I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Another repeat author, and yes the second read was as good as the first.  This time an autobiography of Maya Angelou, in her 1969 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  Angelou provides a wonderful series of stories from her childhood, not at all “picket fences and happy times.”  Begins with the story of how her parents leave her and her brother, Bailey, and are ushered to Momma’s (their grandmother) home in Stamps, Arkansas.  The abandonment of the two children play a large role in their formation and development as young teenagers (fear, separation, and independence).  Living with their grandmother and their crippled uncle in rural area of Arkansas, running the family store form the two into who they are, as the times in which Mom and then Dad (separated) take turns in taking the children away, first to St. Louis and then with their father to California.  Maya and her brother face racism, abandonment, and coming of age as teenagers with sex and finding their identity.  While Angelou is in St. Louis at the age of 8 she faces the worst possible thing one would ever think of for their child, molestation by her mother’s second husband.  Maya’s experience of the trial and the aftermath underscores how strong a child must have been to go through such a horrific moment of life, thinking she was safe in her mother’s home.  Other moments/stories include the bonding with other African Americans over the Joe Louis fight, being frightened finding bodies hung in the trees by the Ku Klux Klan, and sharing moments in Church on Sundays.  Angelou provides a real insight into what racism felt like when her mom brought her to the Dentist and being refused to receive treatment because she was black!  The story ends with the story of her experimentation and desire for having sex, which leads to her pregnancy.  Angelou has a brilliant way of bringing the reader into her life and feeling what she must have been feeling during those moments in her life.  While it may have been therapeutic writing the book, sharing such intimate moments in one’s life is a gift to us from which to learn.  I am trying to better understand why the caged bird sings as I read and feel her challenges, hard for me to sing.  Although is there anything else left to do?  A very powerful read.

Honky

Always great to read an NYU Faculty member’s book.  Dalton Conley, who serves as the Senior Vice Provost and Dean for the Social Sciences, wrote the book Honky.  A view of the childhood experiences of a Caucasian boy and his sister growing up with his parents (artists) in one of the most diverse places in the world, NYC.  This view of the Lower East Side of NY in the late 1960’s illustrates the experiences of being 1 of 1 in an environment that was really hard to grow up in.  Kids can be (No they are!) cruel.  Conley begins with his abduction of a young Muslim child on the playground, hoping to have his own sister someday!  Hearing of the disadvantageous first hand of growing up non-white was another awakening moment for anyone who thinks that this society is tolerant and accepting of others.  Conley speaks of his own privilege in the classroom where non-whites were being physically abused and he was not for the same bad behavior.  We learn of his integration in the school systems, well sort of, did it happen?  The system of NYC schools, with having “an address” that gets you in to certain schools, and then “smarts” that get you into the upper high schools, speaks of the horrific systems we continue to cultivate in our society.  His mother used the system to enhance their housing and her children’s education.  So I’d say there certainly are some interesting contradictions that he himself experienced, wonder how his mother experienced the read of the book.  Surprising how such a weak student, who missed most of 6/7 grades for video games, got into the very best high school in NYC.  The chapters in the book capture much of the issues in the society at the time and how the roles of music, violence, race, culture, family, guns, and color of skin played in making or not making a community.  A short and powerful read.  Good qualitative study for those who want to learn how to write a book about your life.

