mifflin of Boston and New York prepared an American edition, to be released early in 1938, in which four of the illustrations would be colour plates. Allen & Unwin decided to incorporate the colour illustrations into their second printing, released at the end of 1937. Despite the book's popularity, paper rationing brought on by wartime conditions and not ending until 1949 meant that the book was often unavailable in this period.

The first printing of the first English-language edition can sell for between £6,000 and £20,000 at auction, although the price for a signed first edition has reached over £60,000 or $118242

Subsequent editions in English were published in 1951, 1966, 1978 and 1995. The novel has been reprinted frequently by many publishers. In addition, The Hobbit has been translated into over forty languages; some languages have seen multiple translations.


http://tinyurl.com/2mvx5a

:hippie:

[Hippiepoet]

Heh. I figured since my last spotlight was on The Hobbit, I decided this week to go with the wonderful follow-up to the story,....The Lord of the Rings.

I first read this adventurous novel, like no other, when I was in my early twenties. I also read it again both times I was pregnant with my kids. I had hard miserable time with both and reading The Lord of the Rings helped me escape. I would literally try to place myself in that world to get away from the sickness & anxiety of my reality.

I would have to say it is my most favorite book. No book has ever made me turn a page faster. No book has ever made me feel so much escapism...and it is such a wonderful, magical place to be. If you haven't read The Hobbit or The Lord of The Rings, I highly recommend checking that out. No fantasy epic has ever been written like Tolkien's Middle Earth stories.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by the English academic and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as merely a sequel to Tolkien's earlier work, The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger story. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II. Although intended as a single-volume work, it was originally published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955, and it is in this three-volume form that it is popularly known. It has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into many different languages, becoming one of the most popular and influential works in 20th-century literature.

The story of The Lord of the Rings takes place in an alternate pre-history, the Third Age of Middle-earth. The lands of Middle-earth are populated by Men (humans) and other humanoid races (Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs), as well as many other creatures, both real and fantastic (Ents, Wargs, Balrogs, Trolls, etc.). The title of the book refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who created the Rings of Power and the One Ring that rules them, the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of Middle-earth. From quiet beginnings in the Shire the story ranges across Middle-earth following the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, most notably the hobbits, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. The main story is followed in the book by six appendices that provide a wealth of historical and linguistic background material.

The Lord of the Rings has been subjected to extensive analysis of its themes and origins, as have all of Tolkien's works. Although a major work in itself, the story is only the last movement of a larger work Tolkein had worked on since 1917, that he described as a mythopoeia. Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings, include philology, mythology, industrialization, and religion, as well as earlier fantasy works and Tolkien's experiences in World War I. The Lord of the Rings in its turn is considered to have had a great effect on modern fantasy, and the impact of Tolkien's works is such that the use of the words "Tolkienian" and "Tolkienesque" has been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary.

The great and enduring popularity of The Lord of the Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's works, and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. The Lord of the Rings has inspired, and continues to inspire, artwork, music, films and television, video games, and subsequent literature. Adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made for radio, theatre, and film. The 2001–2003 release of Peter Jackson's widely acclaimed Lord of the Rings film trilogy prompted a new surge of interest in The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's other works.

http://tinyurl.com/5dqtpx

[Hippiepoet]

Pennsylvania Ghost Towns


Whether you're from Pennsylvania or not, whether you ever visited this fine state or not, this is a wonderful little book to read. Mr. Hip is from Pennsylvania and his Aunt Lynne bought him this book for Christmas....(I think that's when he got it???). Well I've been reading it along with other books, for this one has been my bathroom book. Everyone has an upstairs book, downstairs book & a bathroom book right?:mellow: Well I finished it this afternoon after taking a damn good dump....(you wanted to know that didn't you? [When the Hip gives you a book write up, she don't fuck around and leave out any details]):heh: muahahahahahahha

Though this book talks of ghost towns in it's title, only a few of the towns I read about actually talked about ghosts frequenting the sites. Of course, I believe in ghosts/spirits being everywhere some just seem to need to make themselves known more than others.:welcome:

What I loved about this book was its simplistic stories. Each little town Susan describes with basic information, condition of the area now, & directions on how to reach each site. Some towns have been made into historical sites, wildlife areas, or just simply hiking areas. Pennsylvania has so much to explore. Coming from a tree hugging hippie, when Mr. Hip first took me out to meet the family, I freaked out....I'd never seen so many trees in all my life.....forests upon forests, and now to know deep within many of those wild places, lies a little town, or remnants there of, with a story to tell.

