Unfinished Business

I've been a bad reader lately. I've done something I hate to do, and it's time to come clean ...

I started a book and I didn't finish it.

Then I did the same thing with another book.

I'm such a quitter!


In general, when I start reading a book, I'm a dedicated reader, in for the long haul. Sure, I may pick up a magazine from time to time, or even pause to read a short "fluff" book if it's taking me a while to get through a particularly long book. But I always finish what I start.

Well ... almost always.

It all started a little over a month ago. I picked up two books at the English Language Library. Both were historical fiction, and I was confident that they would both be very interesting. I started the first, and discovered that although it was a novel based on the life of a 19th-century royal, it read more like a scholarly biography. Too many names being thrown around, too many family lines and relations to keep straight, and not enough juicy bits. I got about halfway through, and then it was time to go on vacation.

I didn't want to get halfway through my vacation, finish the book and be without reading material, so I opted to leave this book behind and take the other one with me to America. This book took place in London, in the beginning of the 20th century. I started it on the long journey from Angers to Paris to London to Charlotte to Charleston ... but once I arrived in Charleston, I didn't pick it up again. Not even once. I was too busy reading housing ads and Charleston tourist magazines. And playing Uno. ;)

So although this second book could possibly have been a winner, I never gave it a fair chance. And for this, I am sorry. Perhaps someday I'll pick it up again. But not yet. I'd have to go back and start it from the beginning again, and I'm just not ready to do that.

Especially because I went to the Big Book Sale at the library Saturday. And brought five new books home with me. And I ony have till June to read these so I can donate them back for the next book sale.

I've started a new book, and although it's taking some effort to get into it, I'll keep forging on. And I'll post about it soon.

DREAMS FROM MY FATHER, Barack Obama

After reading Metropolis, I wanted to find a book about New York City in the 1900s, preferably one with lots of photos. I wandered over to the American History section of the library, but I didn't get very far in my search. My eyes fell on this book, and ... in the excitement leading up to the inauguration ... I decided to get to know my new President a little better.

Synopsis: During the course of the campaign, we got glimpses of Barack Obama the politician; this book gives us an idea of who he is as a man. We all know about his origins ... a mother from Kansas, a father from Kenya, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia, grandparents who played a major role in raising him. But how did this background affect his childhood and the man he would become? We learn about his search for an identity, for his place in the world. We follow him through his struggle to create change in the lives of the people of Chicago's South Side. And finally, we travel with him to Kenya as he comes full-circle to discover his family and his father's homeland.

My Thoughts: I started this book shortly before the inauguration; reading it provided me an additional feeling of connetion to the United States during this monumental event. I feel like I understand President Obama better as an individual, and of course my respect for him has only grown. The greatest feeling I had, though, was that of travelling back in time and getting to know Obama in his early years. As he struggled through challenges and setbacks, I wanted to shout into the book, "Keep going! Hang in there! I know how the story turns out ... and you're going to make it ... big!"

rating: *****
read: January 2009
source: English Language Library in Angers (borrowed)

METROPOLIS, Elizabeth Gaffney

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Enter the world of New York City in the late 19th century. Cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages, the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge ... Life isn't easy, especially for an immigrant. This imaginative story gives an in-depth view of what life was like in the city at that time.

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Synopsis: Frank Harris has lived many lives and carried different names. From his childhood in Germany to his arrival in New York City to his unfortunate association with the Whyo gang ... with each turn of bad luck, he enters a new chapter of his life. We identify with his desire to live an honest life, but things keep getting complicated.

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My Thoughts: This is such an interesting book! From the beginning, I felt immersed in the daily life of New York at the cusp of its greatness. I was with the main character through his turns of luck ... his accomplishments and his setbacks. There is quite a cast of characters, some charming and others dispicable. Reading this book made me want to see Gangs of New York again, because although I saw it several years ago, I have some images in my mind of the setting, which is the same. And although it's a different time and place from my life, it's easy to identify with the root of the story.

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rating: ****
read: December 2008 - January 2009
source: English Language Library in Angers (borrowed)

WIDEACRE, Philippa Gregory

I wanted to read "The Other Boleyn Girl" by the same author, but someone had already borrowed it from the library. So I took this one instead. I wish I had waited for the other one.