The Farming of Bones

Happy birthday to my sister!  This was an interesting book that wasn’t what I thought it would be, well not completely.  The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat was set in the 1930s in the Dominican Republic, yet our protagonist, Amabelle Desir, is an orphaned young woman who works as a servant for the local DR matron and her husband, who has an important role in the military.  We learn early on that Amabelle lost her parents who drowned in the river trying to cross.  The water motif plays a significant role throughout the story.  Amabelle escapes the area after a civil uprising occurs and all Haitians are to be killed by the military leadership.  She loses her lover and future husband, Sebastien, in a failed attempt to escape from the area.  Amabelle’s escape is an arduous process that leads her to successfully swim down a river, without being shot.  Eventually she and another servant from the area, Yves, do escape back home to Haiti.  After recovering she is drawn back to DR and attempts to find Sebastien and his sister.  This brings her back to a meeting with her past, her former employer and a very difficult conversation.  For me the circular story of the journey and re-visiting the journey has some strong appeal as a reader.  Amabelle was able to confront her past, but what she learned on the return wasn’t what she hoped to find.  Amabelle did get some level of peace in the final journey with the water which served as a deathbed for so many Haitians.  I’d say the book was ok, but missed some further development with the interweaving of the past relationship with Sebastien.  Another one of these books that you “have to be in the mood”… death and unhappiness, just not feeling it today, sorry.  Not in the top recommends, low level but strong sadness for Amabelle and all she had to endure.

Green Hills of Africa

I really do love Hemingway.  His stories are brilliantly written.  He paints the picture, develops the characters, and creates tension in his novels as few can do.   While he does all of this, I have to say the content of the story was not my favorite.  Green Hills of Africa is a true story of a safari journey in East Africa by Hemingway and his wife, Pauline Marie.   Early on Hemingway shares his disdain with one of the expats who works as a supporter of the safari, and learning of Hemingway the novelist, gets in a discussion about who is the best author of the day.  The second part of the book has Hemingway reminisce of former hunts, and the third part illustrates Hemingway’s failure to land a kudu in the pursuit.  In the final chapter we learn Hemingway finally succeeds and gets his kudu of 52 inches but upon return to the camp finds someone has landed one larger.  It’s all about the hunt…  Since I don’t like hunting, or fishing, the reading was not exciting, actually pretty boring, but again, he does it with great prose.  Interesting how an author can write about a hunting trip and sell it as a book, HEY wait a minute… Hemingway is the precursor to all of these reality shows, huh?  I bet he never thought that he would be the preamble to Jersey Shore?  How he must be turning in his grave! In the end Hemingway is embraced by the hunters, even those who really didn’t like him.  Must have been all the stories he told them?  Go pick up For Whom the Bell Tolls.  You’ll get a much better read.

White Teeth

Certainly a 21^st century writing style with today’s book, which actually took me quite some time to read, 5 days in all (off and on!).  Starting to get busy in the office, so not as much time to read.  White Teeth by Zadie Smith was a National Best Selling book and I can see why.  In fact if you are really interested in understanding more on the motivation and other tidbits on the book, listen to an interview with the author, pretty good stuff:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/133_wbc_archive_new/page5.shtml.

The story shares the lives of two men whose life crossed while in the war, an Englishman and a Bangladeshi man (who served in the war for England too!).  The book moves to the present time 1990s and then back to the war itself when the two men were saved by getting lost in the village while the rest of their troupe were killed.  While my early introduction may seem as a pretty serious introduction to this story, as was the introduction where one of the two men, Archie Jones, attempts to commit suicide in his car in the front of a butcher’s store until the butcher sends his son to go out and have the man move.  You get a flavor that this book has a very fine line of laugh out loud moments, for sure.  We learn the impact of religion, politics, and children who don’t do as their parents want them to believe in and do for a living (ahhh… I’m at that age where that is starting to kick in).  Smith’s humor and ability to show how the fundamentalist act in our culture are a stark departure to what many of the liberal minded people do today.  The four parts of the book capture the storyline of the men’s life journey, and that of their children, the twin boys and daughter.  The Jewish/Catholic/Jehovah Witness/Muslim faith clash and science and experimentation on mice – how do we use our scientific knowledge to move our learnings further and the role of the sexual experimentation (differently focused from the days of their parents!).  While there wasn’t a complete “through line,” Smith shows the challenge of being an immigrant, albeit for me as an “immigrant reader” as the story is based in Britain (some things I probably missed not being keenly aware of their culture).   Brothers clash in ideology and their pursuit of woman and living with different beliefs from their parents.  The title has an interesting play with subchapter titles and also the role of teeth for the characters.   Not your classic linear reading, but if in the mood should get a chuckle and an eye into how we as a culture clash with so much difference between us.  An above average, but slow read.  A long book!