I found myself taking a step back in time. Hard people and hard lives it took to develop the woods & mountains of Pennsylvania. Many story I read, and I was simply in awe at the bravery of these folks. Every state I am sure has it's ghost stories...its stories of the beautiful, sometimes tough & rough folks who came here to this country looking for a dream. Some found it through hard work and perseverance, others met with defeat. The thing with these little Pennsylvania towns that just didn't make it was....once the coal was depleted, once the timber had been all cut, whatever these folks needed to survive and make a living....when it dwindled away, so did they. Luckily their stories didn't.....For a quick read, and for some great history, I highly recommend this little book.:hippie:

From Amazon
Product Description:
"Cemeteries, abandoned buildings, and roads to nowhere are all that remain of several once-thriving towns in Pennsylvania. This guidebook profiles 46 locations that have been abandoned or left to ruin, and some that have seen new life as historic sites, with discussions on their history, daily life, fall, and current condition."

Susan Hutchison Tassin is a freelance writer who lives in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

[Harley_Tech]

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w11/s2rider/Cats/funny-pictures-why-no-garfield-in-b.jpg

[jlt080405]

When I lived in Maryland we went to gettysburg to check out the haunted battle and burial grounds. It is AMAZING how many ghost tours they give in that town, with their little lanterns and ghost stories. FUN

[Kitty]

"I'm probably going to have to venture into Mr. Hosseini's first novel The Kite Runner , for he writes a really good story"

If you haven't, you really should--IMO it's even better than 1000 Splendid Suns. They've even made it into a movie-- available on DVD now..

Kitty

[Hippiepoet]

More like Hippie's Monthly Spotlight....lol. Sorry family. Anytime anyone would like to spotlight a book, come on in here. With all the readers we have among us, I know you peeps got some good books to share as well.

Bullet and Shell

Bullet and Shell: The Civil War As the Soldier Saw It by George F. Williams is the book I want to talk about this week.

This was another great pick up from a yard sale from this summer. A fucking hardback book for 10 cents. Lucky, I am dammit, just lucky sometimes with the books.

I like reading stories about war, well not particularly what started them, but I like reading and learning about the people, the brave men and women who fought or served in wartime. I've always been a big fan of books on Vietnam, soldier's stories and nurse's as well. When I was growing up I was a huge M*A*S*H* fan, always knowing I wanted to be a nurse, and absolutely in love with Loretta Swit's character, Major Margaret Houlihan. Yeah I know what you're thinking.....what the fuck does that have to do with this story? Well, nothing really other than the fact that I am trying to give a small explanation of my love for war stories.:whip2:

The Civil War is the featured war in this story. A fascinating time where this country was divided, a story we all know, the North against the South. The South seceding from the Union in protest over President Lincoln and his political agenda to abolish slavery. The North felt very strong in halting the spread of slavery and the South felt strongly that they should have control over their own state's affairs....some Southerners stating it had not a thing to do with slavery, but power of the people and the state. Friend fought friend, and sometimes it was brother against brother.

In this particular story it is two young men who are friends, and suddenly they get thrown into the deadliest war in American History. A war where over 600,000 persons died.

I've only got 5 chapters into the story, and I am finding it so easy to read. The story is told as it happened by it's main character Frank Wilmot, and in a simplistic manner.

I got this information from Amazon.....

