Wicked by Gregory Maguire

This book got really long about half way through. It didn't make a lot of sense to me until the end, when it all starts to come together. It's a reimagining of the Wizard of Oz, telling the life story of the wicked witch. The plot really drags in the fourth part, when the witch holes herself up in response to a devastating blow. This is definitely an adult-oriented story, with a few sex scenes, starting from the beginning. The very beginning is pretty catchy, and the scenes of the education Elphaba (the witch) receives at the school in Shiz are an enjoyable, much more sinister take on Harry Potter. This book gets a little lost in its own mythology, though, and the "serious" discussion of evil conducted in dialogue toward the end of the book seems a little laughable. If the book is concerned with the nature of evil, it ought to be expressed more in the plot of the story than in this one piece of dialogue. Throughout, the book is more political about evil than it is moral or philosophical. That can be a good thing, but in this case it is kind of a drag. The witch is sympathetic, but she doesn't really rise to the level of tragic hero or even anti-hero. The mistakes she makes at the end are tragicomic, though, I guess. The end almost makes up for the fourth part of the book, but I wish the author could have made more of Dorothy.

The Club Dumas

I found this mystery intriguing enough from the beginning to read it quickly through to the end. The novel describes the world of rare book dealing as a cutthroat enterprise, peopled by misfits who end up going to extraordinary lengths in pursuit of certain antique books. The novel centers around Lucas Corso, who is a kind of bookworm-for-hire, willing to do just about anything to acquire the books his employers seek. In this novel, he researches a manuscript possibly penned by Alexandre Dumas, author of the Three Musketeers, for a friend. At the same time, he delves into a paid job researching an extremely rare -- only 3 copies are known -- book from the 1600s that got the publisher burned at the stake because it supposedly contained instructions on how to call forth the devil. Corso increasingly comes to feel that he is playing a role in a novel himself, as events transpire that mirror events in the Three Musketeers. This "metanarrative" is pretty distracting and seems like an obvious ploy by the author to get into the good graces of critics and academics. The mystery from the 1600s is more intriguing and seems nearly genuine. However, I don't really recommend this book because the ending is quite far-fetched, and the resolution of the mystery around both books is disappointing. Also, the female character that follows Corso around for half of the novel and with whom he develops a relationship is too much of a plot device and not enough of a character. For all its intricacy and careful plotting, this book just doesn't deliver in the end.

How to Listen to God

I've had trouble finishing books this month, but I did start this one with all good intentions. Unfortunately, I found the book a little flat and orthodox. The stories Charles Stanley tells in this how-to guide are so vague as to be virtually meaningless. The how-to parts are pretty vague, too, but there is some helpful direction in them. I just haven't found too much to excite me in this book.

A Legacy of Ashes

I'm almost halfway through this history of the CIA, and it is eye-opening how much the CIA has done with so little actual hard information to go on. The myth of Jack Ryan, the ultra-informed CIA analyst created by Tom Clancy, is the opposite of the CIA as it really existed, at least in the parts I have read. The CIA seems to have operated on some really bad ideas, wasting lives and money in a desperate attempt to change world politics in the U.S.'s favor. The CIA's purpose in the early years was more focused on covert action than on intelligence-gathering, and the covert action was remarkably cavalier and destructive. This picture of the CIA is backed up with pages and pages of footnotes, and the author's access to declassified documents seems to be extensive. Still, one wonders if one is getting the whole truth in this history. I don't know if this criticism is valid or not without having any other information to go on, but it is a lingering question as I continue to read the book. It's an interesting read, but I hope it's not the whole story of the CIA.

James Joyce's Ulysses Part 3

Still slogging my way through this important novel. I'm beginning to pick up bits and pieces of the novel's themes, but it's a stretch for me to read this densely packed description of everyday Dublin. The character Leopold Bloom has so many mundane thoughts, mixed in with some absurd thoughts, that it's hard to discern exactly what the novel's trying to say. As I told my friend last night, though, that may be part of the novel's point -- that we are all part of this mundane world, and it really is a part of the human condition to be wrapped up in ourselves. I'm not very far in to the novel, but we'll see where it goes from here.

