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Wednesday, July 26, 2006

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cover of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

The first book in this series, which I read after the second, instead of the usual order. But still enjoyed the characters and the glimpses into Botswanan culture. Mma Ramotswe is very clever in the ways that she goes about her cases. There are a number of smaller cases which she is hired to solve, so her problem solving skills become very apparent. Also, there are pieces of Mma Ramotswe's history that are shared to give an understanding of who she is -- these were helpful for me, especially having already read another book.

One humorous section involved Mma Ramotswe thinking about her weight. That she has nothing to be ashamed of when she visits the doctor. She is built like a traditional African woman. Which means that she is strong and rather large. She has had enough food to eat, meaning she is wealthy enough to eat as well. A couple of times in the book this subject comes up and she reminds herself she should be confident and enjoy her appearance. And two men offer to marry her, so they must think she is beautiful as well. Different ideas than our current American ideal of beauty.

Title:The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Author:Alexander McCall Smith
Date published:1998
Genre:Mystery
Series:The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Number of pages:235
Notes:

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Wednesday, July 19, 2006

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cover of The Westing Game

A fun mystery. Begins with a new apartment building opening, and invitations to live there being sent to only a few specific people. Who all get to know each other fairly well over the next few months. Because, you see, there is a murder. Not just any murder -- but one with sixteen 'heirs', all of whom happen to live in this new apartment building. The will is a series of clues and rules for them as they set about to solve the mystery and figure out who is the murderer and win the inheritance. And also for the reader to discover the truth, of course!

At the reading of the will, every heir is placed into a pair. Which turn out to be very intentional. Through this pairing, each person gets something they would not have known to ask for. One man is paired with a woman who speaks Chinese and only a few phrases in English. They don't really care about winning, but they do enjoy getting to know one another as he teaches her English and they value one another as people. The most popular young woman is paired with the most unpopular woman, and they also learn to value one another and become friends - which neither of them would have suspected or pursued without this impetus.

Turtle Wexler is one of the main characters. She is the youngest daughter of a mother who does not favor her and often ignores her. But Turtle is smart and curious and wants to be listened to and loved for who she is. She is paired with an older woman, Flora Baumbach, who lost a daughter and wants someone to love. as Flora listens to Turtle and values her, both become more themselves and more confident in who they are, which is exciting to read about. Of course this fireball of a character turns out to be a lot like Mr. Westing, who was murdered. She figures out the puzzle and nobody else does. (It's a young adult novel! It's okay if it's not always logical..) Sad that at the end everyone is happy and gets to do what they wanted to without many problems. Not like real life at all, even though it's nice to read about.

Title:The Westing Game
Author:Ellen Raskin
Date published:1978
Genre:Young Adult
Number of pages:185
Notes: Repeat reading, read outloud with parents

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Tuesday, July 18, 2006

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cover of Pastwatch

Card displays his brilliance once again in a book that is both science fiction and history, both well-researched and truly "revisionist." In our future, the scattered remnants of humanity on Earth have developed a technology that enables them to see and hear the past, like a video camera that they can position any place and time they choose. Based on that technology, there is a world-wide organization called Pastwatch, which recruits talented scholars and historians to work on various projects. From one woman's study of slavery throughout history springs a new project; their investigation leads them to Christopher Columbus, and to the possibility that they might be able to change the past.

Eventually, the leaders of the Columbus project discover their technology can actually be used to send things back and alter the past-- although this would erase their own existence. One of the brilliant twists of this book (don't read if you don't want to know!) is their discovery that history has already been altered once: in an alternate past, Columbus led a successful crusade to free Constantinople, and the future people of that version of the past sent a holographic vision of the Trinity to send him West, in order to avert a terrible event: in their history, Europe was invaded by a South American empire that still practiced human sacrifice. So, the members of the Columbus project create a plan to alter history once again, but with a much more careful touch that will give the possibility for a more peaceful human future.

Interwoven with the stories of the future of Pastwatch are snippets from the life of Christopher Columbus. Card clearly did a significant amount of research, both on Columbus and on South America, and one of the most interesting ideas is his figure of Columbus as such an ambitious, passionate, charismatic man that could accomplish whatever he set his heart on, whether it was a crusade or a westward voyage, or peace.