The Cider House Rules

Ah yes, one more bonus book. This should be it for some time, unless I get compelled to purchase
the third part of the trilogy for the “Girl with the” books. Have been a fan of John Irving’s work for
some time so decided to read The Cider House Rules, I actually thought it was on the list and part way
through found it wasn’t, but had to keep on reading. Overall I enjoyed the depth of characters and
complications caused by pregnancies, at least for a number of characters in the book. The setting is an
orphanage (circa 1940s, wartime) for most of the book and follows the travails of Homer, an orphan,
and the doctor at the orphanage, Dr. Wilbur Larch. The relationship between the two is complicated
by the fact that the doctor hides his work (performing abortions for those who have unwanted
pregnancies) and he brings Homer into his assistance, training his in the field of obstetrics, as the boy
ends up staying his entire childhood at the orphanage. Finally, Homer leaves after his teenage years to
work at an orchard, after he befriends the couple (Candy and Wally), who come to see the doctor for
an unwanted pregnancy. While there Homer falls in love with Candy and they become sexually involved,
after Candy’s husband (Wally) is presumed dead during the war. Alas, Wally lives, albeit paralyzed (a
metaphor for lots of things in this book!) and comes home. Candy was pregnant (though people think
it was Wally’s...) and they have the child at the orphanage, baby named Angel. When Wally comes
home, he resumes his relationship with Candy and Homer is forced to leave… back to the orphanage!
He reluctantly takes over the work of the good Dr. Larch, where he allows woman to make the choice
of what to do with their pregnancy. That is the main plot of the book, a few other sub plots but
Homer/Wally/Candy and Dr. Larch are the main story and have a great deal of ethical decision making
moments. Irving’s intricacy of plot and interwoven relationships make him a stand-out author in my
opinion. Still, A Prayer for Owen Meany remains one of my favorite Irving books. Good read for sure!

Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games)

And one more bonus book! I had to finish off the trilogy of the Hunger Games with Mockingjay. Once again the dynamic duo are faced with all kinds of challenges, such as District 13 is alive and well but programmed in a completely different way, almost like communism in some respects. All people are forced to do their jobs that are programmed for them each day.  They wake up and go to the “roll call.”  Breakfast is just food to get you by, based on what role you perform and how many calories you need. Katniss agrees to become the Mockingjay, the symbol of the rebellion against the capitol. The leadership from District 13, President Coin, uses Katniss as a pawn in trying to get the rebels to fight against the Capitol, while Peeta is used as a pawn by the Capitol to try and stop the revolution, though he is brainwashed during the ordeal. Peeta is rescued but we learn his brainwashing has him revolt against Katniss as the evil one and he attempts to kill her. Katniss gets to assist in the final breakdown of the Capitol, but like all drama, she is no longer needed and the President is discovered to have used her sister, Prim, in a similar way. More drama... you can tell I’m not loving this end of the trilogy. Lots of characters die, the world seems to turn upside down and then finally settles, but at a huge cost, especially to Katniss. So what happens between Katniss and Peeta, Katniss and her long love from District 12, Gale. I was hoping for one outcome, and you know what, it happened, though way too much drawn out drama in this book for me. Stick to the intrigue and build it upon the story. The love relationships turn out to be as I had imagined it would, but the way it got there, hmmm not so much. I hear that this book is turning into a movie which I will watch, probably on Netflix, but not sure I’ll see the last book. Disappointing. The mockingjay piece was overplayed and a bit over the top. As you can see, I’d probably skip this chapter. Give me a call and I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Bonus Book: Catching Fire