The Innocent Man

I read this John Grisham true-crime story in a couple of days. It was a compelling story, and the author makes you feel for the "innocent man," Ron Williamson, who suffers so much at the hands of police and unscrupulous people in the prison system. Ron Williamson is prosecuted and convicted of murder and assigned the death penalty based on what the book describes as pretty flimsy evidence. He ultimately is exonerated by the efforts of a federal judge's legal team (spurred by a defense attorney's brief), and the Innocence Project spearheaded by Barry Scheck of OJ fame. There is irreparable damage done to the man when he is prosecuted and sentenced to death, and it is a true case of injustice in America. The book tells a one-sided story, though, that doesn't come close to explaining why the Oklahoma system of justice failed to address what Grisham sees as glaring errors in both the prosecution and defense of the case. Sarcastic comments throughout the book show that the author's sympathies extend only to Ron and his family. I get the feeling that Grisham never interviewed the chief prosecutor in the case, and he doesn't really attempt to get inside his head or explore the reasons for the police seizing on Ron Williamson as their chief suspect. He is mostly concerned with telling Ron's story. That story is dramatic and painful, and it gives those who staunchly defend the death penalty as justice some reasons to think again, but I wanted a few more answers about the prosecutors and police, and I think the author could have attempted a little more empathy with them.

Mountain in My Rear-View Mirror: A Guide to Overcoming Overwhelming Obstacles

I included the subtitle to this book because the author, a guest speaker at church for the last two Sundays, said he preferred it to the eventual title above. I like to think of the book as a quick pick-me-up after a hard week or two. It focuses on Jesus and on telling stories (mostly funny stories) to illustrate points, much as a sermon series would do. The book is divided into four short chapters and takes about 3 hours to read from cover to cover. It really does a good job of encouraging readers, although I preferred the in-person storytelling to the written storytelling. I only got to compare the two for the last story in the book, though. Bill Butterworth, the author, is a funny guy, and he tells good stories. Anyway, if you're interested in learning some good Biblical principles in an accessible way, this is the book for you. It doesn't go as deep into emotions as I expected, but that's okay. It's meant to be an encouraging book.

Deadly Viper Character Assassins

I picked this short book up at a church I attended recently. It is written by the pastor of that church and a friend of his who is in the design industry. It is aimed at leaders, but could apply to just about anyone. It is quick and quirky, taking a "kung fu" inspired approach to teaching Biblical principles of how to avoid character attacks. It's basically a repackaging of the seven deadly sins -- rage, pride, and avarice are in there for sure, plus some "new" deadly sins like busyness and self-deception. The authors have clever titles for their character "assassins," and I appreciate the effort to make the book look good and appeal to regular guys. Still, I felt the authors were a little too self-indulgent in their writing style and design work. They didn't spend enough time with the "masters" they interviewed and put in between the chapters in attractive two-page spreads. I wanted to know more about each of those masters. I also wanted more depth, and the Biblical basis for the book was almost obscured by the design. Overall, I'd give the book an A+ for style and a B for content.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

This "novel in cartoons" by Jeff Kinney made me laugh several times. It's a joke book that captures the many ironic twists of a middle-school life. My sister-in-law recommended it, and I saw it in Target along with a sequel, so I picked it up. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to laugh and remember what middle school is really like, but especially to boys who are turned off to reading. It's a quick read, kids can relate, it has pretty good conflict development without getting too heavy. The only thing I didn't like was the back cover, which made the book out to be something it isn't. But that's hardly anything new.

The Audacity of Hope

I'm about 50 pages from the end of this book and thought I'd post about it tonight. I've found much to like in the book -- a level-headed analysis of issues that matter: faith, race, foreign policy, as well as a well-woven tapestry of personal stories and political argument. In the faith chapter, though, I was a little disappointed in Obama's testimony about his conversion to Christianity. He does not seem to subscribe any more to the full doctrine of humanity's total dependence on God for any sense of righteousness. He believes more, as his mother did, he says, in the essential goodness of all people. While I don't disagree that people can be good, I believe it is only God in us that inspires any good. Otherwise, we are essentially evil. In the section on race, Obama confronts real problems such as the potential for an inner-city "underclass" created by the justice system, the economy, and cultural factors. He does not seek to blame anyone for these problems, and he does not absolve anyone of their responsibility to do the right things to rebuild urban areas, but rather attempts to offer solutions such as a focus on quality schools. His solutions, though, are short on specifics. I'm reading the foreign policy section right now and am struck by how much the Senator's experiences in Iraq shaped his view of the war. I think he would make good choices as President, and the fact that he listened to reporters, military officers, and Iraqi officials with respect, then made independent judgments about the information he gathered, bodes well for him. I just hope he sticks to that pattern of decision-making once in office.

