The City & The City

Title:  The City & The City

Author:  China Miéville

Publication Information:  Del Ray. 2009. 336 pages.

ISBN:  0345497511 / 978-0345497512

Book Source:  I read this book for a book discussion at my local library.

Opening Sentence:  "I could not see the street or much of the estate."

Favorite Quote:  "We are all philosophers here where I am, and we debate among many other things the question of where it is that we live. On that issue I am a liberal. I live in the interstice yes, but I live in both the city and the city."

I did a double take when I realized that the name of the book is not The City but rather The City & The City. How unusual. Having read it, the title is perfect. For the setting - the cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma - is the main feature of this book. The setting is what I find the most captivating, much more so than the story itself. The setting is what I will remember from this book, much more so than any character or any aspect of the plot.

For, Beszel and Ul Qoma are like no other cities ever seen. The descriptions make them sound as if on the other periphery of Europe. Not unusual. One is old and decrepit; the other seems much more vibrant. Again, not unusual. What is unusual is the fact that the two cities appear to occupy the same physical space. However, the two are distinct, unique, and very separate - in language, in culture, and in politics. Between them lies a border - a real, imagined, or perceived boundary that both sides work very diligently to maintain.

How is this possible? The book describes a system of crosshatches. Picture a grid of a geographic area. Specific squares lie completely and totally within one city. However, where the squares of the two cities touch, a "crosshatch" develops. Citizens of each city stay within their designated squares but may be together in a crosshatch. However, even within a crosshatch, both sides profess not to see the other. "It works because you don't blink. That's why unseeing and unsensing is so vital. No one can admit it doesn't work. So if you don't admit it, it does." If someone - anyone - crosses from one city to the other, a breach occurs. And, it is firmly dealt with.

This book may have a deeper philosophical point to make about the real world. The naming of the characters and places and the differences in languages overall hint at similar, real life situations. The politics of nationalists and unificationists can also be interpreted to apply to the real world. However, as a reader, I choose not to see any deeper association, taking the descriptions as an imaginative creation of a world apart. This allows me to sink into the descriptions and the fantasy of the story.

The layers of the city, the different languages between the two, and unusual names makes this a multi-layered story that is sometimes challenging to follow. Remembering which character originates in which city and which city the action is taking place in at any given time means that this book takes some getting used to. The fantasy world takes some time to visualize; that becomes even more challenging when the layers of the city are itself part of the mystery of this book.

Really, the setting of this book is the story. The plot line involves the murder of a young woman. The body is found in Beszel, but the investigation leads much much further. From the appearance of the young woman, the initial thought is a prostitution transaction gone wrong; the investigation goes much deeper into politics, research, power, and an understanding of what truly lies between the two cities. On the face of it, the book is a crime novel with its police investigations and procedures. Underneath is a weird, imaginative, ruthless, and memorable fantasy world.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

Empress Orchid

Title:  Empress Orchid

Author:  Anchee Min

Publication Information:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2004. 352 pages.

ISBN:  0618068872 / 978-0618068876

Book Source:  I read this book as this month's selection for my local book club.

Opening Sentence:  "The truth is that I have never been the mastermind of anything."

Favorite Quote:  "We were capable of surviving battles, external as well as internal. We were meant to survive because of our minds' ability to reason, our ability to live with frustration in order to maintain our virtue. We wore smiling masks while dying inside. I was doomed when I realized that my talent was not to rule but to feel. Such a talent enriched my life, but at the same time destroyed every moment of peace I had gained."

Empress Dowager Cixi - rather an impressive name for a young country girl who starts life as Orchid and who is reduced to poverty by the death of her father. History agrees on the facts. The Empress ruled China for forty seven years. Historians disagree on her role in history. Some characterize her as a despot while others see her role more positively as a reformer.

This book, however, is about none of that. This book is not about the Empress Dowager. It is about the young girl who rises to that role and her journey from poverty to empress.

The book is very insular, focusing only on the life of those within the Forbidden City. The walls are very definitive and very clear. At the same time, the book provides glimmers of the world forces that batter at those walls. Whether it is the residents' longing for family beyond those walls or the threat of foreign powers to the dynasty within, the sense of the walls closing in is present throughout the book.

The first half of the book is about life in the Forbidden City. It is about the sights and sounds and the elaborate social structure. "Imperial life was about nothing but elaborate detail." The second half of the book, although still centered on the same characters, is about the politics of China and the struggle for power. It is about alliances, maneuvers, and counter maneuvers.

The first half of the book is about a young woman searching for a better life. It is about a girl who seemingly gets the opportunity to live a dream only to find that the dream has tarnished edges and a dark side. The second half of the book is about a mother and a savvy politician, who seeks to protect her child and his heritage. I am not entirely sure how an innocent, not very educated young girl turns into a woman who understand negotiations and treaties. The book does not explain how that transition and education happens, but it does happen.

This book in part reads like a history and biography; at the same time, the story rivals that of any soap opera. I cannot say how accurate the history is, but the story engages and entertains. I want to know what happens next.  One warning, this book does have a sequel titled The Last Empress. As such, the ending to this book does leave the story of the Empress in the middle. Am I intrigued enough to read the second book? I don't know yet.

