Dune

Title: Dune

Author: Frank Herbert

Pages: 19 discs

Genre: Science Fiction

Grade: A-

Synopsis: The Atreides family accepts control of the planet Arrakis, during a time far in the future when noble houses have planetary empires as sanctioned by the interstellar emperor.  Arrakis is a very important planet as it is the only place in the universe where spice can be mined, albeit dangerously.  Spice is the most precious and important substance in the universe as it allows the interstellar trading and trafficking that they emperor relies upon.  Paul Atreides is the heir apparent but must go into hiding once his father's house is attacked as others try to regain control of Arrakis.

My Review: This story is fantastical and complex enough that it is hard to summarize in a short paragraph, but I have found myself over the last few weeks thinking back to the story as it really caught my interest.  I listened to the audiobook version and it was excellent, using a full cast of characters for all of the many different parts.  I have the Dune movie from the early 1980's saved on my DVR at home, I'm interested to watch it, but the few minutes that I watched earlier don't leave me with high hopes.

The Other

Title: The Other

Author: David Guterson

Pages: 9 discs?

Genre: Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: John William Barry was born into one of the richest families in the Seattle area.  Neil Countryman comes from a regular blue-collar Irish family, but when the two boys meet at 16 at a track meet they become fast friends with their shared passion for all things outdoors.  After college Neil becomes a high-school English teacher and John decides that the only way to live without hypocrisy is as a hermit living off the land.  Barry excavates a cave for himself on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula and Countryman visits him as often as he can packing in as much food and supplies as he can carry.

My Review: This was a good slow-paced read, a novel with a unique plot and story.  It was one of those books where after you're done you've got to double-check whether or not the book was based on a true story or not.

Red Rabbit

Title: Red Rabbit

Author: Tom Clancy

Pages: 13 discs?

Genre: Fiction, Thriller

Grade: B

Synopsis: This book takes place early in Jack Ryan's career.  At the time, he isn't yet an analyst for the CIA, but he has been offered a position as a freelance analyst in London to work as sort of a liaison between the CIA and the British Intelligence Agency.  The main plot of the story surrounds a Soviet KGB communications officer that learns of a top-secret plan to assassinate newly elected Polish Pope John Paul II.  The Russian defector (or "red rabbit") approaches a known CIA officer asking for help getting safely to the west in exchange for information about the assassination plot.

My Review: This was a fairly typical Clancy cold war spy thriller.  The plot was unique and full of the twists and turns that you would expect.

Paradise Lost

Title: Paradise Lost

Author: John Milton

Pages: 3 discs

Genre: Epic Poem

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Paradise Lost is an epic poem written in the 17th century by the English poet, John Milton.  The poem is about the Biblical story of the Fall of Man, including the temptation of Adam and Even by the fallen angel Satan and their being driven from the Garden of Eden after they had partaken of the forbidden fruit.

My Review:  I was familiar with Paradise Lost, but I didn't know it was a poem, I didn't know it was an epic (in the style of Homer and Virgil) and I was not aware the the poem was about Adam and Eve and the Fall of Man.  Aside from it being difficult to follow the 17th century prose at some points, I thought that the epic was well written and had a good flow to it.  I also felt that Milton did a decent job expounding on the doctrine of the Fall based on what Christians believed in the 1600's.

A strange coincidence was the graffiti that I cam across in an alley in Salt Lake City (between 900 and 1000 S, & West Temple and Main St) of Paradise Lost:

The Coming of the Lord

Title: The Coming of the Lord

Author: Gerald N. Lund

Pages: 241

Genre: Religion

Grade: C

Synopsis: Elder Gerald N. Lund explores the prophecies of things that must come to pass before the second coming of Jesus Christ.  Published in 1971, Elder Lund covers scriptural prophecies and prophecies that have been made by modern-day apostles and prophets up to the book's publication.  Most of the prophecies of the second coming that have been made in the latter-days were made during the 19th century, with a smattering of follow-up prophecies here in the last 100 years or so.  Everything has been meticulously researched and documented and the text of the book is based on scriptural references and quotes while avoiding additional speculation.

