#22 Biography Challenge; Never Have Your Dog Stuffed

I have not read too many biographies in my career as a non-professional reader. This is not for lack of interest. I love getting the inside scoop on the "secret" lives of people, famous or less so. I like learning about interesting characters.

I spent a lot of time contemplating which of these books on interesting people I wanted to delve into. I looked into several of the more well known biographies, such as Gandhi, MLK Jr., Malcolm X, John Adams, Mark Twain, etc. I was highly considering the Mark Twain biography after going to his boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri a year ago. Then I saw the page count on it. After committing to the large anthology (880 pages) that I am very very slowly reading I decided that one large book for this challenge was enough.

I went with a biography that falls into one of my passions. I have several passions, baking yummy treats, reading, animals, and M*A*S*H*. The T.V. Series, not the movie or the books. Although they have their place.

My book choice is Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda...

I've loved M*A*S*H* for the last 15 years. I know it was long into syndication by then, but I was not alive while it was originally showing. Just a smidgen too young.

The biography is not a comprehensive account of his life. He touches on the events in his life that he feels shaped him. He writes about his life as a child of an actor/comedian, who as a youngster thought being in a burlesque was just normal. He writes about settling into in a home after an early nomadic life, being bullied in school, going to college, finding himself and his love, making a career, some about parenting and being a suburban adult. He writes all of this in a sharp wit that is characteristically Alan Alda, or Hawkeye if you are a fan of M*A*S*H*. Which just shows the amount of himself that he brought to the character during the series 11 year run.

I read through this book quickly, it was a shorter read and I was interested in what he wrote. I was hoping for more about his M*A*S*H* career. He touches on it. It's not ignored but I'll never get enough of M*A*S*H*. It was a good book. I am glad I read it.

Rating:****

272pp.

An Apology

The last post was in February. For that I apologize.

I have to be honest, this blog thing does not come easy to me. Especially in the form of reviews. I feel sometimes, nay most times, that I am not critical enough and therefore my opinion is of little value. I am the type that gives merit to almost everything (book/movie). If I finish it then it was worth reading or watching. I think I get something from each experience and this allows me to not feel like I was wasting my time. I fall into the middle of polls often too, in a scale of 1-10, my opinion most often falls in the 4-6 range. I guess what I'm saying is most thing are okay to me. To be good or bad, it has to be exceptionally so. This makes me question if I am providing a fair and informative review for the person reading this blog. I will work on that, and working to not let that stop me from posting. Do not fret about my lack of post. More will be coming, for good or bad, informative or not.

I have been reading, even if I have not been posting. I think in my challenge I may be 2-3 books behind. That means I have read 5 books now without posting a blog on them. That seems like a good number to catch up on since my July consists of a mere 5 days (Sundays) off from work. I'll work on getting a review up once a week until I am caught up.

Until then assume I'm lost in a good book.

#23 A New York Times Best-Seller Challenge; The Eyre Affair

When I originally took on the challenge my intention was to read the book A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron for challenge #23-A NY Time Best-Seller. A co-worker had picked it up for her kindle and was describing the general plot to me. Sounded like a book right up my ally. Then the recent loss of my own beloved dog put me off the idea of reading that particular book. I may come back to read that book when the loss stings a little less.

I was wondering around the local B&N, with a 50% off coupon in hand searching for a book that would count toward my reading challenge, when I came across the answer to #23.

My book choice is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde...

Last year I took on a fiction genre reading challenge which I failed to fully complete. I was suppose to read 11 books (I took the option of dropping 1 genre from the original 12) in different genres of fiction e.i. horror, sci-fi, thriller, romance, western, etc. I missed by 2 books-detective and fantasy. The reason I mention this is I read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë for my romance genre in last years challenge.

The Eyre Affair is not a spin off/or take on the classic lit of Brontë. But I think reading Jane Eyre gave me an appreciation for this book that I would not have had otherwise. I've read a few reviews that downed the book because they were expecting it to be of a writing quality comparable to classic literature because there are many references to different classics in the book. The writing is rough in the beginning but smooths out toward the end.

Book Summary from Goodreads.com:

"Welcome to a surreal version of Great Britain, circa 1985, where time travel is routine, cloning is a reality, (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wadsworth poem, militant Baconians heckle performances of Hamlet, and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection, until someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature. When Jane Eyre is plucked from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday must track down the villain and enter the novel herself to avert a heinous act of literary homicide."

The characters could have used a bit more depth and story could have a bit more refined-it was a bit choppy at the beginning. The time travel and resurrected dodo are easy to recognize departures from our reality. Differences in the Jane Eyre story and Crimean War may not be as recognizable if not familiar with their original context. Fforde does explain the basic concept of Jane Eyre for those that have not read it.

I was not put off like some people on the cheesy, odd naming of characters, Archeron Hades, the criminal mastermind, Victor Analogy, co-working lit detective, Jack Schitt, the corporate man working for a company that cares more about money and power than the people and state of the world.