"The book is the narrative of Frank Wilmot described as " a stripling of twenty, fair complexioned, quite tall for his years, and the possessing of a tolerable share of good humor". Following Wilmot through both minor skirmishes and major battles such as Gettysburg and the Wilderness the accounts of combat are particularly powerful. Similarly the aftermath of battle is described in a manner which is honest and believable - "Horror stricken and heart sick, I gazed over the field along the line which we had held, seeing bodies in every direction and in every possible attitude. Here one poor fellow had crawled to the foot of a tree, and died as he sat. His fez was still on his head, the gibbering skull beneath it seeming to laugh at me, as the jaws had relaxed and fallen apart".

and this...

"George F. Williams was a real person, a member of several New York volunteer regiments that were part of the Union Army during the Civil War. Williams himself was both a soldier and a volunteer, and his "Bullet and Shell" written nearly twenty years after the end of the war is his account of the actions of the Union Army of the Potomac.

Be aware that this is a work of fiction based on true events and true people - including U.S. Grant, Generals Meade, Warren, Kilpatrick, Sedgwick, Custer and others. Williams apparently did not wish to go to a strictly autobiographical account as was the custom in those days. Here he skillfully chose two young protagonists - Frank, based on himself, and Tom, a Virginian, who while pre-war friends argued over secession and slave rights - and then when war broke out found themselves on opposite sides.

The carnage of battle is vividly described here - at Seven Days, Chancelorsville, Gettysburg and the Wilderness, as well as the final drama of Appomattox. Here Frank describes as close friends are killed nearby, the tedium of camp life,foraging for food in a destitute country, the adventures of scouts behind enemy lines, and the true events of the war as they built to a climax.

In one dramatic scene "Frank" (Williams) temporarily captures his former friend Tom at Gettysburg, then let him go - their friendship apparently still intact.

He also describes the characteristics of the Generals to a tee - Warren, nervous and irritable; Grant - "steady calm and confident" and Meade, "courtly".

I personally cannot wait to start getting into the "heart" of this book. Sounds like it gives a very real insight as to the day in the life of a Civil War soldier.

Peace & Happy Reading~
Hippie

Remember family, every time you click a book link and purchase it through the Demon, our wonderful site gets a little moola. So read a book beeches.:fish:

[nurseronda]

Hey, I got my thanks button back. So I getting back to normal again...:smile:

[brokenandtwisted]

Hippie is slackin'. So while she drinks on the job, I'll do her job. Initiative for the win. ;)

August 12th - August 19th.

Less Than Zero

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k235/brokenandtwisted/n16780.jpg

I've picked Bret Easton Ellis' "Less Than Zero". Yes, I've mentioned it before. Yeah...it was made into a terrible film, but we'll forget about that. Ellis is a fascinating writer who tends to profile the raw emptiness of humanity in his works. Existentialist at times rather than nihilistic, his works include "The Rules of Attraction", "American Psycho", "Lunar Park" and the title of the week, Less Than Zero.

Less Than Zero was originally published by Ellis in 1985 at the age of twenty-one, and is arguably his most acclaimed piece of work. Not to chastise the author, but he's never lived up to Less Than Zero. I've chosen this novel because I believe society (metaphorically of course) is currently in a state of nothingness. Here's the synopsis:

Synopsis:

Set in Los Angeles in the early 1980's, this coolly mesmerizing novel is a raw, powerful portrait of a lost generation who have experienced sex, drugs, and disaffection at too early an age, in a world shaped by casual nihilism, passivity, and too much money a place devoid of feeling or hope.

Clay comes home for Christmas vacation from his Eastern college and re-enters a landscape of limitless privilege and absolute moral entropy, where everyone drives Porches, dines at Spago, and snorts mountains of cocaine. He tries to renew feelings for his girlfriend, Blair, and for his best friend from high school, Julian, who is careering into hustling and heroin. Clay's holiday turns into a dizzying spiral of desperation that takes him through the relentless parties in glitzy mansions, seedy bars, and underground rock clubs and also into the seamy world of L.A. after dark.

Here you can read the first few pages of the novel:

Less Than Zero.

