'The Piano Teacher' by Janice Y.K. Lee

The Piano Teacher, Janice Y.K. Lee (3)

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I had anticipated. Since I love historical fiction, I was eager to delve into a new setting - pre/post-WWII Hong Kong. In this respect, the book did not disappoint; I learned a lot about the social hierarchy in Hong Kong and the subsequent lives of different nationalities during the war and occupation. The book alternated between two timelines with overlapping characters, so I was anxious to uncover the tie-in and any possible linking mystery. My expectations were rewarded at the end, but only minimally. My main complaint is that the three main characters were so distant, aloof, and closed off from society, that they were closed off from the reader too. If an author fails to garner a certain requisite amount of respect or emotional attachment between her readers and the characters, there is little more than indifference to link them. While I enjoyed the actual mid-course reading of the book, my retrospective rating is only lukewarm.

Vacation Reading - 2011

I just got back from vacation and am so happy that I was finally able to squeeze in some good reading time. 2011 has been severely lacking so far (sigh). We went with a group of 11, so I surveyed what everyone was reading.

Me: I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. Since this is for book club, I'll reserve my comments, but I really enjoyed this book.
Me: The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee. Very good so far. I love historical fiction and this one is set in Hong Kong, during and after war time, so it's a new setting for me.
Stacy: The Unhealthy Truth: One Mother's Shocking Investigation into the Dangers of America's Food Supply - and What Every Family Can do to Protect Itself by Robyn O'Brien. I've read excerpts of this and found it very interesting. Stacy loved it. She liked that the author followed the more realistic 80/20 rule. Do what you can 80% of the time and don't stress over the other 20% that you can't because of time, money, convenience, est.
David: The 3rd Game of Thrones book by George R.R. Martin. He loves this fantasy series; lucky for him, because the books are huge!
Jon: Unbroken by Laura Hillendbrand. Can't wait to read this memoir. This author also wrote Seabiscuit, one of my favorites. Great writer!
Michele: Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. I read this a few years ago and didn't entirely enjoy it. Read more like a short story and didn't allow you to really dig into the characters. Michele ended up reading The Unhealthy Truth instead.

Happy to report that the 6, 8 and 10-year olds read LOTS in the hammocks. Here is what my 10-year old read:
Ryan: Fish by Gregory Mone. A modern day pirate tale.
Ryan: Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetary Road: Book One by Kate Klise. Fun easy read. Written in a series of letters, communiques, ads and other printed words.

Danielle, my 4-year old, was read to every day before nap and bedtime. We took a handful of favorites along. Keep them in mind for toddler gifts!!!
Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman and Marla Frazee: Got this book solely because Marla Frazee is my very favorite illustrator. The story and pictures are well-thought out and have a charming complexity that are not dumbed down for kids. I never tire of this book ... well, almost never, we've read it A LOT.
Big Chickens by Leslie Helakoski. Fast paced, hilarious tale about a group of very "chicken" chickens who learn their inner bravery and pride. The writing is simple, but so smart with lots of alliteration and parallelism from page to page.
Princess Pigsty by Cornelia Funke. Cute non-stereotypical story about a princess who just wants to be a little girl, have fun, work hard, and learn things, rather than continue one more day of the privileged, stuffy life she leads. Simple, cute little story.

Happy Reading!

'The Last King of Scotland' by Giles Foden

The Last King of Scotland, Giles Foden (3)

I really enjoyed the movie version of this book and wanted to get more of the back story by reading the book.  Of course, I believed there was a back story as I thought it was a non-fiction memoir.  When I got it home from the library, I noticed the small print under the title: ‘a novel’.  I was a little disappointed.  Now the scenes with Idi Amin were based on rumor and hearsay, not first person accounts.  This is the issue I have with historical fiction, you don’t know where reality ends and fiction begins.  The story is about a Scottish doctor who goes to Uganda to work in the countryside.  Due to an accident, he is ‘requested’ by the new head of the country, Idi Amin, to become his official doctor.  The rest of the story follows his personal witness to the atrocities of the time and his struggle with the charisma versus the horror that was Idi Amin.  Much of the novel is interesting as a Stockholm syndrome type story.  It’s always difficult to understand how anyone stays while terrible events happen around them.

'Chocolate Wars' by Deborah Cadbury

Chocolate Wars, Deborah Cadbury (2.5)

This book, written by a descendent of the founding family of Cadbury Chocolate, tells the story of the various businesses (mostly from British Quaker families) who developed the chocolate industry.  While there were interesting tidbits throughout this book, I basically found it rather boring.  The word ‘Wars’ in the title is a little dramatic given the history.  The most compelling issue was the dichotomy of Quaker families dealing with successful businesses.  I was impressed at how the Cadburys kept true to their faith with regards to helping others and improving their workers' lives while establishing a successful business.  I also enjoyed the trials of how each chocolate company moved from a drink to establishing chemistry that allowed for bars and other forms of candy.  It really wasn’t easy.  Unfortunately, after that the rest of the story was pretty basic and not very riveting.  In addition, after a largely boring middle bit, the end felt rushed.  The book is hard to recommend as I had to force myself to finish it.

'Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist' by Michael J. Fox

Always Looking Up: The adventures of an Incurable Optimist, Michael J. Fox (3)

This is Michael J. Fox’s 2^nd of 3 non-fiction memoir-like books, the first in 2003, this in 2009 and recently in 2010.  I was drawn to it as I’ve always enjoyed his acting work, I appreciate his efforts to further stem cell research, and, frankly, I just find him very likable.  There were 3 things about this book that I really liked:  (1) his warm stories of everyday life that show him as a very loving and appreciative father; (2) the details of a famous person battling a personal and political challenge from the ground level; and (3) his very strong relationship with his wife (not all famous people act like Arnold or Mr. Weiner!).  Oddly, as optimistic as he is, I didn’t think the theme was overly optimistic.  I was somewhat depressed by what he’s had to go through.  A large part of the book deals with the last days of his acting in ‘Spin City’, his transition to philanthropy for Parkinson’s and his political obstacles.  I was uplifted by his ability to move forward and appreciate all he has, but I was saddened by the delays in research based on who is in the oval office (in the early 2000’s, public support was for stem cells use in research, congress and the senate passed it, but Bush would veto.  Not until a midterm election, where the democrats won the senate, did they get the 2/3 majority to override the veto.)  No matter what your views on politics, Michael J. Fox does have a very interesting story and I left the book with even more respect for him and his attitude than I had started it.

Hi All - I'm trying to figure out how to add 'comments' onto the new page (instead of on the front page) - unfortunately my parent's only have dial-up, so we are in the coffee shop getting broadband (not particularly convenient :)). I'll update when I get home on Sunday - thanks to Jen and Diane for their comments....k

New Page: 'What are you reading?'

Based on some great feedback from Vicki, I've posted a new page (you can see the tab to the right of this) called 'What are you reading?'.  The idea is that you all can post comments with the books that you are reading and/or want to read.  I would really like to get a group conversation going, if possible. Not sure this is the best way on the blog, but let's try it out, we can always adjust as we go.  You can post with your name, a pseudonym or anonymously, but hopefully you guys will try it! Thanks in advance, k