Quick Review - A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray (book #4)

     This was a special guest spot, because I blazed through Gossip Girl and suddenly needed another book. The library had a longish wait list for my original #4 (The Wind-up Bird Chronicle) so I had to take a new path!

    A Great and Terrible Beauty is set in 1895, starting in India and then an exclusive all girl's school in England. The lead character, Gemma, is sent to the school when her mother suicides, and this follows her story from there. 

    Bray really writes this one well. I've been moving right along with most of the books, but even though this would be classified as Young Adult, it really takes a more complicated look at the nuances of friendship, longing, and the ties that bind us together. What does family mean, and how can you ever know their real story? How can you properly put all the pieces together.

    One of the finer points of the book, is that the main character is made far more real by simply being complex. She is a 16 year old girl, and she has mood swings, she makes mistakes, judgement errors, and the best part for me is that it didn't drift where so many YA novels go into some ridiculous romance that a mid-teen wouldn't find. The relationship that does begin with another character has flaws, as everything in life has flaws. When you read how she feels angst, you feel for her, because you know she is human, not some 2-dimensional figure. 

    Even though it handles the complex materiel well, the book never bogs down, never gets to be a slow read. 

    I'm glad the Brain Trust suggested this one for me, and I am sure I'll be reading the rest of the books in this series one way or another. 

_____________________________________________________________________________

    On to book #5!! The Wind-up Bird Chronicle!

    Cheers!

Scott

Book #4 (formerly week #4) - Gossip Girl - by Cecily von Ziegesar

     A funny thing happened on the way to the forum....

    My plan is to read a book a week. 

    Now, I knew this would happen eventually. Particularly after reading a book as dense as Whitehead's , I am geared to some heavy reading. I have generally read a lot of non-fiction, so I am used to "nutritional density."

    Well, I blasted through GG in a day. I didn't even try that hard. Not that there is anything wrong with the book!

    I found GG to be engaging, funny and witty, and just a little bit off the deep end. Von Ziegesar writes in a great conversational manner, and that is part of what makes it easy to simply fly through this book.

    GG is really geared to the early "Sex in the City" set. Post high-school teens and early 20s. The setting is Upper East Side New York, the people are lovely (and stoned off their rockers.) There is almost no nutritional value to their lives; they are chasing a world that lives just for them. The characters are believable but shallow, but that is ok, because that is how they are suppose to be. 

    So I am ready for a new book a week early!

    My brain trust has suggested I move up "A Great and Terrible Beauty," by Libba Bray. It is slightly still in the YA section, so it should also move along a little fast. I've been on a waiting list for the eBook that originally I had slotted next, "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle." Hopefully I'll be able to access it soon, and we'll keep this list moving along.

    Also... if anyone has any book suggestions, I'm reading whatever is thrown my way. I am already into a few that I would never have picked up off a shelf... seriously, I would not have picked Gossip Girl, but I am glad to have read it, for a glimpse into a world where the only thing that I have in common is we're all only humans!

    So... suggest more!!

    Cheers!

    Scott

Week #3: "Science and Philosophy" by Alfred North Whitehead

     Alfred North Whitehead was a mathematician and philosopher, born in 1861. He is best known for co-authoring "Principia Mathematica" with Bertrand Russell, which is considered one of the seminal works of mathematical logic and process. 

    His book, "Science and Philosophy",  is a collection of his essays and writings. He is very open about his life and upbringing, and he certainly grew up in a different era, both of educational ideas and methods.

    Some of what I highlighted as I read along.... 

    “Philosophy is an attempt to express the infinity of the universe in terms of the limitations of language.” 

    "Historical tradition is handed down by the direct experience of physical surroundings."

    

    "Her vivid life has taught me that beauty, moral and aesthetic, is the aim of existence; and that kindness, and love, and artistic satisfaction are among its modes of attainment."

    I really enjoyed digging in to some of the heavier parts of this book, especially as he got into the philosophical underpinnings of mathematics. That was an intense wade, and I really had to slow down to follow his thoughts, sometimes reading them multiple times to be sure I had even the faintest idea where he was going. 