[Hippiepoet]

The Invention of Morel
....I chose this book because when I was doing the "Notable Writers Born Today" list I came across the author Adolfo Bioy Casares. Notice how his name has the initials ABC? His parents liked letters, heh, I thought that kind of cool. Anywho I was checking out some books he wrote and thought he sounded like a very interesting writer. Science Fiction stories is his bag, his thing, and he seems to do it well. Let me know if anyone has read anything this gentleman wrote for I'd enjoy your opinion. This book I've got on my wish list.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b8/MorelJacketCover1stES.jpg/225px-MorelJacketCover1stES.jpg
The Invention of Morel, sometimes translated as Morel's Invention, is a science fiction novel by Adolfo Bioy Casares published in 1940. It was Casares' breakthrough effort, for which he won the 1941 First Municipal Prize for Literature of the City of Buenos Aires. He considered it the true beginning of his literary career, despite being his seventh book. The first edition cover artist was Norah Borges, sister of Casares' lifelong friend, Jorge Luis Borges.

Plot introduction
A fugitive hides on a deserted island somewhere in Polynesia. Tourists arrive, and his fear of being discovered becomes a mixed emotion when he falls in love with one of them. He wants to tell her his feelings, but an anomalous phenomenon keeps them apart.

Plot summary

The fugitive starts a diary after tourists arrive on the desert island where he is hiding. Although he considers their presence a miracle, he is afraid they will turn him in to the authorities. He retreats to the swamps while they take over the museum on top of the hill where he used to live. Through this diary we learn that the fugitive is a writer from Venezuela sentenced to life in prison. He believes he is on the (fictional) island of Villings, a part of the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu), but is not sure. All he knows is that the island is the focus of a strange disease whose symptoms are similar to radiation poisoning.

Among the tourists is a woman who sees the sunset everyday from the cliff on the west side of the island. He spies on her and while doing so falls in love with her. She and another man, a bearded tennis player called Morel who visits her frequently, speak French among themselves. Morel calls her Faustine. The fugitive decides to approach her, but she doesn't react to him. He assumes she is ignoring him, but his encounters with the other tourists have the same result. Nobody on the island notices him. He points out that the conversations between Faustine and Morel repeat every week and fears he is going crazy.

All of a sudden the tourists vanish. The fugitive returns to the museum to investigate and finds no evidence of people being there during his absence. He attributes the experience to food poisoning, but the tourists reappear that night. They have come out of nowhere and yet they talk as if they have been there for a while. He watches them closely while still avoiding direct contact and notices more strange things. In the aquarium he encounters identical copies of the dead fish he found on his day of arrival. During a day at the pool, he sees the tourists jump to shake off the cold when the heat is unbearable. The strangest thing he notices is the presence of two suns and two moons in the sky.

He comes up with all sort of theories about what is happening on the island, but finds out the truth when Morel tells the tourists he has been recording their actions of the past week with a machine of his invention capable of reproducing reality. He claims the recording will capture their souls, and through looping they will relive that week forever and he will spend eternity with the woman he loves. Although Morel doesn't mention her by name, the fugitive is sure he is talking about Faustine.

After hearing that the people recorded on previous experiments are dead, one of the tourists guesses correctly they will die, too. The meeting ends abruptly as Morel leaves in anger. The fugitive picks up Morel's cue cards and learns the machine keeps running because the wind and tide feed it with an endless supply of kinetic energy. He understands that the phenomena of the two suns and two moons are a consequence of what happens when the recording overlaps reality--one is the real sun and the other one represents the sun's position at recording time. The other strange things that happen on the island have a similar explanation.

He imagines all the possible uses for Morel's invention, including the creation of a second model to resurrect people. Despite this he feels repulsion for the "new kind of photographs" that inhabit the island, but as time goes by he accepts their existence as something better than his own. He learns how to operate the machine and inserts himself into the recording so it looks like he and Faustine are in love, even though she might have slept with Alec and Haynes. This bothers him, but he is confident it won't matter in the eternity they will spend together. At least he is sure she is not Morel's lover.