Another aspect of this book that intrigued me was the proliferation of fascinating ideas. Pastwatch is really a community of scholars, and Card provides many of them with fascinating and plausible ideas of research-- one man's discovery of Atlantis and the origin of the flood story, another man's research into the South American cultures to discover the empire that was about to rise and never got the chance, and particularly one woman's approach to history: by moving backwards through the lives of the people she watched, instead of forward, she became more attuned to causes than effects. Perhaps Card is borrowing these ideas from other scholars, but it is astounding to me to see a writer throwing out so many different ideas, any one of which could occupy a scholar for years.

Title:Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
Author:Orson Scott Card
Date published:1996
Genre:Science Fiction / Alternate History
Number of pages:416

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Monday, July 17, 2006

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cover of Ombria in Shadow

Enjoyed this book, as I have enjoyed the other few things I've read by McKillip. A story of individuals who together create a force strong enough to radically change the world. Not that they aim for that, but it begins to happen when their lives intermingle. Domina Pearl, who wants to rule the land of Ombria and suck the life out of it (as she has done to herself) begins the book by gaining power to rule, and wants more. Few are willing to stand up to her or to ask her questions, but those few who do make all the difference.

The characters almost fit into categories for a fairy tale. The Evil Stepmother -- Domina Pearl, who has been alive longer than anyone can remember and whose magic skills are almost first among the land. The Knowledge-Seeker -- Camas Erl, who loves knowledge almost more than life itself. The Grieving Prince -- Ducon, who does not fit anywhere well, but because of that can draw together the unexpected. The Young Prince -- Kyel, who wants to be loved but those he trusts are taken from him. The Beautiful Young Woman -- Lydea, mistress to the dead ruler, who now fits neither in the court or in her father's tavern, also drawing together the unexpected. The Sorceress -- Faey, who lives beneath the city, working for anyone who will pay, with more power than anyone expects. The Waxling -- Mag, who has a knack for disappearing and knowing more than she should.

Mag, the waxling, is a wonderful character, who discovers she is human when she is seven. She lives under the city in the past with Faey, the sorceress. The city is sinking underground and has done so for many years, so there are pieces of the city's history. Mag knows all the passages from 'normal' life into this ancient amalgamation of life where she lives with Faey. Mag is the piece that ties together everyone else in the story. She is curious enough to be willing to get into trouble in order to find information, and tricky enough to usually not get caught. Even willing to meddle in Faey's work, when it is important enough. Mag grew up knowing Faey and not really anyone else, but she still has ideas of what is right and wrong. Which seems so true -- most people have ideas of right and wrong, which may be part cultural. Enjoyable to read about this girl who discovers what it means to think for herself, to trust herself, to grow up, to love.

Title:Ombria in Shadow
Author: Patricia McKillip
Date published:2002
Genre: Fantasy
Number of pages: 298
Notes: Recommended by Lark (who last read it in 2005)

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cover of Ultimate X-Men

As far as I can tell, Marvel's "Ultimate" series are re-imaginings of their classic superheroes in a contemporary setting-- probably targetted at people like me, who want to enjoy reading the comic books but don't know where to start. I'm not familiar enough with the X-Men to know if there are any significant departures here from other versions of their beginnings; and, in a way, I don't really care-- because this book is brilliant. It's well-written and engaging, and the artwork is absolutely gorgeous. The story begins with mutants being hunted down by government-sanctioned Sentinels, and Xavier, with the help of a teenaged, punk-looking Jean Grey, rescuing and recruiting the young, powerful mutants who will become his X-Men.

The story does a great job of fitting into a contemporary setting; I particularly liked the idea of Wolverine as a legendary assassin who had been photographed once (maybe, fleetingly) in Kuwait during Desert Storm. The other characters are equally fascinating-- for instance, seeing Hank's progressive transformation into something much bluer and beast-like.

In The Tomorrow People, the team comes together and faces off against Magneto's Brotherhood, trying to live up to Xavier's ideal of protecting the Homo Sapiens despite their hatred towards mutants. In Burial Service, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch mourn the loss of their father, Magneto. In Return to Weapon X, the majority of the X-Men are captured by Weapon X in their attempt to recover Wolverine (their most powerful & successful asset, before they lost him). Nick Fury plays a fairly significant supporting role in this section, and it's fun to see him operate.