BONUS BOOK

From time to time I will add a “bonus” book, one I read as a “second favorite” from an RA or somehow connected to a read from the list.  Today’s “listen” comes from a great book I read last month, The Hunger Games.  This book, Catching Fire, is the second in the trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  Well, what do they say about the second time around?  Good, but not like the first one.  In many ways it is a repeat of the first book, another trip to the Hunger Games for Katniss and Peeta!! What?  Once the Capitol realizes that Katniss’ actions from her winning is engaging citizens to think of a revolution, they know they need to bring her back to have her killed.  How do they do such a thing?  Once a tribute wins, they have a life of luxury, right?  Not with the brainy President in charge.  Didn’t you know it was the 75^th anniversary game, so it means we have a twist, as they did with the 25^th and 50^th.  So our faithful duo is back at it but this time with other winners from the other districts.  Twists abound as Gale continues to have his heart broken by Peeta’s public affection to Katniss and potential pregnancy?  Oh my!  I thought these characters were 15-16.  Haymitch is up to his old drunkness, or is he?  Ah, some real drama.  While the story reads well in the second half, a bit slow in the first half.  And how does it end?  Like a middle book of a trilogy, it doesn’t.  It gives a nice ending though, no more District 12 and there is another district too!  Worth a read, but again, read the first one first!

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

A very far departure from the vast majority of RAs I have interviewed as it relates to the book I have just finished, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett.  This is not a book one should pick up after a stressful day in the office looking for some light reading, nor if you want to throw a book into the car to bring to the beach, NO, don’t do it!  Breaking the Spell is a theoretical review of the history of religion, written from the context of an atheist.  Dennett makes the argument that the vast majority of our society is relying on a socially constructed phenomenon, known as religion, and we should rethink the merits of such, shall I say, heresy.  Dennett makes well documented points relating to the “right-wing” thinking of the extremists who are NOT, in his opinion, being held accountable by the moderates within the various religious constructs of our society.  He draws upon a large set of writing and research, including his own (a wee too much I’d say), to support his points.  As you can probably tell by my writing I have religious beliefs so this was a challenge to read, though he did make me pause about what it is I should be doing as a member of a religious community.  Having had a number of challenges in my life and been granted a "good life," I have some disagreement with Dennett.  As a life coach, I try not to preach my personal beliefs to others, I gently help them find their voice and motivation  Likewise, Dennett should not try and attempt to place ALL people committed to a religious persuasion in the same boat.  Isn't that exactly what he is trying to fight against?  This is a textbook for a philosophy class and gives the reader a perspective to think about.  Clearly one needs to be in the right state of mind to read it.  While I can’t say I was completely swayed, I found Dennett convincing and presented data worth reflection.  I applaud a student for being so reflective to make a book like this their favorite.  Thinking at this level is really what makes good people smarter and committed to something, which I applaud.     

Bringing Down the House

Happy New Year’s Day!  As the New Year begins, I wish all of you peace, joy, and happiness in all that you do.  So if you are a betting person, this will be a good one for you… Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich.  The story of how MIT students go underground and attempt to make a living at the casinos at the Black Jack tables.  This is a real story of one player who turns to a reporter to go undercover and tell his story.  Working at a University all of these years I have heard numerous stories at my own institution, and of the institutions of my colleagues, who tell stories of students who will do some exotic, erotic, and innovative things to help defray the cost of college.  In this case, it is less about paying for college for the protagonist “Kevin Lewis” (whose real name is Jeff Ma!), it becomes an obsession when his studies are what doesn’t give him the thrill that he wants in life.  Lewis is introduced to the MIT Blackjack Club run by a former Professor of Math at MIT.  Students are brought into the team and then, once trained, go to the real deal, Vegas and then Foxwoods when it is opened!  The team is finally caught as the new technologies at the casinos are introduced in the late 1990s.  Amazing how addictive gambling can be, especially when you can count cards.  An interesting method to how one can “beat” the only game at the casinos.  A fun and great look into how super-smart students can use that to another advantage they have in this life.  A bestseller and it is one to add at some point when your reading list gets low.