Ulysses (James Joyce) part 2

Slogging through Ulysses right now at a pace of about a page a night. I'm getting something out of it -- a fuller picture of Leo Bloom, the man who not only sweats and churns his way through life but also carries on some kind of affair by letter, mulls over death and life and reincarnation, and carries on much musing in the midst of mundanity; also, the book challenges me -- this book is a project, not an easy read, something I have to really chew on in order to understand. It sometimes takes me out of my comfort zone and sometimes puts me right to sleep, but I am looking more closely at the book and finding more each time I do. It's a dense read, but enjoyable in the language and the genius in each line. I do long for a place to discuss and debate the novel, but I need more information to piece together the whole thing. See my other post for my impressions of Part 1 and the early bits of Part 2 of the novel.

Prehistoric Journey: A History of Life on Earth

I picked this book up at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, and have read about halfway through. It is very readable for a paleontology text, despite the long names and the frequent discussion of strange flora and fauna. It also has beautiful color illustrations and photographs that might fool some into thinking it's a children's book. The book talks about a series of fossil discoveries that link together to form a comprehensive history of the development of life from an evolutionary standpoint. I don't believe in evolution as an explanation for God's creation -- I hold to the standpoint that God could have created the Earth in six literal days if he wanted to, although it doesn't appear to us humans that he did in fact take only six days to do it. The fossil record in this book challenges me to think in new ways about God's creation. Dinosaurs, for example, are fascinating creatures, but I want to think of them as part of the sixth day -- part of an explosion of life across the planet that involved all animal life. But if death didn't enter the world until after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, which was presumably after the sixth day in which they were created, how did the dinosaurs become extinct before humankind even makes an appearance in the fossil record? Was God's creation on the sixth day so powerful that it resulted in a huge number of species appearing and disappearing without ever really dying? Genesis puts the first day as the creation of light and dark. The second day is the separation of water below the sky from water above the sky. The third day is the creation of land. The fourth day is the creation of the sun and the moon and the stars. The fifth day is the creation of plants, birds, and fish. The sixth day is land animals and man. A scientific account of this creation would have to begin with the Big Bang, although some would argue that there had to be stuff before the Big Bang. The Big Bang led to the creation of the universe we now live in, so it could be considered the first and second days -- if you believe the "water above the sky" to represent heaven, as I do, as opposed to the universe. If land came next, then the planet Earth was created and placed in the universe like a jewel, because the fourth day is the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. (tracking with me?) The fifth day roughly corresponds with the creation of flora and fauna in the seas first, which gradually move onto land according to the fossil record. Flight, according to the book, develops as something of a mystery in the fossil record, and it occurs among fauna of the land and sea. The sixth day would be the creation of mammals and man. The problem with this correlation is it vastly oversimplifies the process described in the fossil record, with so many species living and dying and reaching evolutionary peaks and valleys before the arrival of man. Still, the rough correlation is enough for some to say that evolution and Creation can be combined. I know that evolution is not enough explanation for me -- I don't believe that my consciousness was created as part of a process driven primarily by random chance. That is a broad philosophical question, though, not one that can be answered by science. The scientific evidence in the fossil record is overwhelming that there were vast numbers of species created before the advent of man, but that evidence cannot explain the creation of a single human soul. God is responsible for our souls and for the vast abundance of life on this planet. I'm just not sure about the "how" part of the question. This book describes a process that I can't quite wholeheartedly agree with, but it makes a compelling read for its detailed account of what the fossil record shows about the nature of the development of life on Earth.

Undaunted Courage

Mariellen and I listened to this audiobook on the drive back from Lewis and Clark country, Bozeman, Montana. The author, Stephen Ambrose, tells Meriweather Lewis's life story, focusing of course on his monumental exploration of what became the western U.S. The ending comes as a surprise, and I hate to ruin endings, so I'll leave it at that. It was interesting to hear the full picture of what became of this man along with the detailed description of what exactly happened on the Lewis and Clark expedition. The narrative relies primarily on Lewis and Clark's journals to describe what happens on the exploration. This fact is a problem, as my history professors would say, because an over-reliance on one source tends to make a history one-sided. Still, it may be a fault which is inescapable due to the nature of the exploration. It was the first American exploration of the Louisiana territory, going by water in a search for the Pacific ocean. The explorers reach the Pacific, but the genius lies in the voyage itself, not the destination. Getting back was almost as difficult as getting there, and there were fewer resources for the return journey. Ambrose is a military historian, and his description of the military nature of the expedition is one of the best features of the book. It puts the exploration in context as part of Jefferson's dream of what Ambrose calls "empire" and as an encounter with unknown and potentially hostile people -- the Native Americans that Lewis and Clark encounter throughout the journey. The tension in the meeting between the explorers and the Sioux is really brought to the forefront, and it is not the last tense meeting between Lewis and Clark's expedition and the Indians, as Ambrose correctly calls them. (Correct for the timeframe in which the exploration took place -- late 18th century America, not the U.S. we know now). Ambrose does not analyze the journey in light of the multicultural issues familiar to academia -- he simply tells the story of the journey and puts it in a context of a life story. He cites President Jefferson's backword-looking praise for Lewis as the end of the story -- praise that brought chills up my spine for their inspirational quality. It's not often that books inspire in the best sense of the word, but this is an inspiring book.