At the heart of all these cross-sections is Orchid itself. The book begins at the end of a lifetime. "For half a century, I participated in the elaborate etiquette of the court in all its meticulous detail." Then, it goes back to the beginning when Orchid and her family first come to Peking. Told as a first person narrative, the book submerges the reader into her world and her perspective. As such, the story appears as viewed through the lens of a camera - Orchid's eyes. What is beyond the frame - beyond her perspective - remains beyond the reader. History, biography, and all the makings of a soap opera surround Orchid and come together in an entertaining story.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

Community: The Structure of Belonging

Title:  Community:  The Structure of Belonging

Author:  Peter Block

Publication Information:  Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2008. 240 pages.

ISBN:  1576754871 / 978-1576754870

Book Source:  I read this book because it is the base of a community program I attended.

Opening Sentence:  "This book is written to support those who care for the well-being of their community."

Favorite Quote:  "Real transformation occurs only through choice. It cannot be sold or mandated."

To understand what this book is about, understand the meaning behind the title. The author suggests "belonging" has two meanings - to be a part of something and to have a sense of ownership about something. A "community" is defined as a place to belong. To belong to a community embodies both meanings; you are a part of it, and you play an active role in its success.

The book also distinguishes between a community of citizens versus consumers. "A citizen is one who produces the future, someone who does not wait, beg, or dream for the future." On the other hand, "consumers give power away. They believe that their own needs can be best satisfied by the actions of others."  The "structure" is what this book seeks to get to. How can a community promote a sense of belonging in its citizens?

This book puts forth an ideology for transforming communities - for creating communities of citizens who are an active part of and the creators of their communities. The basis of the transformation is a paradigm shift from thinking about problems to considering possibilities. Conversations are at the heart of this transformation. The first half of the book focuses on the community paradigm, and the second half focuses on structuring conversations to transform our communities.

The book is not an easy read. It is philosophical and at times dense. The author recognizes that and provides alternatives. Each chapter begins with a summary statement. Each chapter ends with an outline of its content. Towards the end, the book has a section titled "Book at a Glance," which does just what the title suggests. It provides an outlined summary of the book. The same ideology is presented in different ways throughout the book, making the book at times repetitive. At the same time, I find myself re-reading paragraphs to make sure I understand what is being said. Again, it is not an easy read, but the ideas are relevant and important.

Interestingly, the book has some religious undertones. One of the final chapters addresses "unnecessary suffering," an idea often found in religious conversations. The author suggests using round tables in conversation - "the shape of communion" - again an idea that can be interpreted religiously. The book suggests serving healthy snacks at meetings - "bread, unleavened if you can find it, a reminder of the Sabbath." These undertones reinforce this as a book of philosophy.

The book lays out its ideology - the "what" - but is short on the implementation - the "how." As the author acknowledges, this paradigm does not lend itself to be measurable; hence, a lack of statistics, graphs, and charts to measure results. It should, however, lend itself to case studies as to how the ideas have been implemented and the results, however non-quantifiable. The book does include some examples, but they are few in number and brief in explanation.

One of the final sections of the book does present a list of "Role Models and Resources." Some of these role models are individuals who study and write about these opportunities, and some are community leaders who have implemented these ideas. Including more descriptions of the work communities are doing within the book itself would help ground its ideas and communicate them even more strongly. Done in this way, I find that more research is necessary to completely understand the use of the book's ideas.

The book is difficult to read and probably requires more than one reading. It does not really cover the implementation of ideas. However, the ideas themselves are worth reading and worth considering as communities continue to struggle with promoting a sense of belonging in all their citizens.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Title:  Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Author:  Marjane Satrapi

Publication Information:  Pantheon. 2004 (US translation). 160 pages.

ISBN:  037571457X / 978-0375714573

Book Source:  I read this book based on many recommendations.

Opening Sentence:  "This is me when I was 10 years old."

Favorite Quote:  "Don't forget who you are and where you come from."

Persepolis is a memoir of a childhood interrupted by revolution. The book begins in 1980, which is a time of war and revolution in Iran. Marjane Satrapi is 11 years old, and her family are politically active and wealthy - a dangerous combination in a time of revolution.

The book is written as if through the eyes of that eleven year old and not the perspective of an adult looking back. This perspective makes for interesting contrasts throughout the book. Marji's experiences go between those naturally of a young child - friends, arguments, words said without thinking of their impact, and a certain self-absorption - and those of a child unnaturally forced to grow up too soon - with knowledge of fear and of death.  For example, at one moment, she has a child's request for posters and music as a gift. At a different moment, she contemplates the use of an iron as a torture device. This lens of a child's innocence placed on these events makes the events of the revolution even more stark and disturbing.

This history is made darker by economic battles over oil, fundamentalism, and terrorism in the modern history of the country. Conflicts have torn apart the country and created a destructive vision of this civilization around the world. This unfortunately is the legacy of Marj's childhood.

Underlying this darkness, however, is another heritage of a centuries old civilization rich in culture and a history that reaches far into the past. The title of the book is itself a reference to Iran's history. Persepolis, literally translated to "city of Persians," was at one time the capital of the Persian empire. Archaeologists have dated the earliest ruins of Persepolis to 513 B.C., more than 2500 years ago. Today, the ruins of the city itself are a UNESCO designated World Heritage site. Treasures from this famed city are highlights in the collections of museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Oriental Institute in Chicago, the British Museum in London, and the Louvre in Paris.