My Review:  While the content of the book was interesting and the book itself was well-written and insightful, I had a difficult time reading this book.  It never piqued by interest like I thought that it would and it took me nearly 3 months to make it through.  My personal viewpoint is that while it is important to know and understand what the prophets have prophesied concerning the last days and the second coming, the fact of the matter is that no man knoweth the timing of the second coming.  Another point is that if many of the latter-day prophesies are taken literally, then the prophets of these latter-days were off the mark. For example (and I can't quote exactly who said this, or when it was or what the phrasing was as I don't have the book with me), there were a few times in the 1870's time-range where it was prophesied that there were individuals in attendance that would live to see the great gathering to Missouri and Adam-ondi-Ahman. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that may be a tough one. My suggestion would be to take everything with a grain of salt and use your own judgment and inspiration to determine what you believe to be true.  In the end I think that everything will make sense.

Desert Solitaire

Title: Desert Solitaire - A Season in the Wilderness

Author: Edward Abbey

Pages: 10 discs?

Genre: Memoir, Autobiography

Grade: A-

Synopsis: In this book, Edward Abbey recounts his experiences as a park ranger at Arches National Monument in Moab, Utah.  Arches had not yet been made into a National Park and was only accessible via a dirt road with very limited facilities.  For a couple summers (about April to October), Abbey was the only ranger for the park an lived in a small trailer near balanced rock.  The memoir is filled with stories of his experiences in the southwest and his musing and commentary on modern society and mainstream culture. included are stories about rafting down the Colorado River from Moab to Wahweap, while the Glen Canyon Dam was being built (he and his companion were probably some of the very last to see Glen Canyon before Lake Powell started filling), climbing a mountain in the Henry mountains east of Moab, descriptions of the wildlife, snakes and plant life and search and rescue operations for lost tourists.

My Review: Surprisingly I found that I really enjoyed this book.  I wish that I could pinpoint where, when or who recommended it to me (probably back in 2008).  There are a few points in the book where Abbey goes off on modern society and modern conveniences and complains against people who day-trip to the National Parks (of which my family and I are very guilty of).  He talks quite a bit about what we need to do to be good stewards of our precious environment and complains often about the prevalence of paved roads and Americans reliance on the automobile (This book was published in 1968, and I'm sure it's only gotten worse).  Even with all of the author's tangents I liked the book.

Maniac Magee

Title: Maniac Magee

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Pages: 184

Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Maniac Magee runs away from a bad situation at home.  His parents had died years before in a train accident and he was living with his aunt and uncle who didn't get along.  Maniac ran to the next town over, stopped going to school and lived in the buffalo enclosure at the local zoo.  Although he wasn't going to school, he still loved to read and was an excellent sportsman and runner.  Maniac's antics help to unify a city divided by race.

My Review: As a kid this was one of my favorite books.  I recently read it with Ada and while it was probably a year or two above her level, I think that she enjoyed it. I still liked the book, but not as much as I did when I was younger.

Never Eat Alone

Title: never eat alone

Author: Keith Ferrazzi

Pages: 6 discs?

Genre: Self-help

Grade: F

Synopsis: Ferrazi postulates that the key to success in both life and work is building solid relationships that you can fall back on in the future for favors and help.You must maintain constant contact with all of your friends and associates who matter to you so that you can rely on them for help in a pinch.

My Review: First off, I've got to come clean and admit that I didn't actually finish this book.  It's been a long time since I haven't finished a book that I've started, but I simply couldn't stand this one.  I made it about 1/3 of the way through before I decided not to suffer through anymore of this rubbish.  My biggest complaint is not necessarily with the material (although I'm not swooning over the ideas in this book like many readers) but my complaint is with the self-righteous writing style and over-the-top braggadocio that was just too much for me to handle.If you want to hear about how cool Mr. Ferrazzi is, then I've got the book for you...