The novel has a lot of whimsy and imagination and to me that did a lot to overcome the less desirable writing issues. The imaginative world brought me into and through the story, and I would not mind visit Thursday's adventures again. I hesitate recommending it because there is a such a mix of reviews. If you need hardcore story/character development to get through a novel steer clear. If the idea and imagination in the novel perk your interest perhaps borrow it from a friend or the library and give it a whirl.

Rating: ***1/2

374pp

#2 New Genre Challenge; Soulless

Challenge #2 states that the novel should be of a new genre, or a genre that you do not often read. I decided to try a steampunk novel, which is technically a sub-genre of science fiction/fantasy, but I feel it is sufficient enough.

I picked up three books that were dug up as steampunk from my online searches. I decided to read the first chapter of each of the to help decide which book I most wanted to read. That may have turned out to be a mistake, as I'm anxious to read both the other books now too. Eventually I did decide to read one of books for my steampunk genre challenge.

My book choice is Soulless by Gail Carriger...

Here is what the Wikipedia page has to say about defining Steampunk for those that may not know:

"Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s.^[1] Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian eraBritain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistictechnology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may haveenvisioned them; in other words, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion,culture, architectural style, art, etc. This technology may include such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne or real technologies like the computer but developed earlier in an alternate history."

This one has the steam powered, Victorian era British story line with bits of sci fi and more bits of fantasy. I picked this novel over the other two because it seemed a light read. And it was an easy, light read with some comical points.

The novel is about a 26 year old spinster who gets attacked by a vampire and the ensuing investigation into why, with a touch of romance as well. She is a preternatural, that is someone without a soul. This gives her the ability to make the supernatural characters of the world (vampires, werewolves, etc) mortal while touching them.

It was not one of those novels where the story gets lost to the romance plot line. I liked the characters of the novel and the story progressed nicely. I would say it was a pretty decent read if you like the vampire/werewolf Victorian era British type stories.

Rating: ***1/2

357pp

#24 Into Media Challenge; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I am not reading my books in any particular order. That being said, my first book comes from the very bottom of my reading challenge list. #24 says that the book read must have been made into or from another form of media, such as a play, video-game, movie, etc.

My book choice is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams...

This is a Science Fiction book about an alien and an Earthling who end up hitching their way off Earth and through the galaxy. It's a witty, somewhat sarcastic book with glib banter that was very easy to enjoy. If you enjoy British humor you will probably like this book.

I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series at some point.

Rating:****

224pp

2011 Reading Challenge; An introduction.

I'm starting a new reading challenge this year. I'm posting the rules here and you can play along too, if you like. Let me know if you are going to try it or like the sound of it. The rules are pretty flexible. Also, if you have any good book recommendations or any books you have in your TBR pile (to-be-read) that you would like to share go ahead and leave me note :)

I'm going to try and blog along as I go. I'll try and give some reviews/ratings of the books.

Rules:

• Must be novels (e.g. cannot be graphic novels, but a novella would count) they can be in written, e-book, or audio format.
• You have 365 days to complete the challenge from the day you start.
• Re-reads are allowed.
• Can be your choice of fiction or non-fiction unless otherwise noted.
• If you read the books from each of the below category challenges it will equal at least 25 books total. You may choose to do less and pick any number of them you like.
• You may not use the same book for more than one category below. You may overlap with other challenges.

The Category Challenges:

1. 1 must be from your current to-be-read list/shelf/pile-
2. 1 must be of a new genre for you, or a genre you don’t read often-
3. 1 must be fiction-
4. 1 must be non-fiction-
5. 1 must be from a new-to-you author-
6. 1 must be published in the last year (e.g. 2010)-
7. 1 must be written before you were born-
8. at least 2 must start with one of your initials (e.g.- Mary Elizabeth Smith may choose a book that starts with M and a book that starts with an E or S, or She may do 3, one with M, one with E, and one with S)-
9. 1 must be an anthology-
10. at least 1 must be from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list http://dft.ba/-1001books (list compiled from actual book http://dft.ba/-actualbook ) or a book from a similar list.
11. 1 must be an award winner-
12. 1 must be from a series-
13. 1 must be local (e.g. in a local setting, from a local author, about a local person, etc)-
14. 1 must be distant (e.g. set on a different planet, an author from another country, etc)-
15. 1 must be someone else's pick (e.g. a book from the staff picks at the bookstore or library, a book recommended by a friend, etc)-
16. 1 must be a banned book-
17. 1 must be a childhood classic-
18. 1 must have a place in the title (e.g. The Kitchen House, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Out of Africa, etc)
19. 1 must have a name in the title (e.g. Emma, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, etc)-
20. 1 must have a lead character of the opposite gender than you-
21. 1 must be a quickie (under 200 pages)
22. 1 must be a biography
23. 1 must be from the New York Times Best-Seller List (any year or list is fine)
24. 1 must be in another media (was made into/from a play, movie, videogame, etc)