This rich heritage is also the legacy of Marjane Satrapi's Iran. Unfortunately, this heritage, for me, is what is missing from this book. The book focuses on the events of the revolution and the violence, hypocrisy, and destruction it brings. Having read it, I have a greater understanding of that piece of Iran's history, but I don't feel that I learn much about the country's culture and its people. That is what I was expecting for even the introduction to the book states, "Since then, this old and great civilization has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism. As an Iranian who has lived more than half of my life in Iran, I know that this image is far from the truth. This is why writing Persepolis was so important to me."

Persepolis is the first memoir I have read that is also a graphic novel. Graphic novels are not a medium I read often. So, for me, the approach to telling the story is as unique as the story itself.  The black and white illustrations match the somber, dark events described. Some panels are black on white, and some are white of black. That combination and the use of the dark vs. light background on varying frames tells the story perhaps as much as the words do.

In the recent past and even today, the media captures and portrays an extremely negative image of this region. The book unfortunately feeds into that image rather than dispelling it with a picture of the people and culture that lie beyond the negativity. "I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists." So says the introduction. I completely agree and wish the book portrayed more of the nation and culture beyond the revolution.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

Customer Mania: It's Never Too Late to Build a Customer-Focused Company

Title:  Customer Mania:  It's Never Too Late to Build a Customer-Focused Company

Author:  Ken Blanchard, Jim Ballard, Fred Finch

Publication Information:  Free Press. 2004. 208 pages.

ISBN:  0743270282 / 978-0743270281

Book Source:  I read this book based on an interest in Mr. Blanchard's work.

Opening Sentence:  "I have the greatest job in the world"

Favorite Quote:  "If the organization has been built the right way, it will be the Provider of Choice, Employer of Choice, and Investment of Choice."

Customer Mania presents a framework for creating an organizational environment with a customer focus. Unlike some of Mr. Blanchard's other work, this book does not rely on a parable to convey its point. It uses an actual case study - Yum! Brands - the parent company that owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC.

"The most powerful way to produce desired change in an organization is to impact its culture." The case study of Yum! Brands embodies this principle. The three brands have their own unique identity; however, a unified culture permeates all three.

As the cover copy of the book states, building a customer-focused organization entails four steps:

• Identifying the correct goal or target
• Treating customers right
• Treating employees right
• Building and growing leaders.

The book is set up as a classic case study. The first section presents an introduction and history of Yum! Brands. The next few sections focus on each of the steps in the framework above. Each section consists of three main parts - a benchmark of performance or "Blanchard's Dream;" a description of Yum! Brand's implementation of that step; and a brief scorecard rating Yum! Brand's performance against the benchmark. The final part of the book presents conclusions and future steps.

As with Mr. Blanchard's other books, this book is neatly organized and easy to read.The key points are highlighted using formatting techniques such as fonts, texts boxes, graphics, and lists. A reader can slowly read every details or peruse through quickly and still get the main points of the book.

The one part I wish was further developed is the scorecard component of each section. "Blanchard's Dream" for each step in the process is explained over several pages with principles and examples. The Yum! Brands implementation is also explained over several pages. The scorecard gives Yum! Brands a score out of 10 with no more than a page of explanation, mostly only a paragraph. The implementation seems to focus on highlights not the struggles of this process; the scorecard recognizes some of the challenges but barely touches on them. Sometimes, the struggles and challenges are where the learning occurs. A greater explanation of challenges and how they were overcome or how they could be overcome would be a beneficial tool.

The most interesting part of the book for me is the fact that almost a third focuses on the step - Treat your employees right. As in the book Raving Fans, the point is re-iterated over and over that customer service is based on recruiting, hiring, training, growing, and recognizing a work force.  Yum! Brands has a list of "founding truths" (i.e., principles, philosophy). The first reads "People Capability First ... satisfied customers and profitability follow." So often, managers and leaders focus on external results, forgetting that is the internal processes that lead to those results - good and bad.

The book was written in 2004. As such, the company specifics may be dated, but the principles are not. A quick browse of the Yum! Brand website still reveals its focus on its Yum! Dynasty model and its "recognition culture" - cultural models explained in this book. The specifics may have changed, but the key components of their customer mania philosophy as found in this book remain vital and viable even today.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

Gilead

Title:  Gilead

Author:  Marilynne Robinson

Publication Information:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2004. 247 pages.

ISBN:  0374153892 / 978-0374153892

Book Source:  I read this book as this month's selection for my local book club.

Opening Sentence:  "I told you last night that I might be gone sometime, and you said, Where, and I said, To be with the Good Lord, and you said, Why, and I said, Because I'm old, and you said, I don't think you're old."

Favorite Quote:  "But I've developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by far, than I learned anything useful from, except, of course, that some very tedious gentlemen have written books. This is not a new insight, but the truth of it is something you have to experience to fully grasp."

The year is 1957. The place is the small town of Gilead, Iowa. The character is Reverend John Ames, suffering from heart disease and knowing that he may die before too long. Gilead is his epistle to his seven year old son. He writes, "I'm trying to make the best of our situation. That is, I'm trying to tell you things I might never have thought to tell you if I had brought you up myself, father and son, in the usual companionable way. When things are taking their ordinary course, it is hard to remember what matters. There are so many things you would never thing to tell anyone. And I believe they may be the things that mean the most to you, and that even your own child would have to know in order to know you well at all." At many points, he also writes that these are his son's "begats."

