Wednesday, March 22, 2006

In The Company of Cheerful Ladies (audio)


Once again, I needed something to listen to while sewing. In this case I picked up this audio book because so many ladies were checking it out from the library. After listening, I figured out why. You can listen to this book without worrying about the content. When listening to audio books, you can't skip a couple of pages or words. You hear it all.

This is a gentle mystery story set in Botswana. The story moves from vignette to vignette with an underlying connection to a mystery. These mysteries aren't the nitty gritty kind that you may find in a large urban city. Instead they are light-hearted and comical.

The reader was very skilled in capturing the speech patterns and inflections found in South Africa. Kudos to the reader for doing a fine job.

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Monday, March 20, 2006

Cavedweller


Cavedweller is the next book on the A shelf of the library. It is written by Dorothy Allison. I would classify this book as feminist literature. If you watch Lifetime television, then you have probably seen a movie similar to this book. No, Lifetime has not made the movie version of this book, but they have made countless similar movies. You know the kind. All men are evil, women the victims.

The reason I actually finished this book was because I liked the beginning. The character of Delia is widowed from her second husband and wants to go home, back to where she started. Her life is a wreck, her abandoned children don't know her. On top of that she is a recovering alcoholic.

I like the concept of going home, a place to draw strength and inner peace. She starts a business. She gets her children back. She stays sober. It sounds great right? In this case, Delia doesn't find that strength or peace. Life is never so easy. Her children do not really benefit by living with her. She may have found stability in life, but no true peace.

The author does have some skill. She is able to shift from one character's story and inner workings to another seamlessly. The problem is that it leaves the story unfocused. What is it all about? Is there a point? Is there any hope for the characters? The answer is that the story doesn't offer much hope or any real point. The title Cavedweller references Delia's daughter Cissy. Cissy takes up the hobby of spelunking. Supposedly this hobby helps Cissy find herself. But after she finds herself and makes a great achievement, it amounts to nothing.

I don't know that I can actually recommend this book to anyone. It is a rough story with rough characters. It is actually depressing. If it were a movie, it would be rated R. With some clever editing, it could even end up on Lifetime Television. In the end, save yourself grief and skip this one.

Book rating: 0 stars, definitely belongs in the garbage.

This link is not a recommendation to read this book. But if you are curious, you can read reviews by others who disagree with me.

Friday, March 17, 2006

The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands (audio)


I needed another book to listen to while driving. I have listened to Dr. Laura's radio program many times. If you are a listener too, then you don't really need to listen to The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands on audio. In fact, I actually agree with many of the things she says in principle. But since I listen to her on the radio, I didn't glean any new insights or helpful suggestions. She did read one letter from a Reverend that puts marriage in perspective from a religious point of view - and it blew me away with his insight.

I have flipped through the print version. The book contains self-help worksheets. If you have a marriage that is in trouble, it may be worth a listen. Since I am happily married, it wasn't necessary.

Book Rating: 3 stars

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix (audio)


I know, this book does not come from the "A" shelf in the library. I was in need of an audio book to listen to while sewing my Hawaiian Sun Dress line. Spending hours listening to the one or two radio stations that comes in clearly in my rural area can drive one batty after a while.

I am not a Harry Potter fan. I can take or leave the stories. I have tried reading the first book, but put it down from boredom. I did listen to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Jim Dale, the reader, is an amazing performer! That is why I picked up The Order of the Phoenix. I knew I could be entertained for a long time.

J. K. Rowling has evolved with her series. Her writing is improved and more mature than her earlier books. Her Phoenix book was more interesting and entertaining then the previous books. But like Goblet of Fire, I was bored with the story by the time the climax finally rolled around. I get frustrated with the long descriptions of the coursework and classes of the characters. At the climax, I was ready to be done with the story. It will take a good editor to trim the story down and make it fit into a 2 hour movie! The books on tape took 17 hours to listen to.

It did help pass some of the mind-numbing time of sewing the same thing over and over again!

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

The Crime of the Century


I really tried to read The Crime of the Century. Originally Kinglsey Amis wrote this story as a newspaper serial in a British paper, The Sunday Times, in the 1970s. While it may have worked as a newspaper serial, it definitely did not work as a book.

The difficulty I had was the number of characters introduced in the first 30 pages. I have not counted them (I am guessing around 20). It was extremely confusing to turn a page and find YET another character introduced. I read the first 25 pages twice. After the second reading, I set the book down for a week. Picking it up again, I discovered I would have to read the first 25 pages again. I could not remember who the characters were. That was it for me. Back to the library it goes.

Even more annoyingly, the author wrote a brilliant introduction. It was entertaining and well written. It made me excited to read the book! How disappointing! If only he could have written as clearly and lucidly for the story.

If anyone has read this book and could write a Cliff notes version - please let me know! This book appears to be out of print.

Book rating: 1 Star for effort.