The Way to Paradise

Ok, so Keisha updated her blog today and said that I needed to as well. I haven't finished the book yet, so I wasn't going to write about it until I did. But seeing as we already had book club about it, I guess I can.

This book was originally written in Spanish by the Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa. Ana, one of our book club members, is Peruvian herself, so she exposed us to some foreign literature. I, of course, don't read Spanish, so I read the translated version.

This is a very interesting book. I would classify it as a historical fiction. Llosa alternates chapters between 2 characters: Flora Tristan and her grandson Paul Gaugain. If you haven't heard of either of them, Flora Tristan was a feminist in the 1840's working in France to create a Worker's Union and Paul Gaugain is a very famous French artist. (I believe it is one of his paintings on the cover of the book). I remember reading about Gaugain in Art History in college. I didn't know much about him other than he moved to Tahiti where he created his masterpieces (late 1800's).

Flora Tristan is a captivating character and I love how the author tells her life story through flashbacks she has while she's working the circuit in France trying to get the Worker's Union organized. She was a very strong woman (very unusual for her time and place). I suppose that's why I like her. I'd like to hope I'd have the guts to do what she did.

Paul Gaugain, on the other hand, was crazy. I don't know what it is about artists, but it seems like they're all a little crazy in the head. He had syphillus and didn't mind spreading the disease all over Tahiti with girls as young as 13. He "married" a couple of them, even though he had a wife and children living back in Denmark. He was a terrible father and husband to his first wife (essentially abandoning her). And the syphillus eventually drove him crazy. I do have to say though, it was interesting seeing life from his point of view, however distorted it may have been.

I will finish this book and thank Ana for expanding my exposure to foreign literature! Thanks!

Brisingr

I finally read the 3rd book in the Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini. Fantasy has to be my all time favorite genre, and I have enjoyed reading this series. I was too cheap to buy the hardback, and so I was waiting for it to come out in paperback. But my mom was returning it to my nephew Caleb, and I snagged it up before she had a chance. Originally there was only going to be 3 books in the series, but apparently the author had too much to say, so it became 4.

This book was a little like Harry Potter 5 for me, in that it seemed to be a bridge or segway between books. It was kind of anti-climatic. There was a lot explained in the book, but not a lot of action. It was definitely kind of slow in the middle, which is probably why it took me so long to finish. That being said, I really enjoyed it and look forward to the last one coming out. (I'm not going to hold my breath though, because I'm sure it'll be a while).

My favorite fantasy author of this kind is Terry Brooks. I think he's a lot less wordy and does just as good a job as painting a picture for you. Terry Brooks' books have druids and magic, elves and dwarves, just like Christopher Paolini, but I prefer them. If you like fantasy, try the Shannara series.

Now I'm on to another book. I think I might try the classic "Rebecca". We'll see!

The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur

This book, written by Daoud Hari, was our book club book for this month. It's a really quick read and gives just a little insight into what is happening in Darfur, Sudan. We have heard things on the news and know that there is genocide occuring, but very few of us probably really knows what's going on. This is just one man's experience and what he has seen there.

I'm so glad my friend Keisha suggested this book. I think it's so important that we strive to understand current events that affect the entire world. With all the talk of government bailout and stimulus packages, lost jobs and homes, it's good to get a global perspective of things.

I met a man from Sudan at the Department of Education last summer as I was applying for my reading specialist endorsement. He was applying for a substitute certificate. He earned his bachelor's degree from ASU in political science and is going to school for his MBA. We struck up a really brief conversation and I knew we were going to read a book about Darfur in book club, so I asked him about it. His name is Deng Atem and he runs a non-profit organization to help the Sudanese (see www.s4sf.org). Anyway, I kept in touch with him and invited him to come to our book club discussion last Friday night. He agreed and it was so interesting!

If you know anything about Sudan, you have heard of the Lost Boys. Deng was one of these. His village in Southern Sudan was destroyed when he was 6 years old. He, along with many others, walked to Ethiopia to live in a refugee camp for a few years. Through a series of events, he lived in different refugee camps in different countries and even served in the military until he was 17 years old. He ended up in a camp in Kenya where the U.S. took some of these boys and brought them to America. Deng ended up in Phoenix. His stories were compelling, and although he had a different experience than Daoud, it still helped us see what life in that part of Africa is really like.