This book is part a dramatic story, part memoir (even if of a fictional character), part theology and part philosophy. Reading it the first time through, my reaction goes between feeling like I am reading a compilation of essays to being caught up in events being described. I feel like I am looking at a life lesson but that somehow I missed the lesson. I feel like I need to ponder over it and to perhaps re-read it to puzzle through John Ames' message. I want to know the other characters in a way other than through John Ames' eyes. Gilead leaves me thinking and with so many questions unanswered.

Why is a dying man investing his remaining time in documenting his life rather than living it? Why not spend the time with his wife and son, leaving his son with the memories of his father that are his rather than his father's writings about others? John Ames even comments on his own detachment, "This morning you came to me with a picture you had made that you wanted me to admire. I .... didn't look up right away. Your mother said, in the kindest, saddest voice, 'He doesn't hear you.' Not 'He didn't' but 'He doesn't.'" That statement is never explained. Why does John Ames not listen to his own son? What is the story behind his marriage - his second and to a woman considerable younger than he is?

A large part of the story has to do with John Ames' godson, Jack Boughton. He left Gilead under unfortunate circumstances and has now returned at least for a while. Slowly, the book does reveal why Jack Boughton left town. Slowly, you also see the friendship developing between Jack and John Ames' wife. Why does John Ames harbor such strong feelings towards Jack? The history, once revealed, alone does not seem to explain the intensity of the feelings. Also, if these writings are his son's legacy, why is Jack such a big part of them?

The Christian theology and references are abundant in this book. From the title Gilead to the idea of writing his son's "begats." From the varied Christian traditions represented to the discussions of the atheist Ludwig Feuerbach. This book definitely takes some work. I find myself rereading passages, doing research, and looking up references to further my understanding of the book for I clearly do not have the background to understand it. Is a more knowledgeable reader the target audience for this book? Is there a bigger philosophical lesson in the book tied to a deeper understanding of the references?

Gilead won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2005 National book Critics Circle Award. Since that time, Marilynne Robinson has written two companion books. Published in 2008, Home tells a concurred story, focusing on the Boughton family - Reverend Robert Boughton who is John Ames's best friend and Jack Boughton, who Ames' godson and the Robert's prodigal son returned home. Lila, published in 2014, picks up on the story of John Ames' much younger wife - her life before coming to Gilead and then her courtship and marriage to John Ames. I am looking forward to one day reading both companion books to see if they answer some of the question Gilead leaves unanswered.

I feel like I did not truly understand this book. Did I like it? Yes, I did for it leaves me thinking and I am engaged enough to want to understand.  Many unanswered questions remain, but the book feels complete. We hear only John Ames' perspective, but I am left caring about all of them and wanting to know the "why" behind their story and what happens to them? They may be fictional characters, but they leave a very real, lingering impact.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

The Reason I Jump

Title: The Reason I Jump

Author:  Naoki Higashida (translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell)

Publication Information:  Random House. 2007 (original). 2013 (translation). 176 pages.

Book Source:  I read this book based on reading a description in a newsletter from a local independent bookstore.

Favorite Quote:  "I've learned that every human being, with or without disabilities, needs to strive to do their best, and by striving for happiness you will arrive at happiness. For us, you see, having autism is normal - so we can't know for sure what your "normal" is even like. But so long as we can learn to love ourselves, I'm not sure how much it matters whether we're normal or autistic.”

Naoki Higashida is a young author of several fiction and nonfiction books. He is also an advocate for autism awareness. He was also diagnosed as severely autistic at age 5. He learned how to communicate, not verbally but through the use of an alphabet grid board. Since he could not communicate verbally, he turned to writing to let people know who he is and to offer a better understanding of his life and his world.

Naoki Higashida wrote this book when he was thirteen years old. David Mitchell (author of Cloud Atlas) and his wife KA Yoshida discovered the book in its original Japanese as another resource to use in understanding their own autistic son. They were so profoundly impacted that they decided to translate the book to make it available to a much wider audience.

The book is written in question and answer format. Questions like:

"What's the reason you jump?"
"Why don't you make eye contact when you're talking?"
"Why do you ask the same questions over and over?"
"Why do you flap your fingers and hands in front of your face?"
"Why do you repeat certain actions again and again?"

And many others.

In addition, the book is punctuated by short stories written by the author to offer a different insight.

The answers are specific to the questions. Yet, several themes and patterns emerge. What you see is the picture of an intelligent, articulate, and composed young man whose message comes across as "Please keep battling alongside us. We are the ones who are suffering the most in these scenes, and badly, badly want to free ourselves from our own chains."

This book has gotten a lot of mixed reviews. Some question the authenticity of the book, saying that it is not his words alone but rather writing facilitated by those around him. Some question the insight it offers as compared to others on the same subject matter. Some question the use of "we" by the author so as to seem to speak for all autistic people when the manifestation of autism is unique to each individual. Some question the fact that it is written not to help a person with autism but rather to offer understanding to those who live and work with an autistic person. Some question the fact that the book really offers no answers.

I am not an expert in the field nor do I deal with autism on a day to day basis. Yet, the book had a profound impact on me. Even if all the critics are correct in their interpretation, this book offers me an understanding and knowledge that I did not have before and from a perspective that I have not seen before.