Synopsis: Beatrice Lacey is has a privileged life growing up on the Wideacre estate. Rather than her sickly, bookish brother, she spends her days at the side of her father in the fields. She loves the land and estate above all, but it's the 18th century, and she will never inherit Wideacre. Her life becomes a web of sin and deception as she does whatever she can to gain the land she loves so much.

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My Thoughts: I was hoping for an intriguing piece of historical fiction, but this turned out to be little more than a glorified romance novel. Aspects of the story were so disturbing, it was hard to get past them. Unfortunately, a character was introduced early on, and it was clear that he would return, and I was curious to see how things would turn out. 622 pages later, I wasn't very surprised ... but I was relieved to finally be finished with the book! There are two others in the series, but I won't waste my time on them. As for "The Other Boleyn Girl" ... I think I'll just see the movie.

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rating: *

read: November - December 2008

source: English Language Library in Angers (borrowed)

I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, Dodie Smith

Lighthearted but wracked with teenage drama. I loved the narrator's observations ... she's honest and funny, a real personality!

Synopsis: Cassandra and her family were once rather well-off, living on the profits and fame of her father's famous novel. But now they live in the ruins of an English castle, the money has run out, and Cassandra's father hasn't written anything in years. This is Cassandra's account of the state of her family ... and the excitement that ensues when two rich (... young, and handsome) American brothers come to live in the estate down the road.

My Thoughts: This one kept me reading ... I couldn't wait to see how things would turn out! But what drives the novel isn't just the story itself, it's Cassandra. It was so easy to identify with her ... even though she's only 17 ... and 17 was a long time ago for me! Some of her comments made me laugh out loud, and I also got wrapped up in the romance of the setting. It's a great read!

rating: ****
read: November 2008
source: English Language Library in Angers (borrowed)

THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER, Kim Edwards

I could not put this book down. The secret we learn in the beginning propels the reader through the years covered in the story, knowing that secrets are very hard to keep ...

Synopsis: 1964 - On a snowy night, a Doctor delivers his wife's baby, with only the help of his nurse. Unexpectedly, his wife gives birth to a second child, and the doctor finds that this child has Down syndrome. Trying to spare his wife a life of challenges and loss, he tells her that the child died at birth. He gives the child to his nurse, with instructions to leave her at an institution. Instead, the nurse leaves town and takes the baby to raise her as her own.

My Thoughts: This is such a complicated story, with secrets and sorrow, and their effects as the years pass. This secret shapes the lives of all the characters, and most of them are not even aware of it. Extremely well-written, I have a vivid image of the characters, their homes, the worlds they inhabit. I finished the book last night, but it's one of those books where there characters will linger on with me for a while.

In Googling the book for the cover image above, I found that it had been turned into a movie on Lifetime. I know movies rarely do justice to the books they depict, but I think I'd like to see it, anyway.


rating: *****
read: November 2008
source: Kristin accidentally left this book here on her visit ... I'm glad she did! (and with her permission, I will donate it to the English Language Library in Angers)

COASTLINERS, Joanne Harris

This is not the first book of Joanne Harris' that I have read, and it's not my favorite, either. But I did enjoy it. I read the entire book during my hospital stay last week.

Synopsis: The story takes place on an island off the coast of France, in a region I have visited while living here. The island is small, and has only two villages. The inhabitants have a long-standing rivalry, and it's always been clear that one village is more successful than the other. The protagonist of the story returns to the island after and absence of ten years. She finds her father, as silent and moody as ever, and the villagers struggling with rising tides that threaten to take over the village completely.

My Thoughts: Too many characters were introduced early on, and (maybe it was because of the morphine) I had trouble throughout the book keeping them straight. The protagonist's character wasn't explored as deeply as it could have been, and there were a few scenes that were supposed to be romantic (I think) but ended up being too ambiguous to tell. Still, Harris writes well, plunging the reader into the environment of the story.

rating: ***

read: November 2008

source: English-Language Library in Angers (borrowed)