The Story of Mankind

Title: The Story of Mankind

Author: Hendrik Willem van Loon

Pages: 579

Genre: Non-fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B-

Synopsis: This book was awarded the first Newbery Medal in 1922.  It covers world history from the very first men on the earth to our present day (even though the book was written over 90 years ago, it has been updated to include WWII, sputnik and other more recent developments in world history).  The book was written within the paradigm of the early 20th century, so much has changed since then in how we understand the world and human history.  Loon's writing style is very light-hearted and easy to read and the book includes numerous original pen illustrations for many of the topics discussed.  If it were more current, it would be a good world history primer for an early Jr. High student, but at this point, we know far more about our past than is included in this book.

My Review: I enjoyed parts of this book and I learned quite a bit (especially about European history in the dark and middle ages), but overall it was a struggle to get through.  It doesn't really compare to any of the other Newbery Medal books that I've read in the past because it is so different from all of them.  Trim it down from nearly 600 pages and make it more current and it could turn out to be a classic.

President Reagan

Title: President Reagan

Author: Richard Reeves

Pages: 592

Genre: Biography

Grade: B+

Synopsis: This was the first biography published about President Reagan after his death in 2004 and approximately the 901st biography written about him since his presidency.  Reeves has previously written biographies of Presidents Kennedy and Nixon.  This book takes the strategy of going through the daily comings and goings in the oval office and describing the President's schedule throughout his presidency.  The biography doesn't cover Reagan's life before the presidency nor does it cover his life following the presidency.

My Review: This book was certainly a definitive look at the Reagan Presidency, although I would have really liked to have learned more about the man Reagan growing up, acting and then getting into the political scene in California.  Although, this book at 592 pages and something like 20 cds was long enough as it was.  It is my opinion that all US Presidents are geniuses in one way or another.  Reagan had the uncanny ability to get people to do what he wanted.  He was always well liked, but never really had an exceptional grasp of what was going on in the country as a whole.  He would go down to the oval office between 8:30 and 9:00 AM and then return to the residence around 5:00 PM each day and finish the day watching the television.  Rarely did he work longer hours than that.  His schedule as president was generally dictated by his wife Nancy, who would consult her astronomer before approving any travels out of the District.  While Reagan ran the country, she wore the pants in their relationship.  Lastly, Reagonomics (or at least my interpretation of the description and analysis given in this book) seems like a total bust.  The math just never added up and Reagan was always so concerned about giving tax breaks to the rich (including himself)) at the expense of the poor and those at the bottom of the social ladder.  An enjoyable read, I love learning about the leaders of this great country.

Pope Joan

Title: Pope Joan

Author: Donna Woolfolk Cross

Pages: 422

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade: A-

Synopsis: Nobody really knows whether or not Pope Joan actually existed.  She was born more than a millennium ago and had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, but at the time girls were not allowed to study and learn.  When her brother is killed by marauding Vikings, she takes up his cloak and identity and enters training in the monastery at Fulda.  From then on, her genius, compassion and abilities took her to Rome, where eventually she was elected as the Supreme Pontiff.

My Review: I love books like this that take a story from the dark ages and bring it to life injecting details and storylines.  Based on what I've read about Pope Joan, I believe that she actually existed in history and even sat on the throne of St. Peter for a time.  All of the other details from the book are completely fiction, and are generally believeable, but there are some that are a bit of a stretch.

Delusion

Title: Delusion

Author: Peter Abrahams

Pages: 297

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Grade: B

Synopsis: Nell Jarreau witnessed the murder of her boyfriend and was able to finger the killer from a police lineup and he was sent to spend his life in prison.  After twenty years, additional evidence surfaces that exonerates the convicted killer Alvin DuPree.  Nell can hardly live with the guilt of sending an innocent man to prison and her sweet, caring husband is no help as he was the detective in the original case and has no desire to unearth the past.