Cloud Atlas

Title:  Cloud Atlas

Author:  David Mitchell

Publication Information:  Random House Trade Paperbacks, The Random House Publishing Group, Random House Inc. 2004. 500 pages.

Book Source:  This book is required summer reading for the Advanced Placement English class at our high school. I read it because I wanted to see what our school will be teaching.

Favorite Quote:  "Every nowhere is somewhere."

I have to admit. I finished reading this book a while ago. I have taken this time to dwell on it, reread passages, think about it some more, and really consider how I describe it. Reading this book, I feel, will be an intensely personal experience. This book will not work for everyone. For me, it did.

From its description, the book is a set of six loosely related stories. Each is set in a different time and place. Each is written in an entirely different style. The first is the journal of a traveler. The second is letters from a young musician. The third is the story of a young reporter and big business. The fourth is the adventure of a publisher institutionalized because of illness. The fifth is the tale of a futuristic world of clones and slavery. The sixth comes full circle to life on a primitive post-apocalyptic island.

The stories are not told in their entirety, instead in halves. They build from the first to the sixth and then weave their way back. The first set of sections stop rather abruptly and at a climatic moment. Only the story of the post-apocalyptic world is told in one go. As such, it forms the crux of the novel.

Based on the description, I was not sure I was going to enjoy the book. As I read the first section, I wasn't sure I would like it. Yet, I kept reading. The writing styles of certain sections appealed to me more so than others. Slowly, though, themes start to emerge in the book - statements of ideology and philosophy - and it coalesces into a whole. The book is one about human nature, power, control, and the past being redefined to suit the needs of the future. These themes repeat throughout the book:

From the traveler's journal:  "Scholars discern motions in history & formulate these motions into rules that govern the rises & falls of civilizations. My belief runs contrary, however. To wit: history admits no rules, only outcomes. What precipitates outcomes? Vicious acts and virtuous act. What precipitates acts? Belief. Belief is both prize & battlefield, within the mind & in the mind's mirror, the world."

From the musician's letters:  "Wars do not combust without warning. They begin as little fires over the horizon. Wars approach ... Another war is always coming, Robert. They are never properly extinguished. What sparks wars? The will to power, the backbone of human nature. The threat of violence, the fear of violence, or actual violence is the instrument of this dreadful will ... The nation-state is merely human nature inflated to monstrous proportions. QED, nations are entities whose laws are written by violence."

From the reporter's story:  "Yet how is it some men attain mastery over others while the vast majority live and die as minions, as livestock? The answer is a holy trinity. First:  God-given gifts of charisma. Second:  the discipline to nurture these gifts to maturity, for though humanity's topsoil is fertile with talent, only one seed in ten thousand will every flower - for want of discipline ... Third:  the will to power. This is the enigma at the core of the various destinies of men. What drives some to accrue power where the majority of the compatriots lose, mishandle, or eschew power? Is it addiction? Wealth? Survival? Natural selection? I propose these are all pretexts and results, not the root cause. The only answer can be 'There is no "Why." This is our nature.' 'Who' and 'What' run deeper than 'Why.'"

From the publisher's tale:  "Mother used to say escape is never further than the nearest book. Well, Mumsy, no, not really .... Books don't offer real escape, but they can stop a mind scratching itself raw."
[Okay, I know this has nothing to do with the themes, but I love comments in books about books.]

From the future world:  "In a cycle as old as tribalism, ignorance of the Other engenders fear; fear engenders hatred; hatred engenders violence; violence engenders further violence until only "rights," the only law, are whatever is willed by the most powerful."

From the post-apocalyptic world:  "Human hunger birthed the Civ'lize, but human hunger killed it too."

What I found amazing was how completely David Mitchell is able to change his writing style from section to section. Each section is like reading a completely different book - the voice, the language, the writing style, the descriptions - pretty much everything about the story. I feel that David Mitchell describes his own work within the book. "Spent the fortnight gone in the music room, reworking my year's fragments into a "sextet for overlapping soloists":  piano, clarinet, 'cello, flute, oboe, and violin, each in its own language of key, scale, and color. In the first set, each solo is interrupted by its successor:  in the second: each interruption is recontinued, in order. Revolutionary or gimmicky? Shan't know until it's too late, and by then it'll be too late."

I vote revolutionary. I did not expect to like this book, but I did. I expected to toil through it, and through some sections, I did. The themes and the ideas of this book will stay with me for a long time, and I can see myself periodically rereading.

The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness

Title:  The Spiral Staircase:  My Climb Out of Darkness

Author:  Karen Armstrong

Publication Information:  Anchor Books. 2005. 305 pages.

Book Source:  I received this book through the GoodReads First Reads program free of cost in exchange for an honest review. The book arrived as a paperback edition.

Favorite Quote:  "We should probably all pause to confront our past from time to time, because it changes its meaning as our circumstances alter."

Karen Armstrong grew up Catholic and joined a convent at age 17 in 1962. She spent 7 years training to be a nun and then made the difficult decision to leave the convent in 1969. The ensuing years brought trials and a whole a new life, ultimately leading to her world-renowned work as a comparative theologian.

This memoir is the story of her decision to leave the convent and what came after. It includes reflections on what brought her to become a nun, her life at the convent, what caused her to leave, her adjustment to life outside the convent, and her long struggle with an unidentified illness (ultimately diagnosed as epilepsy).

The title, The Spiral Staircase, is a reference to a T. S. Eliot sequence of poems that speaks about the journey of spiritual recovery. It speaks about one who has lacked faith but who find his or her way towards God. The spiral is the lack of a clear path, the seeming repetition of choices and mistakes, the seeming lack of movement at times, but at the end of it all, a progress upwards. Karen Armstrong uses the poem and the image of the spiral staircase as symbols of her own journey.

What comes through clearly in the book are many of the negative aspects of convent life that caused Karen Armstrong to leave the convent life and also the turmoil that the decision entailed. The "outside" world was not what she expected. The life she found was not the one she expected. Positive and negative emotions intermingle throughout the book. The confusion and the questions come through ranging from the spiritual ones to the physical ones of her illness.  The struggles sometimes lend the book a sad and negative tone. The reader is ultimately left with the idea that each person must travel his or her own individual path. There are no easy answers.

Prior to reading this book, I did not realize that this is the third memoir that Karen Armstrong has written. The first, Through the Narrow Gate, describes her years in the convent and was originally published in 1982 about twelve years after she left the convent. The second, Beginning the World, talks about her transition out of the convent and was originally published in 1983. According to the author herself, "It is the worst book I have ever written and I am thankful to say that it has long been out of print." This book, The Spiral Staircase was originally published in 2004 and is essentially another look at the the same time period covered in Beginning the World. A do-over, if you will.

In the preface to this book, Karen Armstrong explains why she felt the book Beginning the World needed re-writing. "It was not a truthful account. This was not because the events I recounted did not happen, but because the book did not tell the whole story ... It was an exercise in wish fulfillment, and predictably, the result was quite awful."

I completely understand that our view of the world and our own past changes with time, age, maturity and distance. However, the statement in the introduction to a memoir raises for a question of credibility. If  the books reflect a different outlook at a different point in time, what gives one greater credibility over the other. What makes one "awful" and the other more reflective of the truth other than a change in perspective?

I have enormous respect for Karen Armstrong's knowledge and her work in promoting a world of mutual understanding and respect between different faiths. That is the main reason I wanted to read the memoir. That respect remains unchanged after reading this book, but the inspiration I was hoping to find in her personal story was not there for me.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Title:  The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Author:  Jan-Philipp Sendker

Publication Information:  Karl Blessing Verlag, Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH, Munich, Germany. 2002. 338 pages.

Book Source:  I read this book based on a recommendation from a friend.

Favorite Quote:  "Love has so many different faces that our imagination is not prepared to see them all ... Because we see only what we already know. We project our own capacities - for good as well as evil - onto the other person. Then we acknowledge as love primarily those things that correspond to our own image thereof. We wish to be loved as we ourselves would love. Any other way makes us uncomfortable. We respond with doubt and suspicion. We misinterpret the signal. We do not understand the language. We accuse. We assert that the other person does not love us. But perhaps he merely loves us in some idiosyncratic way that we fail to recognize."

The original novel was published in German and became successful in Europe. This is the English translation.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is as story within a story. It is the story of a daughter attempting to understand her father and the life of the man before he became a father. The story travels from New York to Burma.

Julia's father is a well respected lawyer in New York, but one day, he simply disappears, leaving his daughter devastated. The only clue she finds is a love letter written by her father to a woman named Mi Mi in Burma. So, she travels to Burma to solve the mystery and find some closure.

In a small Burmese village, she meets U Ba, a gentlemen who knows her father and who has his story to tell. Thus, the book moves into the story of Tin Win and Mi Mi. Tin Win is the young boy who suffers through many calamities while young. Yet, he finds love and flourishes. Mi Mi is a young woman handicapped by a physical disability but embracing life with joy.

What brings them together and tears them apart and the concept of unconditional love is what this story is all about. What Julia learns about her father, herself, and her world is what brings the story back to the present.

The story of Tin Win and Mi Mi often reads like a fairy tale or a fable. Certain details are not developed and certain questions are not resolved. For example, how is Julia's father able to walk away from his daughter? Why do Tin Win and Mi Mi accept what happens without question? Why does so much time pass with Tin Win not returning? Many questions; yet, the writing and the way in which the story is told surpasses those questions.

My reaction to the book can perhaps be best described in the author's own words. As the book is a story within a story, the author talks about the impact of stories: "Can words sprout wings? Can they glide like butterflies through the air? Can they captivate us, carry us off into another world? Can they open the last secret chambers of our souls?" If you are willing to suspend your disbelief about the unresolved questions, this story does.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Title:  Half the Sky:  Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Author:  Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Publication Information:  Vintage Books, Random House, Inc. 2009. 296 pages.

Book Source:  I read this book on the recommendation of a friend. She was nice enough to lend me her paperback copy.

Favorite Quote:  "So let us be clear about this up front:  We hope to recruit you to join an incipient movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty by unlocking women's power as economic catalysts. That is the process under way - not a drama of victimization but of empowerment, the kind that transforms bubbly teenage girls from brothel slaves into successful businesswomen. This is a story of transformation. It is change that is already taking place, and change that can accelerate if you'll just open your heart and join in ...  The question is how long that transformation will take and how many girls will be kidnapped into brothels before it is complete - and whether each of us will be part of the historical movement, or a bystander."