On the diary's final entry the fugitive describes how he is waiting for his soul to pass onto the recording while dying. He asks a favor to the man who will invent a machine capable of merging souls based on Morel's invention. He wants the inventor to search for them and let him enter Faustine's conscience as an act of mercy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invention_of_Morel

[Hippiepoet]

The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne


~A true classic. One which most of us have probably read as a teen. Whether it was for a Literature assignment or simply because a classic book needed to be read.

The Scarlet Letter is the magnum opus of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin and guilt.

Plot summary

The novel begins in 17th-century Boston, Massachusetts, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her bosom. The scarlet letter "A" represents the act of adultery that she has committed and it is to be a symbol of her sin – a badge of shame – for all to see. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester's husband, who is much older than she is, sent her ahead to America while he settled some affairs in Europe. However, her husband never arrived in Boston. The consensus is that he has been lost at sea. While waiting for her husband, Hester has apparently had an affair, as she has given birth to a child. She will not reveal her lover’s identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. On this day Hester is led to the town scaffold and harangued by the town fathers, but she again refuses to identify her child’s father.

The elderly onlooker is Hester’s missing husband, who is now practicing medicine and calling himself Roger Chillingworth. He settles in Boston, intent on revenge. He reveals his true identity to no one but Hester, whom he has sworn to secrecy. Several years pass. Hester supports herself by working as a seamstress, and Pearl (her daughter) grows into a willful, impish child, who is more of a symbol than an actual character, said to be the scarlet letter come to life as both Hester's love and her punishment. Shunned by the community, they live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston. Community officials attempt to take Pearl away from Hester, but, with the help of Arthur Dimmesdale, an eloquent minister, the mother and daughter manage to stay together. Dimmesdale, however, appears to be wasting away and suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress. Chillingworth attaches himself to the ailing minister and eventually moves in with him so that he can provide his patient with round-the-clock care. Chillingworth also suspects that there may be a connection between the minister’s torments and Hester’s secret, and he begins to test Dimmesdale to see what he can learn. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers something undescribed to the reader, supposedly an "A" burned into Dimmesdale's chest, which convinces him that his suspicions are correct.

Dimmesdale’s psychological anguish deepens, and he invents new tortures for himself. In the meantime, Hester’s charitable deeds and quiet humility have earned her a reprieve from the scorn of the community. One night, when Pearl is about seven years old, she and her mother are returning home from a visit to the deathbed of John Winthrop when they encounter Dimmesdale atop the town scaffold, trying to punish himself for his sins. Hester and Pearl join him, and the three link hands. Dimmesdale refuses Pearl’s request that he acknowledge her publicly the next day, and a meteor marks a dull red “A” in the night sky. It is interpreted by the townsfolk to mean Angel, as a prominent figure in the community had died that night, but Dimmesdale sees it as meaning Adultery. Hester can see that the minister’s condition is worsening, and she resolves to intervene. She goes to Chillingworth and asks him to stop adding to Dimmesdale’s self-torment. Chillingworth refuses. She suggests that she may reveal his identity to Dimmesdale.

Hester arranges an encounter with Dimmesdale in the forest because she is aware that Chillingworth knows that she plans to reveal his identity to Dimmesdale, and she wishes to protect him. While walking through the forest, the sun will not shine on Hester, though Pearl can bask in it. They then wait for Dimmesdale, and he arrives. Hester informs Dimmesdale of the true identity of Chillingworth and the former lovers decide to flee to Europe, where they can live with Pearl as a family. They will take a ship sailing from Boston in four days. Both feel a sense of release, and Hester removes her scarlet letter and lets down her hair. The sun immediately breaks through the clouds and trees to illuminate her release and joy. Pearl, playing nearby, does not recognize her mother without the letter. She is unnerved and expels a shriek until her mother points out the letter on the ground. Hester beckons Pearl to come to her, but Pearl will not go to her mother until Hester buttons the letter back onto her dress. Pearl then goes to her mother. Dimmesdale gives Pearl a kiss on the forehead, which Pearl immediately tries to wash off in the brook, because he again refuses to make known publicly their relationship. However, he too clearly feels a release from the pretense of his former life, and the laws and sins he has lived with.