Needless to say, it really got me thinking about the blessings we all have. I know many people are losing their homes and their jobs and it's a scary time for our entire country. But we really don't understand what losing our home could be. For these people, entire villages are being burned down, women and children are raped and killed, 10 year olds are joining the army. Deng hasn't seen his family since he was 6. Even if we lose our homes or jobs, we still have our families, friends and people we can turn to. These people have no one. I really had a sense, after talking with Deng, that we still have so much to give! With our budgets tight and people living pay check to pay check, how many of us would be able to find extra money if we just cancelled cable or Netflix; went out to dinner one less time a month; or didn't get a pedicure that month. We live in a land of plenty and perhaps this downturn in the economy will help us see that we're all a bunch of spoiled brats. Maybe we need a piece of humble pie to help us acknowledge all the blessings we've been given.

Now I don't mean to undermine the serious nature of the economy. I know there are many people really struggling, so I don't want to sound insensitive. But 7.6% unemployment is nothing compared to the devestation other countries see for decades. I highly recommend reading this book, not only so you can see how blessed you are, but maybe you'll find a way to help out someone in need!

SELF-MADE MAN

WARNING: CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT!

This is the book club book I chose for this year. I saw this book in the bargain section at Borders and it reminded me that I had seen the author on a TV show (like Oprah or something like that). It intrigued me, so I bought it. Normally I am not one for non-fiction, in fact, I very seldom read it by choice. But this book was a very interesting non-fiction read and I highly recommend it.

The reason it's controversial is because the author, Norah Vincent, is a lesbian. She disguises herself as a man for 18 months as a social experiment. She wanted to infiltrate the man's world as a man and see what it was like. She makes it very clear in the beginning that she is not a transvestite or a person who desires a sex change. She just wondered what it was like to be a man.

There were many lessons Norah learned through her experience as "Ned" (her alter-ego). So many that there's no way I'll try to expound here. Suffice it to say, I learned a lot about my husband just by reading this book. Norah explains at the end that she still doesn't know what it's really like to be a man because she isn't one. But there are definite ideas that our society and culture have about gender, gender roles and gender expectations. I find this subject especially intriguing after all the hoopla about Prop 102 and 8 recently. The book really doesn't have anything to do with being homosexual, but it does cause one to think about what gender really is. Is gender something you're born with? Is it something you learn because society makes it so?

Personally, I believe gender is something you are born with. (See the Family Proclamation). I have seen this with my niece and nephew (twins that are very much boy and girl individually). That being said, I do not think that gay people simply choose to be gay and are inherant sinners because of it. I don't know why people are gay and I'm not sure we'll ever know. There are probably a thousand different reasons. As Norah discovered, she is very happy being a woman, has no desire to be a man, but for whatever reason is attracted to other women and not men.

I encourage a read of this book, even if you don't agree with it, as a means of opening our eyes to other ideas, thoughts and experiences. She uses very crude language and does talk about what goes on in strip clubs, so if that will offend you, don't read it. I'm just about to go to book club now and can't wait to see what everyone else thought of the book!

The Last Lecture

I just finished reading The Last Lecture from Randy Pausch. If you haven't heard of this book I would wonder if you've been hibernating for the last 6 months. This book is written by a Computer Science professor from Carnegie Mellon who delivered his "last lecture" because he was dying of pancreatic cancer. (He has since passed away after giving the lecture and writing the book).

After hearing about the lecture, I went online and watched the entire thing. I'm sure if you google it, it wouldn't be hard to do. It's a really good lecture, but a lot of it is specific to his profession and industry (which it should be since that's who he was talking to). Anyway, the book describes parts of the lecture, but is more about what life's lessons Randy has learned. By the way, I love how he calls himself Randy Pausch instead of Dr. Randy Pausch. For some reason it just makes him that much more real and easy to relate to.

The book is very short and won't take long to read. I think it was really worthwhile. It just brought to focus the really important things in life and made me wonder what I would do with my time if I knew I had 6 months to live. He's very realistic about his prognosis, but also optimistic, which I just loved. Lately it seems I have really needed help focusing my attention on the things that really matter. This book helped me do just that.

I highly recommend it! And for those of you who have read it, what did you like the most?

One of my favorites was when he talked about painting on the walls of his room as a teenager. I think it is so cool that his mom didn't care and Randy was so proud of his work. It reminded me of my cousin Ben's room in Boston. My sister and I went and visited and stayed in his room and it was COVERED with black and white drawings, writings and miscellaneous things from he and his friends. I love the fact that his parents let him be creative and artistic on his own terms.

That's all I'm going to say because I'm trying to shorten my posts! Merry Christmas!