The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

I read this non-fiction work by Lawrence Wright in paperback, hoping to find clues as to which administration was more to blame for 9/11 -- Bush or Clinton. Instead of finding those answers, I found much more: a history of the al-Qaeda movement from its beginnings in Egypt and Saudi Arabia; a portrait of one of the top cops tasked with tracking Arab terrorism, who happened to have died in the towers on September 11; a description of the "wall of separation" between intelligence and police work (the CIA and the FBI) and how it stopped some crucial information from getting to the right people. Some big questions, though, go virtually unanswered -- how did these guys become so ruthlessly effective? They bungled a few early operations, but then they succeeded spectacularly in bombing two African embassies and the U.S.S. Cole before 9/11. Also missing in the description of how Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri transformed themselves from, on the one hand, an Arab millionaire with strong family ties to the Saudi government, and on the other, an Egyptian doctor, into ruthless killers is an in-depth discussion of the psychology of terrorism. The book describes many factual things about life in al-Qaeda. They took credit for stopping the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, even though they had little to do with the military defeat; bin Laden had four wives and many children living with him in miserable conditions in Pakistan. Still, it is hard to understand how they justified the murders to themselves. Perhaps this is a good thing. The book participates only tangentially in the myth-making surrounding bin Laden and in fact deflates some myths -- he is not as tall as many thought, nor does he likely have a kidney condition, as has been reported in various media outlets. The ending of the book, though, allows for some myth-making of a sort. All in all, it is an interesting and worthwhile read for those trying to understand al Qaeda's roots in a specific way.

Thirteen Moons

I put this book down several times, reading it in fits and starts, but it ultimately grabbed my attention and led me into a different world. I loved Cold Mountain for its nineteenth-century rhythm and patient storytelling, and this second novel by Charles Frazier has the same incantatory feel and attention to detail. This time around, the love story is unbalanced, intentionally so, toward the male point of view. The narrator, Will Cooper, is an adopted Indian, a "bound boy" who finds his identity among the Cherokee clan run by his eventual adopted father, Bear. The love story is a deep, patient one similar to Cold Mountain in that it is a lifelong love, but the circumstances that separate man and woman differ from the previous novel -- Will falls in love with a married woman, not knowing she is married. Will does continue his love affair even after he finds out, but the transgression seems slight in Will's estimation. Claire is an enigmatic part of Will's life, more absent than present in Will's long life line. At the turning point in the novel, Will finds himself squarely in the center of the struggle for his Cherokee clan to remain in western Tennessee mountains, rather than be forcibly removed to Western territories (Oklahoma, I think). The decision Will makes to try to maintain an Indian home in the midst of major historical change separates him from his love. The central struggle of the novel is between this homeland and the forces of change, whether that be white settlers, the government, internal struggles, war, or even technology, which shows up at the very end in the form of the daguerrotype, the locomotive, and the automobile. Charles Frazier imagines this homeland -- it is not a real place -- but it feels authentic and important, and the history Frazier tells through his fiction is more true than the history in textbooks.