Great stories, great writing, fabulous artwork. This book is high at the top of my favorite comic book collections, and I'm delighted to discover that several volumes of Ultimate X-Men are already out, because I can't wait to read more.

Title:Ultimate X-Men : Ultimate Collection (collects #1 The Tomorrow People, #1/2 Burial Service by Geoff Johns, and #2 Return to Weapon X)
Author:Mark Millar
Date published:2006
Genre:Graphic Novel
Series:X-Men
Number of pages:336

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Sunday, July 16, 2006

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cover of The Magic Circle

Mostly enjoyed this book. Neville's writing is wonderful, involving the reader quickly and thoroughly. Ariel Behn is thrust into an adventure she didn't want. She inherits dangerous manuscripts from her dead cousin and is sent on a number of travels to figure out what they are, why they are so important, and who wants them. She gets to discover all sorts of interesting facts and stories about her convoluted family as well. Stories she's never heard, as she finally has opportunity (and necessity) to interact with some members she never spent time with before. This main plot is the most exciting part of the novel.

Another piece comes with the title -- the magic circle. This is the idea that there are number of objects that must be together for the next millenium to come. With myths, astrology, and history, fictional conversations interspersed throughout the book tie together these ideas and what they might have looked like in the past. Several important historical figures, including Christ are represented as having had all thirteen of these objects together at pivotal moments in their lifetime. I guess it bothers me a bit because writing stories from history is so often stretching the truth -- taking pieces of truth and elaborating to a point that they are truly story with only a glimpse of truth. But humans believe stories so easily -- so if I didn't know the Jesus of the Bible, I might find some of these ideas and possibilities very enticing, but as it is, I mostly found them distracting and a bit frustrating.

Title:The Magic Circle
Author: Katherine Neville
Date published:1998
Genre:Mystery / Thriller
Number of pages: 552
Notes: repeat reading

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Wednesday, July 12, 2006

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cover of Villains United

I thought the idea of a bunch of villains banding together to fight other villains sounded kind of fun-- and it was. One problem: this book is part of a much larger story (the Infinite Crisis) that I really don't know that much about; the book did a nice job of giving an intro (with snippets from lots of different series and stories and characters that feed into this larger story), but I still felt a little bit lost. Another problem: maybe I usually don't read about villains because they tend to be rather nasty-- and bad guys beating up on other bad guys, even more so. I found it hard to identify with the characters, or want to care too much about them. With these reservations, it was an enjoyable quick read.

Lex Luthor has started a society of villains, and is basically forcing everyone to join with him-- and because of some recent poor treatment of another vilian by the Justice League (they wiped his memory after a particular atrocity), most are pretty willing to join in. But this book focusses on a group of six small-time villains who have been drafted by the mysterious Mockingbird, most of them against their will, to fight against Luthor's society. They are the "secret six."

There's lots of intrigue-- traitors and insiders, secret information and informants on all sides. Even the rather interesting notion that because one of the six secretly wants to be a hero rather than a villain, he is a traitor to his fellow bad guys. By the end, the various tasks the Six have done come to seem a little pointless-- just maneuvering on both sides. I suspected that Mockingbird was working from his own agenda entirely, and even thought it might be Lex playing both sides-- and I was half right. Turns out there were two Lexes in play, one from an alternate earth (who was running the Society), and the Lex from our earth wanted to eradicate all the competition-- not only the Justice League, but the other villains as well. Which is an interesting notion, but the very idea of alternate dimensions makes that idea seem rather short-sighted: there will always be competitors, in this dimension or another one.

A fun read, with really great artwork. It was fun to see the wide array of different villains, even though I'm not that familiar with them. (They kindly provided a kind of visual index in the back with a listing of all the villains featured, and it is amazing how many there are.) I didn't hate reading it, but I don't feel a need to re-read it anytime soon.