The day before the ship is to sail, the townspeople gather for a holiday and Dimmesdale preaches his most eloquent sermon ever. Meanwhile, Hester has learned that Chillingworth knows of their plan and has booked passage on the same ship. Dimmesdale, leaving the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing the mark supposedly seared into the flesh of his chest. He falls dead just after Pearl kisses him.

Frustrated in his revenge, Chillingworth dies a year later. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what has happened to them. Many years later, Hester returns alone, still wearing the scarlet letter, to live in her old cottage and resume her charitable work. She receives occasional letters from Pearl, who was rumored to have married a European aristocrat and established a family of her own. Pearl also inherits all of Chillingworth's money even though he knows she is not his daughter. There is a sense of liberation in her and the townspeople, especially the women, who had finally begun to forgive Hester of her tragic indiscretion. When Hester dies, she is buried in "a new grave near an old and sunken one, in that burial ground beside which King's Chapel has since been built. It was near that old and sunken grave, yet with a space between, as if the dust of the two sleepers had no right to mingle. Yet one tombstone served for both." The tombstone was decorated with a letter "A", and it was used for Hester and Dimmesdale.

http://tinyurl.com/575del

[WhatThe]

For Early November, I would like to spotlight this historical novel I recently finished reading for a book club. It is the type of book that I can't wait to keep passing around to family and friends. The first person I recommended it to was my mother. She read it in a few short days and said she could barely put it down.
There were a LOT of names and characters thrown about throughout the book. I have a hard time when this happens. The good part for me was that many of these characters were not well-developed. There was also a family tree printed at the beginning of the book. That was a little strange to see at first, but very appreciated once I started reading the book!
You do not have to have religious background or knowledge of the bible to enjoy this novel. I would say you need a bit of a strong stomach! There is some blood, gore, murder... Even though I believe the book is for a female audience, it's not quite as "girly" as the review might lead you to believe!

The Red Tent

Amazon.com Review
The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter, Dinah. Told in the voice of Jacob's daughter Dinah (who only received a glimpse of recognition in the Book of Genesis), we are privy to the fascinating feminine characters who bled within the red tent. In a confiding and poetic voice, Dinah whispers stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah--all wives to Jacob, and each one embodying unique feminine traits. As she reveals these sensual and emotionally charged stories we learn of birthing miracles, slaves, artisans, household gods, and sisterhood secrets. Eventually Dinah delves into her own saga of betrayals, grief, and a call to midwifery.
"Like any sisters who live together and share a husband, my mother and aunties spun a sticky web of loyalties and grudges," Anita Diamant writes in the voice of Dinah. "They traded secrets like bracelets, and these were handed down to me the only surviving girl. They told me things I was too young to hear. They held my face between their hands and made me swear to remember." Remembering women's earthy stories and passionate history is indeed the theme of this magnificent book. In fact, it's been said that The Red Tent is what the Bible might have been had it been written by God's daughters, instead of her sons. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Hippiepoet, please work your magic HERE: :-)

[feisty76]

Awesome! Not only are some of my favorite books on here, this is providing me with a lot of suggestions for upcoming reads in my book club.

Thank you Hippiepoet and all who have made suggestions!

[Hippiepoet]

Yahoo!! Thank you so much WhatThe for contributing.:proud2: Awesome sounding book.

Anyone wanting to contribute please do so. The more books the better!!!

Peace~Hippie:hippie:

[WhatThe]

For late November I chose to spotlight Water for Elephants. It was on the New York Times Best Seller List for 12 weeks in 2006 and the paperback hit #1 after it's release. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_for_Elephants, Historical Romance Novel)

Sara Gruen did remarkable research to tell an accurate story of behind the scenes circus life on traveling trains. The story is of an old man who is currently living in a nursing home. His past is told through flashbacks. At times, I can honestly say I didn't enjoy the content of the book. There was a lot of physical abuse, animal abuse, etc. But I can go beyond that and really appreciate that this is a very well thought out and well written book with so much time and thought put into each last detail.