    "The crux of philosophy is to retain the balance between the individuality of existence and the relativity of existence. "

    He gets deep into math, philosophy, and education with a number of essays on education systems, when they are appropriate, 

    "Remember that a refusal to think does not imply the non-existence of entities for thought."

    There is at least one quote that is totally appropo of today's cancel culture---

    "Thanks to the labours of the eighteenth century, we have inherited an efficient system for the criticism of traditional thought. But in regard to the novelty our critical apparatus is only half developed. Each generation runs into childish extremes. Today we adore, and tomorrow we will flog, the images of our saints or at least desert their shrines."

    Interesting thoughts from roughly World War I.

________________________________________________________________________________

    So, Week 4!! "Gossip Girl"  by Cecily von Ziegesar

Week #2: "The Golden Compass" - by Philip Pullman

     This was a quick read!

    Not that that made it unpleasant. It was a very enjoyable book. 

    I really enjoyed the point of view that the book is written in. There is something to be said for 3rd Person Omniscient, however, except for short instances, I am not a fan. Getting to see all the mental and physical action is not how we experience life. For the most part we move through life with a 1st person point of view. We don't get to see what is happening behind the scenes elsewhere or concurrently with our own lives. 

    There are limitations on writing in the 1st person form, and his writing covers that very well. He makes his main character easy to understand and she is likable; considering her age, she doesn't act out as an adult, or understand the world the way that an adult does. She is very believable. 

    The book moves along with a good pace. There are no real low spots with too much exposition, and virtually no 'filler.' Everything that happens in the book needs to happen. There are 2 moments in 3rd person Omni, but that is fine... you need some explanation, after all. Not a great deal, but some.

    This was a fun book to read, and I am sure I will continue with the series at another time.

    Now, on to week #3! 

Scott

Week #1: "A Jacques Barzun Reader" - edited and compiled by Michael Murray

 

    Reading Jacques Barzun is always a pleasure. 

    His goal in his writing, like his book of the same name, is "Simple and Direct." His aim when he writes, is to distill his words down to an essence, because there is no reason to add filler; your words should be clear, concise, and understandable. He notes that "precipitation," while a lovely word, is too vague when you are referring to "rain," which is also a perfectly serviceable word. Precipitation could mean many things, such as rain, sleet, freezing rain, hail, snow... There is no reason to 'flex your word muscles' when there is a simple and direct word. Overcomplication is stultifying; you are rendering your prose absurd... ineffectual. 

    Reading through the table of contents alone lets you know that you are in for a treat. This is a collection of 80 essays, the earliest published in 1940. He writes on everything from the 'rehabilitation' of Shakespeare, to music criticism, literary criticism, baseball, the life of Abraham Lincoln, France in 1830, the meaning of schools... His work is exhaustive and edifying. His prose is uplifting, and a joy. He should be read with time, so you can slow your pace down, and enjoy the flow of his words. 

    I would not recommend reading this book in a series of long sittings. It is a collection of essays, the longest of which is perhaps 12 pages at most. Take Barzun in moderate doses, so you can enjoy the experience of visiting over time with one of the most amazing minds of the 20th century. 

    I'll close with a quote from a reviewer on Amazon. 

    "A Jacques Barzun Reader is a book for readers of Barzun, would-be readers of Barzun, and readers who have never liked Barzun. A treat for all these three kinds of readers are the few pages of verse at the end of the book."

    Cheers!

Scott

The List So Far

     Here is my list of books so far!

    When I post the reading order, I'll add credits for whomever recommended the book. :)

    Week #1 "A Jacques Barzun Reader" - Edited by Michael Murray

    Week #2 "The Golden Compass" - by Philip Pullman

    Week #3 "Science and Philosophy" - by Alfred North Whitehead

    Week #4 "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" - by Haruki Murakami