Ulysses (James Joyce)

Checked this out from the library and have to return it today to avoid late fees. I didn't get very far in, but I found it pretty fascinating so far. That is, despite being nearly and famously impenetrable, the writing is quite beautiful. The part I read is part 1, about Stephen Dedalus (sp?), recognizable as the hero of Joyce's The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, now slightly more grown up and teaching at a private school of some sort, I believe. The plot is slightly hard to follow, as it involves both events and non-events, and the narration is a panoramic stream-of-consciousness, slipping in and out of thoughts and insights either had or missed by the characters. Confused yet? Wait til I get to Leo Bloom, who is the hero of part 2 (some would say antihero, but I'm reserving judgment until I've read the whole thing). I only read about 20 pages in to part 2, and the parts I read were pretty fascinating. I understand the basic premise of the book is to describe the events of a single day, keeping to a classical unity, but there are more non-events than events, which turn a classic story like Ulysses (Latin for Odysseus) on its head. Instead of a heroic battle for life and death or a string of adventures, the novel depicts ordinariness in classic detail and with modernist techniques. So we are treated to an intimate portrait of Leo Bloom's bowel movement, shocking in its own way yet somehow of a piece with the novel as an examination of ordinary life. Also, we have the funeral that Leo decides not to attend and a conversation which ends with Leo expressing his desire not to talk to the man he just ran into. Leo is therefore very much an anti-hero, but I'm wondering if there is something redeeming in his ordinariness or if it is a literary device that just expresses despair. I think it's probably somewhere in between or beyond those two poles.
Anyway, those are my thoughts so far. I'll let you know if I get any further in the novel.

Books I Sold Today

I sold books to the used book store today and thought I'd record the ones I remembered I had and that they actually wanted:

William Burroughs -- Naked Lunch
Christopher Marlowe -- (three plays)
Aristotle -- Poetics
Plato -- Symposium
Marx -- Communist Manifesto
Weiland (an early American novel)
Whitman -- Leaves of Grass

Each one of these books is a part of my past that I surrendered for a meaningless dollar amount. Still, it feels somewhat good that someone else might find value in some of the books I owned. I hung on to a book from my travels in Germany, which is more of a souvenir than anything. It led to some storytelling with the owner of the book shop, which was nice. I may tell the story I told her later.

The Bottom Billion

World Bank economist Paul Collier attempts to first define and then resolve the problems of the poorest countries in the world through this ambitious economic argument of a book. He uses a broad economic analysis to define six traps that economies in what he calls the "bottom billion" fall into -- comparing economies across countries in a unique way, usually using statistics and lists originally compiled by other people, which he references in the back of the book. Collier offers some new insights based on this approach, and his packaging of the information is engaging. He avoids sounding academic or too analytical while offering a policy position. The book relies too much on international charters and similar measures as solutions, but the definition of challenges facing the poorest countries in the world is useful reading. He also provides a useful chapter on why aid or the wrong type of aid can make problems worse for these countries, which I hope will help shape aid packages in the future instead of being used as an argument against aid. Collier himself cautions that aid should still be given, though it probably needs to be more targeted and tied to specific "governance" goals, he says. All in all, a useful book, although I didn't finish it because the solutions he offers seem like too much "weak tea" in response to such major problems.

Bucky Katt's Big Book of Fun

I got this book from my brother for my birthday, and read it cover-to-cover. It had me laughing out loud often and for a variety of reasons. The characters are loosely based on a cat, a dog, and their "pet parent," Rob Wilco, who indulges his cat and his dog, takes them around to places, and generally treats them pretty well for all the messes they make. Darby Conley draws the cartoon strip "get fuzzy," and this book is a collection of his strips, I think. The cat is appropriately menacing and self-absorbed, the dog is lovably dopy like dogs are, and Rob Wilco is the straight man. It's great comedy, with subtle wit and not-so-subtle interspecies jokes. I like the relationships between the characters and the way they are just slightly exaggerated versions of recognizable cat, dog, and human characteristics. Bravo, Mr. Conley!

The Prince of the City

I got this audiobook from the library and listened to it off and on for about a week. It's an interesting description of Rudy Giuliani's tenure as mayor of New York from a conservative perspective. I have never heard of the author, Fred Siegel, but I know he's conservative based on his frequent expressions of conservatism throughout the book. Siegel gives Giuliani credit for the remarkable turnaround in New York over the 1990s, and he's probably right to give him some of that credit. Better policing helped turn the city around, and Giuliani helped to create that police policy. Giuliani isn't depicted as perfect in the biography -- the author faults Giuliani for the way he handled his personal struggles in his second term, as well as letting small-time feuds get in the way of governance. But he constantly asserts that Giuliani was responsible for the turnaround in the city. The book helps buttress the image of Giuliani as a "strong leader," one of the key aspects Americans look for in a President, according to many polls. It convinced me that the Giuliani years in New York weren't all roses, but that Giuliani got many things right about city government. He bucked the system and won on many fronts, and his calm in the crisis of September 11 made him a national hero. Whether that makes him a leader I can get behind is still up for debate for me.