Title:Villians United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
Author:Gail Simone
Date published:2005
Genre:Graphic Novel
Number of pages:144

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Friday, July 07, 2006

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cover of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

This is an amazing book written from the perspective of a 15-year-old autistic boy. Everything about the book was immediately engaging and unique, and particularly apropros since I had just finished reading Oliver Sack's Anthropologist on Mars. Christopher, the narrator, finds a neighbor's dog dead with a garden "fork" (some Britishism?) stuck in it, so he decides to investigate (or, as he calls it, "do detecting") and solve the mystery. Although he is very logical, has an amazing memory, and is brilliant at math, because he is autistic Christopher can't interpret facial expressions and doesn't like to talk to strangers. Along the way on this adventure, Christopher uncovers all kinds of adult tragedy and emotional pain (mostly rooted in his own parents difficulty in dealing with him) that he really doesn't understand. I found this to be a brilliant and moving book.

I found the writing style completely believable and engaging-- I especially love the fact that Christopher says he is writing this book as a project, with the encouragement of a teacher at school, and the way diagrams are included, and even an appendix with the solution to one of the problems on his math test that he thought was particularly interesting. During the amazing sequence when Christopher travels on his own to London, I was intrigued to read how he notices every detail of the places where he is (not just that there are cows in a field, but how many, what color, which way they were facing, etc.); the reader even gets to experience this a little bit when Christopher is in the train station-- first he is reading all the signs, without discriminating or dividing, and then he becomes overwhelmed by them and they all get jumbled together.

I highly recommend this book to anyone. Not only is it delightful and often funny, but it offers a unique perspective into someone who is "different." It's particularly telling (and troubling) to see Christopher interact with people who don't know him, and they either think he is retarded, or incredibly rude, or weird because they don't understand.

Title:The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Author:Mark Haddon
Date published:
Genre:Fiction
Number of pages:
Notes:Recommended by Kendra

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Monday, July 03, 2006

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cover of An Anthropologist on Mars

The neurologist Oliver Sacks writes in depth about 7 different, strange cases. He writes much more in depth here than in The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, going into greater detail, referencing other research and ideas that relate more generally to the specific case, using these strange conditions to increase and expand our understanding of what it means to be human. In this book, Sacks works to keep an awareness of the individuality and personhood of his patients, and he does that partly through narrative-- by sharing their stories. The book is fascinating and well-written. This is my second reading of this book (the first was several years ago), and I noticed how well-read Sacks is, and not just in the scientific literature of his field. He is familiar with a wide range of literary texts and authors, and he connects them clearly with the scientific cases he discusses.

Each of the seven chapters focuses on a specific case.

The Case of the Colorblind Painter. An adult man develops "achromatopsia" (complete inability to see color) and because he is a painter, he is able to communicate clearly what his colorless world is like. Sacks uses this case to explore theories of color and finds insight into how the brain generates color, which provides us visual stability in a world of shifting wavelengths.

The Last Hippie. A rebellious young man lived as a hippie and then joined a religious cult, where a tumor causing blindness and personality changes went undiagnosed because his demeanor seemed "spiritual." This man's condition is similar to that of lobotomized patients, and Sacks uses this story to go into the history of the lobotomy procedure.

A Surgeon's Life. Sacks spends some time with a surgeon who has Tourettes-- the disease of nervous tics, sudden movements and repeated tic-like words or phrases-- and sees that when he operates on a patient, his Tourettes goes away for the duration of the surgery. Sacks writes about the uninhibited movements of Tourettic people, which gives them incredibly faster reaction times than that of a "healthy" person.

To See and Not See. A man who lost his sight as a child has surgery to remove his cataracts, and must struggle to learn how to process the world by sight instead of touch. [This story was the basis for the movie "At First Sight."] Virgil's struggle to process visual input, and the contrasting ease with which he can identify objects by touch, provides Sacks the opportunity to explain how much of the brain is devoted to interpreting visual input. Seeing and recognizing things seems so natural and instantaneous to us, but this is because as children, a great deal of time and energy was spent training our brains how to process this information. Virgil's story is a sad one-- he never fully acclimates to vision (his restored eyesight is not very good), and his poor health complicates the problem. Sacks also addresses the problem of blindness as a part of Virgil's identity which was lost when he regained his sight.

The Landscape of His Dreams. An Italian man with photographic memory has a mysterious illness, and suddenly finds himself remembering and even re-experiencing Pontito, the small Italian village he grew up in (even in three dimensions, as if he had a model in his head)-- and he discovers he has the artistic skill to paint it with extraordinary accuracy, from any angle. The tradeoff with this extraordinary memory is that Franco is like a man possessed, he lives almost entirely in his past and in his imagined, remembered Pontito.