Then, in an order not yet devised---

"Table Talk Essays on Men and Manners" - by William Hazlitt

"Gossip Girl" - by Cecily von Ziegesar

"The Parasitic Mind" - by Gad Saad

"The 48 Laws of Power" - Robert Greene

"In The Woods" - Tana French

"A Great and Terrible Beauty" - Libba Bray

"Beneath a Scarlet  Sky" - Mark Sullivan

"Fate is the Hunter" - Ernest K Gann

"The Raw Shark Texts" - Steven Hall

"Exodus" - Leon Uris

"When Breath Becomes Air" - Paul Kalanithi

"Gaudy Night" - Dorothy Sayers

"Babylon Berlin" - Volker Kutscher

"Inkheart" - Cornelia Funke

"The Beguiled" - Thomas Cullinan

"Killing Lincoln" - Bill O'Reilley

"Insomnia" - Stephen King

"Go Set a Watchman" - Harper Lee

"Less Than Words Can Say" - Richard Mitchell

"The Power of Babel" - John McWhorter

"Six Easy Pieces" - Richard P. Feynman

"Amazing Grace; William Wilberforce" - Eric Metaxas

"Flatland" - Edwin Abbott

"The Story of Earth" - Robert M. Hazen

"Tale of Two Cities" - Charles Dickens

"Treason's Crown" - Anne Wheeler (hooray!!!!!)

"The Great Believers" - Rebecca Makkai

"The Second Mountain" - David Brooks

"Under the Banner of Heaven" - Jon Krakauer

"A Moveable Feast" - Ernest Hemingway

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" - Hunter S. Thompson

"A Few Lives Lost" - J Glen Percy

"Princess, More Tears To Cry"  - Jean Sasson

"Lonesome Dove" - Larry McMurtry 

     I plan on mixing up the fiction and non-fiction as much as I can; We'll see how that works out. There is some Young Adult, some classic (Dickens, Abbott, Lee, Uris) and some non-fiction (Most of the suggestions have been Fiction; I have plenty of non-fiction to mix into the weeks ahead.)

    Cheers!

Scott

Old Blog info

     Hi all!

    For some reason, I cannot get in to edit or add to my old blog, "NewLeftSeater." I have some posts that go back to 2010 on there, so that is a real bummer.

    If you want to go back and see what I wrote back in my 'youth,' The link is here-

    This is your Captain Speaking... (newleftseater.blogspot.com)

    I'm bummed, but such is life. 

    Scott

2021 and the whole "New Year, New Me" thing

     I keep trying to resurrect my blog, because of my interest in writing, so hopefully this idea will 'take.'

    I saw a very interesting YouTube video recently where the host was describing his journey as he read a book a week.

    I've always been a pretty fast reader, and I used to read all the time. The interwebs have blocked that out to a great extent, so I am going to devote more time to reading and writing (blog posts.)

    So this will be the start of the journey. 

    The plan is to pick a book a week, and that is what I am going to read. I am not going to pick all my own reading materiel, however. I have already started asking friends for books to read, and now the floor is open. Some of the books suggested I know I will make fast work of, some others... well... maybe not so much.

    But part of what I would like to do is read books that I would have never picked up on my own. I already have a few Oprah's book club suggestions, some fiction and non-fiction, some history... so a good mix. 

    If you have any suggestions for me, I will take them one and all. I would like to hear stories and tales that I would not necessarily have heard. Learn things about subjects that I know very little about. 

    I still want to do the Classics plan that I wrote of before, but it was way too much reading crammed into too little time for anyone who has any kind of job. 

    So... on to... book #1. 

    "A Jacques Barzun Reader: Selections From His Works. " - Edited by Michael Murray

    Jacques Barzun was born in France in 1907, and passed away at the age of 104. Just that, think of the world that he saw and experienced. Just from my own career, he was born at the dawn of the age of powered flight, and lived until the Space Age, and even outlived the Concord. 

    He was a Historian of great acclaim, and sometimes a controversial one. 

    His Magnum Opus, "From Dawn To Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life" was published at the age of 94! This was the book that introduced me to him.

    The "Reader" is a collection of 80 of his essays, spanning from 1939 to 2000. Just his essay on the 'rehabilitation' of Shakespeare would be worth the price of the book. 

Week #2----

    This is a suggestion from my friend Kelli. "The Golden Compass," by Philip Pullman. That book begins Sunday, Jan 10.

    Cheers, all!

    Scott