Water for Elephants

Amazon.com Review
Jacob Jankowski says: "I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other." At the beginning of Water for Elephants, he is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn't always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. It wasn't a romantic, carefree decision, to be sure. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing because they had mortgaged everything to pay his tuition, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn't write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best. With Ringling Brothers as the standard, Benzini Brothers is far down the scale and pale by comparison.

Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob's life with this circus. Sara Gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Jacob, once it becomes known that he has veterinary skills, is put in charge of the "menagerie" and all its ills. Uncle Al, the circus impresario, is a self-serving, venal creep who slaps people around because he can. August, the animal trainer, is a certified paranoid schizophrenic whose occasional flights into madness and brutality often have Jacob as their object. Jacob is the only person in the book who has a handle on a moral compass and as his reward he spends most of the novel beaten, broken, concussed, bleeding, swollen and hungover. He is the self-appointed Protector of the Downtrodden, and... he falls in love with Marlena, crazy August's wife. Not his best idea.

The most interesting aspect of the book is all the circus lore that Gruen has so carefully researched. She has all the right vocabulary: grifters, roustabouts, workers, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there's trouble, Jamaican ginger paralysis, life on a circus train, set-up and take-down, being run out of town by the "revenooers" or the cops, and losing all your hooch. There is one glorious passage about Marlena and Rosie, the bull elephant, that truly evokes the magic a circus can create. It is easy to see Marlena's and Rosie's pink sequins under the Big Top and to imagine their perfect choreography as they perform unbelievable stunts. The crowd loves it--and so will the reader. The ending is absolutely ludicrous and really quite lovely. --Valerie Ryan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

[Kitty]

I second this book.. very good read!


For late November I chose to spotlight Water for Elephants. It was on the New York Times Best Seller List for 12 weeks in 2006 and the paperback hit #1 after it's release. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_for_Elephants, Historical Romance Novel)

Sara Gruen did remarkable research to tell an accurate story of behind the scenes circus life on traveling trains. The story is of an old man who is currently living in a nursing home. His past is told through flashbacks. At times, I can honestly say I didn't enjoy the content of the book. There was a lot of physical abuse, animal abuse, etc. But I can go beyond that and really appreciate that this is a very well thought out and well written book with so much time and thought put into each last detail.

(Hippiepoet's magic link here...)

Amazon.com Review
Jacob Jankowski says: "I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other." At the beginning of Water for Elephants, he is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn't always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. It wasn't a romantic, carefree decision, to be sure. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing because they had mortgaged everything to pay his tuition, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn't write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best. With Ringling Brothers as the standard, Benzini Brothers is far down the scale and pale by comparison.

Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob's life with this circus. Sara Gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Jacob, once it becomes known that he has veterinary skills, is put in charge of the "menagerie" and all its ills. Uncle Al, the circus impresario, is a self-serving, venal creep who slaps people around because he can. August, the animal trainer, is a certified paranoid schizophrenic whose occasional flights into madness and brutality often have Jacob as their object. Jacob is the only person in the book who has a handle on a moral compass and as his reward he spends most of the novel beaten, broken, concussed, bleeding, swollen and hungover. He is the self-appointed Protector of the Downtrodden, and... he falls in love with Marlena, crazy August's wife. Not his best idea.

The most interesting aspect of the book is all the circus lore that Gruen has so carefully researched. She has all the right vocabulary: grifters, roustabouts, workers, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there's trouble, Jamaican ginger paralysis, life on a circus train, set-up and take-down, being run out of town by the "revenooers" or the cops, and losing all your hooch. There is one glorious passage about Marlena and Rosie, the bull elephant, that truly evokes the magic a circus can create. It is easy to see Marlena's and Rosie's pink sequins under the Big Top and to imagine their perfect choreography as they perform unbelievable stunts. The crowd loves it--and so will the reader. The ending is absolutely ludicrous and really quite lovely. --Valerie Ryan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition