Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

I didn’t mean to take such a long break from blogging, but it happened anyway! Holiday travel took it out of me, and I couldn’t get the hang of blogging away from home. Not to mention I nearly sprained my jaw from overeating. But I do love this time of year…

When people know you love to read, they try to find bookish presents for you. My husband toyed with the idea of buying me an eBook reader, but I am reluctant to go down that road, and I’m not even sure why myself. I just can't imagine reading from a screen being as satisfying as paging through a book.

My husband found this review of the Sony version on Gizmodo, a gadget blog he reads. Though I haven’t tried an ereader yet, and I’m not going to be a naysayer until I do, I had to nod with recognition at the woman’s comments:

She feels disoriented without the constant, tactile feedback of the book's thickness—that unconscious reminder of just how much of the story is left to go (are there really enough pages remaining for Mr. Darcy and Lizzie to work things out??). Sure, there are page numbers on the screen, but it's not the same.

I found her reaction simple and somewhat profound.

Gizmodo also had a post about Amazon's highly promoted "Kindle", their version of the ebook reader. I haven't read any real reviews of it, but I'd be interested to hear what people think. Do any of you have an ebook reader? If so, what type? And what do you think of it?

Quite a challenge

Bellezza at Dolce Bellezza is hosting a wonderful challenge, The Japanese Literature Challenge, which runs from November 30th through January 3oth, 2008. The parameters are that you have to read three pieces of Japanese Literature, from any genre, and post your opinions on your blog.

I'm a little late in joining in, but I am going to try to do this one--though I'm not sure how far I'll get.

There are so many amazing pieces of Japanese literature out there--this is just the push I need to get reading some of them. And Bellezza is offering gorgeous prizes, by the way. So I have to urge you to join in, too!

I'm going to start by blowing the dust off something that's been on my bedside table for months: Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Then I'll see what else strikes my fancy--there are so many great books to choose from.

And if you are thinking you want to do this but aren't sure what to read, Bellezza has put together a nice list of Japanese literature on her blog.

The Golden Compass, and odds and ends

Yesterday I took my sons to see the movie version of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, after my eldest had raced through the three books of Pullman's series His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass). I haven't read the books, so I came to the movie without too many expectations. My son, however, had many criticisms--mostly about how the filmmakers changed things from the book--which he whispered to me in an outraged tone through the course of the film. There's nothing like an indignant 11-year-old! But most egregious to him was how the ending, he said, was cut off.

When we read about the tortuous process of making the movie (on Wikipedia), it became clear that the filmmakers had had to make many changes, in content and in theme. In theme, to appease Christian groups who were upset by the story's anti-religious themes, and in content to force the story into a movie-length one, that stands on its own but is also obviously a set-up for a sequel.

This last is what really bugged my son, and what also bugs me about film adaptations like The Lord of the Rings. I guess it has to be done if you're going to do a series of films, but the cliffhanger ending, while fine on TV, just doesn't work in a theater. Especially when you know you'll be waiting at least a year for the next installment of the story.

I haven't posted much lately, having been extremely busy with the kids. Also busy with my striking, picketing husband (see United Hollywood for updates on that crazy situation), and the holidays in general. But I'm still reading.

My book group has chosen (okay, I pushed this one) Anne Enright's Booker-winning The Gathering for our next book, and I'm very excited to read it. And I'm finishing Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage, which has been a fantastic read. More on that soon.

Kid Stuff

My eldest son is barreling through the Philip Pullman His Dark Materials Trilogy before the movie version of The Golden Compass comes out next week. Having an 11-year-old avid reader in the house reminds me of what reading was like for me when I was a kid. My son reads obsessively, and if he finishes something that's part of a series, he's uncomfortable until he has the next book in his hands. We practically ran to the library the other day so he could get The Subtle Knife out, after putting The Golden Compass down minutes before. It's times like this I'm glad our local branch is only three blocks away!

I haven't read The Golden Compass, but I'm planning to take the kids to the movie. My son and most of his friends are waiting impatiently for this one to come out, so we'll probably go opening day, or soon thereafter. If anyone out there has seen a sneak preview, let me know what you think!

Local stuff

I was barely coming out of a pie-induced daze, when I turned on the news and heard that there's yet another wildfire here in Los Angeles. It isn't that surprising, since it has been very dry and warm here this fall.

I had to post a link to this wild picture of today's fire in Malibu, as seen from the beach in Santa Monica. It's from local site LAist. The fire has destroyed 35 buildings, and is about 25% contained. I'm hoping they get it under control soon.

The Widow's War, by Sally Gunning--a review

Looking for local color during my summer vacation in Cape Cod, I went to the bookstore and picked up The Widow's War: A Novel, by Sally Gunning, which was recommended by the woman behind the counter there.

The Widow’s War is a historical novel that takes place in the very village in Cape Cod where my family stays, what used to be called Satucket, but is now Brewster. It is the story of Lyddie Berry, who is widowed when her beloved husband Edward, a whaler, drowns in Cape Cod Bay. The year is 1761, and then, in colonial New England, widows typically got their “thirds”, a third of their husband’s estate, until they remarried or died, with the rest of the estate going to the male heir. Lyddie, unhappy living with her daughter and overbearing son-in-law, challenges both the law and the customs of the time when she fights for her freedom and a house of her own.

The story is written in clean, clear prose and Gunning creates a strong and appealing main character in Lyddie Berry. I found myself truly curious about Lyddie’s fate, so I read later into the night than usual to find out what happened to her.

I read this right after finishing Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, so it was interesting to read about Lyddie’s neighbor, the Indian Sam Cowett, and his relationship to both Lyddie and the English community. Based on what I learned in Mayflower, it seemed realistic that almost one hundred years later, Gunning shows that some Indians lived separate from, but on the fringes of, the white community, and some had taken on the Christian religion, but all, whether living among or apart from the English, were considered “other” and regarded with suspicion.

Overall, I felt this was a well-researched book, and I found it both entertaining and informative.

As a bonus for me, a visitor to the area in Cape Cod where the book is set, the author gives a “tour” of the places in the novel, relating them to present-day landmarks. It was wonderful for me, since I had just been there and could picture just what Gunning wrote about. She also describes the architecture, so you get a sense of how the people lived, and again, if you’re a visitor to the area, you can see real examples of these “Cape Cod” houses that still exist. If my family returns to the spot, I’ll be sure to explore the area with the help of Gunning’s road map.

What...really?

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Here's a little thing I got from Maggie Reads. I think they must just count up the polysyllabic words or something...but hey, I'll take it.