The title of this book, Half The Sky, is from a quote from Mao Tse-Tung. He said, "Women hold up half the sky." It is generally interpreted as a recognition of the power and place of women in our civilization. This book speaks about the oppression of women around the world. It does not address each and every issue of women's lives around the world. It focuses on three particular issues - prostitution and the sex trade; violence against women including rape and honor killings; and mortality in childbirth.

Turn by turn, the book addresses each issues with story upon story of the atrocities around the world. Meena who was kidnapped at age eight and sold in the sex trade. Kalma who was gang raped ten days after giving birth. Prudence who died in childbirth because of an untreated infection. And so many more.

The book also has stories of success - of women who helped themselves and those around them, of individuals who went in from the outside to help, and of organizations that work tirelessly to bring about change. Neth who was rescued from a brothel and found a life beyond. Usha Narayne who stepped forward as a leader in her home in the slums of India. Sakeena Yacoobi who runs the Afghan Institute of Learning. Ann Cotton, a Welsh woman, who founded Campaign for Female Education to help girls in Africa. And so many more.

Within the context of these stories, the book describes broader patterns and concepts. The role of religion to incorrectly justify violence. The change required in cultural paradigms. The impact of supporting grassroots movement versus outside aid.

Finally, the book issues a call of action with specific recommendations of how any person anywhere can be a part of the solution. To support the call to action, the book was made into a PBS movie and now finds its home at the following website:  http://www.halftheskymovement.org.

A book full of information about a critical topic. It is not an easy book to read - with the number of stories, the amount of information, and the seriousness of the topic. I had to gradually make my way through it, but I am glad I did.

How to Win College Scholarships

Title:  How to Win Scholarships:  A Guide for Parents in 10 Easy Steps

Author:  Monica L. Matthews

Publication Information:  ebook edition

Book Source:  I read this book because college costs are looming large on the horizon for us, and every resource can help. The guide came as a ebook edition from the author.

Favorite Quote:  "It [Winning scholarships] will not be easy, but I think the information that I've shared here will make it easier on both of you."

How to Win Scholarships lives up to its name. It is a how-to guide written by a mother, who was faced with the dilemma a few years ago of how to pay for her oldest son's college education, especially given that they have two younger children who will be college age soon.

This guide is the culmination of her research and experience. Her results speak for themselves. Her son received over $100,000 in scholarship money.

The guide is short - under 25 pages. The information in it is straight forward - tips that make you go "That makes sense." The tips are also specific, ranging from how to organize the search, how to build a resume, and how to find opportunities. In addition, the writing perspective is that of a parent - someone with a vested interest in the success of the process. Someone with the same perspective as a reader.

Accompanying the guide, the author has an active social media presence. Ongoing resources include lists of scholarship opportunities and articles on the college process.

A useful resource if you are looking at the college process.

When The Emperor Was Divine

Title:  When The Emperor Was Divine

Author:  Julie Otsuka

Publication Information:  Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf, Random House Inc. 2002. 144 pages.

Book Source:  I read this book bases on how much I enjoyed Julie Otsuka's book The Buddha in the Attic.

Favorite Quote:  "He said he was fine. Everything was fine. He was sure they would see each other one day soon. Be good to your mother, he wrote. Be patient. And remember, it's better to bend than break."

When The Emperor Was Divine is the story of the Japanese in the United States during World War II.  It is the story of one family, but written with no names perhaps to imply a universality of experience. A more recent book from Julie Otsuka -  The Buddha in the Attic - tells the story of the Japanese picture brides up until World War II. This story, although written much earlier, picks up the story at that point.

It is the story of one family. The father has been arrested and detained as an "enemy." The family - mother, daughter, and son - are sent to an internment camp.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Some parts - especially as the father narrates - spoke to me and created an emotional connection. Other parts - mostly narrated by the little boy - I had a hard time finding a connection too. The entire book is written with no names, and that in and of itself creates a detachment. Yet, I found the emotion in certain sections, and not in others.

Perhaps, my reaction is also influenced by the fact that I very recently read The Buddha in the Attic, and absolutely loved it. That book is written entirely in third person plural. Yet, that consistency of tone achieves to create one character out of the entire group of women. This book does not successfully accomplish that.

One idea that really struck me is the quote above. This is a letter from the father to the little boy in which he advises that "it's better to bend than break." Bend not Break is the title of a memoir I read recently. I found it intriguing to find almost the exact words in this book.

Of course, the lingering question in my mind about this period in history is that this happened in the United States, and have we changed enough to ensure that such a violation of rights and liberties never happens here again?

Things I Learned From Knitting

Title:  Things I Learned From Knitting

Author:  Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Publication Information:  Storey Publishing. 2008. 160 pages

Book Source:  I enjoy reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's blog and have read some of her other books. I was interested to see what lessons knitting had for her. The book came through PaperbackSwap.

Favorite Quote:  "It turns out that knitting is a luxury, and buying yarn (even cheap yarn) or having time to knit (even five minutes) or simply sitting in my house (even my very small house) with that warm, soft yarn in my hands is a sign that I am extraordinarily rich and fortunate."

Things I Learned From Knitting is another collection of essays by blogger Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. As a knitter, I found myself laughing and nodding my head in agreement over a lot of the material. Anyone passionate about a craft will recognize that we all start to see our philosophy of life reflected in elements of our craft. Our crafts teach us, keep us busy, and enable us to show ourselves to the world. And they teach us along the way.