Prodigies. Sacks talks about savants and prodigies generally, and then gives more detail on a young autistic artist named Stephen who has an extraordinary gift for drawing, particularly architecture. Due to the assistance and kindness of other people, and fame in England due to a documentary, Stephen was able to travel and draw the famous buildings of foreign cities, and his art has been published in several books. Sacks has the opportunity to meet him and travel with him, and struggles to guess what is going on inside his head, and whether he feels any emotion or connection to his traveling companion, who has made his life possible.

An Anthropologist on Mars. Sacks spends some time with a "high functioning" autistic woman named Temple who is a very successful engineer, designing humane facilities for the holding and treatment of cattle and other livestock. Temple is a visual thinker, and easily understands cows, but can only infer the emotions and behaviors of other humans logically, without truly understanding it. Clearly a brilliant woman, Temple also lectures and writes about her autism (she was the first autistic person to publish an autobiography), sees it as part of her identity, and recognizes the strengths and abilities it has granted her, in spite of the aspects of human life she knows she is missing.

The title of the book comes from Temple's description of herself-- because humans and their emotions are, at times, so alien to her. But it applies equally well to Sacks, who investigates into these people with strange conditions that not only affect their abilities, but also their identities, and give us surprising insights into the depth and breadth of what it means to be human.

Title:An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales
Author:Oliver Sacks
Date published:1995
Genre:Nonfiction
Number of pages:316
Notes:Second reading.

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Sunday, July 02, 2006

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cover of Od Magic

Another enchanting book from McKillip-- about magic, but more about seeing and listening to other people. Od is a mysterious (female) magician who founded a magic school centuries ago in the capital city of Numis; Od herself has been seen now and then in various places, usually surrounded by the many animals she is working to heal. Over the years, the kings of Numis have come to feel that Od's school and its magicians belong to their kingdom, and have made rules to keep the magic under their control, lest it be a political threat. Od is still around, and influences events and people indirectly to steer her school back to where it belongs, and to bring back a sense of wonder and awe to the study of magic.

One of the ways Od brings changes to her school is through Brenden Vetch, who she invites to come work as a gardener. The significant thing about Brenden is that, while he is very powerful, he hasn't been trained by anyone or learned any rules; he loves plants, and has simply learned how to "listen" to things until they talk to him-- they tell him how to take care of them, what they might be good for. One thing I found particularly interesting-- Brenden doesn't recognize his power for a long time because of the weight of grief he carries (his parents died in a plague and he couldn't cure them, other loved ones left him). When he suddenly uses his power in an unmistakable way, he finally sees this.

Tears he held, a deep welling of grief, and something else, more powerful than either, that he had mistaken for sorrow. It had no name, this power, and no face but his own.
I wouldn't have associated power and sorrow, but McKillip's beautiful language convinces me of it.

Brenden's magic is different from the other magicians in that he simply learns by listening and watching his plants (McKillip also makes a language/image distinction). There are a number of nale-female pairings where this is also significant. One man falls in love with the magician Tyramin's daughter-- and she falls in love with him, too, because he recognizes her, and sees her as beautiful, without the masks on she wears in Tyramin's performances. The princess Sulys becomes engaged to the powerful wizard Valoren Greye, who is so busy with politics that he fails to take the time to see and listen to his future bride. Another pairing, Ceta & Yar, seem so well-suited to each other-- perhaps precisely because they do listen to each other, and see each other for who they really are.

This is a beautiful book, and very engaging (I read in just a few days). Probably not my favorite of McKillip's, although I'm not quite sure why... It seemed like there were too many characters, and I guessed that some of them were not what they seemed (like the curious and powerful magic young student Elver); perhaps having so many characters made it more difficult to engage or connect with any of them deeply. Also lots of oddities (like the twilight quarter, which wakes up at dusk and sleeps during the day) which added uniqueness and interest to the scenery, but didn't seem particulary purposeful.

Title:Od Magic
Author:Patricia Mckillip
Date published:2005
Genre:Fantasy
Number of pages:315

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