This book is a pocket size volume - perhaps to easily fit into a knitting bag? The lessons in this book are about patience, love, generosity, perfection, and about getting to know our own selves better. The tone is a humorous one as life lessons are put into a knitting context. Lessons like "Don't worry. Be happy" and "Practice makes perfect" and "Everything is relative."

This is the third or fourth book I have read by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. While each one is individually interesting, by the second or third, they start to sound the same. The material and the tone seem the same from book to book. So, I think if this was the first one I had read, I would have really enjoyed it. I still thought it was okay, but nothing new. I enjoy reading her blog and love her amazing yarn creations though!

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Title:  We Need To Talk About Kevin

Author:  Lionel Shriver

Publication Information:  Counterpoint, Perseus Books Group. 2003. 497 pages.

Book Source:  I picked this book because reading the publicity about the movie based on the book.

Favorite Quote:  "When you're the parent, no matter what the accident, no matter how far away you were at the time and how seemingly powerless to avert it, a child's misfortune feels like your fault. You all your kids have, and their own conviction that you will protect them is contagious."

We Need To Talk About Kevin is the story of a killer and his mother. This book begins about three days shy of Kevin's eighteenth birthday. His mother Eva is telling the story through letters she is writing to her presumably estranged husband Franklin. The letters are written over a period of six months. The chronology of the letters goes from the beginning of Franklin and Eva's marriage to the present time.

The story, however, is a nonlinear one because even at the beginning, the reader knows the horrifying truth. Three years prior, three days before his sixteenth birthday, on a Thursday, Kevin went on a killing spree. At his school, he deliberately killed nine people. At present, he is serving his sentence in prison.

Through Eva's letters, slowly the history of this family emerges. Eva's reluctance about motherhood. Kevin's sociopath tendencies. Franklin's determination to make everything seem normal. The birth of Franklin and Eva's second child Celia. Numerous instances of Kevin's increasingly deteriorating behavior. An inkling that more might have happened than we know at the beginning. Regrets and guilt of a parent and her inability to change what happened.

How do I even describe this book? This is one of the most harrowing, horrific stories I have ever read. Not horrific in a zombie apocalypse kind of way. But horrific in its bone chilling, gut-wrenching reality.

Yet, I could not put this book down. And when I did, I could not stop thinking about it. Now that I am done, I am relieved. I knew what was coming, and yet it made it no easier to actually read about it. My plan is to walk away and read something happy and shed the dark and immensely sad feelings of this one. Any book that makes me think and feel the way this one did is definitely worth reading.

Letter to My Daughter

Title:  Letter to My Daughter

Author:  Maya Angelou

Publication Information:  Random House, Inc. 2008. 108 pages.

Book Source:  I picked this book while browsing through the ebooks in the online library catalog.

Favorite Quote:  "The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed."

Letter to My Daughter is a collection of short essays by Maya Angelou - bits of opinion and advice drawn from and explained using different incidents in her life. Maya Angelou gave birth to one son. Yet, this letter is to her daughter - or really daughters - each and every one of us.

The book itself is short and can easily be read in one sitting. Each essay is brief and can lend itself to a quick read here and there. A gentle, quick reminder of life lessons.

Each essay presents a glimpse into Maya Angelou's life and leaves us with a lesson for our own lives. Some of the stories are difficult - getting pregnant young, becoming a single parent, getting beat up, and more. Some are humorous like her not realizing cultural differences and walking on what would be the tablecloth at which guests would dine.

Many of anecdotes talk about mistakes she made and the lessons that derive from that. To speak in that manner and to reveal those aspects of yourself takes courage. This is the first work I have read by Maya Angelou. So, I enjoyed the lessons she presented and learning about her own life as well. This is a book I probably will re-read.

What Alice Forgot

Title:  What Alice Forgot

Author:  Liane Moriarty

Publication Information:  Penguin Group. 2009. 426 pages.

Book Source:  I found this book while browsing through the new book section of our library.

Favorite Quote:  "She had always had a slight mistrust of busy people; the sort of people who described themselves as 'Flat-out! Frantic!' What was the hurry? Why didn't they just slow down? Just what exactly were they so busy doing?"

What if you woke up one day and part of your life was missing? That is what happens to Alice. She thinks it is 1998, and she is happily married and pregnant with her first child. In reality, it is 2008. Alice is the mother of three children and on the brink of divorce. An accident at the gym has resulted in amnesia - what Alice forgot is the last ten years of her life. The book tells the story of her discovery of who she is as a person and the reconciliation between her "present" and the actual present time.

The most interesting part of the book is the comparison between who Alice was and who she is ten years later. Often, change creeps up on us slowly such that we don't even realize it has happened. However, Alice is face to face with her own self - ten years apart. She discovers that she does not recognize the person she has become.

Gradually, we learn about the events and circumstances of the ten years that Alice forgot. Alice has a chance to reflect different roads she might have taken and different choices she could have made.  The thought of a do-over in life is a tempting. Alice does not really get a do-over because she cannot undo the last ten years. However, her reflections can lead to different choices and changes in the future.

Overall, What Alice Forgot was an interesting book. However, the same story could be told in fewer than 400 pages. Parts of the book felt a little long and a little repetitive. That aside, the story and the premise of a fresh look at our lives is such a tempting one.