My Review: The story was based on an interesting premise and the storyline jumped between Nell Jarreau and the falsely convicted felon Alvin DuPree which kept things interesting as the story unfolded.  I had no big complaints about the book.  The story wasn't predictable and there weren't too many unexpected twists and turns.  I would pick up another book by Abrahams in the future. (Edit: As I was typing in the labels for this post I realized this is the second book by Abrahams that I have read.)

A Tale of Two Cities

Title: A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

Pages: 382

Genre: Fiction, Classic

Grade: B

Synopsis: The book starts in the year 1775 leading up to the French Revolution, which began in 1789.  The book starts with Dr. Manette being released from the Bastille prison, where he was falsely held to cover up a rape and murder more than 18 year before.  His daughter comes to Paris to escort him home before the story turns to the gentlemen courting his daughters, the brutality of the French aristocrats and the frenzy of the revolution.

My Review: This is a hard book to summarize as there is a lot that goes on in this book.  At times it was hard to follow and at other times the story was exciting.  I think this is a book that I would enjoy more after a second reading.

Microtrends

Title: microtrends - the small forces behind tomorrow's big changes

Author: Mark J. Penn with Kinney Zalesne

Pages: 480

Genre: Non-fiction

Grade: A-

Synopsis: The basic premise of this book is that small trends can spark a social movement, create a new market for a business or effect political changes.  By keeping a close eye on the smaller trends that previously have gone unnoticed or ignored, you can better cater to a targeted audience.  Mark Penn helped Bill Clinton win re-election by having him focus on the "soccer moms" to effect political change.  Some of the microtrends that he discusses range from gay marriage to young knitters.

My Review: I really enjoyed this book and found it to be very interesting.  I love picking up a book where I feel like I'm learning something new on every page.  If you ever wanted to start a business or get ideas to expand a current business, then this book could by very helpful.  I think that microtrends will continue to play a part in the future.

One False Note (The 39 Clues #2)

Title: One False Note (The 39 Clues Book Two)

Author: Gordon Korman

Pages: 160

Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: Amy, Dan and their au pair Nellie Gomez are on their way to Vienna, Austria to search for more clues.  At the end of the last book they had found some sheet music written by Mozart which led them to Vienna.  As they continue their adventure through Salzburg and then onto Venice they are continually racing against the other family members as they try to be the first to solve the puzzle.

My Review: Once again, this was an easy enjoyable read.  It's interesting to have the different books in the series written by different authors.  I'm intrigued by how this will impact and change throughout the rest of the series.

The Card

Title: The Card: Collectors, Con Men, And the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card

Authors: Michael O'Keefe & Teri Thompson

Pages: 272

Genre: Non-Fiction

Grade: A-

Synopsis: The Card, also known as the Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner is worth millions today.  This book tracks the card from its printing in about 1909 through its mysterious history up into the 2000s.  Only a few dozen T206 Wagners are known to exist and most of them show the marks of their history with creases, stains, tears and other imperfections that a century can wreak on a piece of cardboard. Only the Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner card appears to have defied the test of time, with its crisp edges, vivid colors and stiff cardboard, so named because at one point even Wayne Gretzky owned the card for a period of time. The card was first discovered in the late 1980's and through a series of sells and purchases, its value skyrocketed from a few thousand dollars to a couple million dollars.  Intertwined throughout the story of The Card, is a history of baseball card collecting through the ages.

My Review: I didn't know too much about the Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner card before I read this book, beyond that it existed as my experience with card collecting only spanned a few packs during a couple years when I was 8 and 9 (Although I do have a complete Topps set of the 1990 Cincinnati Reds World Champions! But, that's all I have...). I love books that take a topic that I never would have considered reading about and make a book out of it that I can't put down.  This is a book that I tried to get at our local library for a couple years (they don't have a copy), before finally buying a cheap lightly used copy on Amazon.com.  

What is the What

Title: What is the What

Author: Dave Eggers

Pages: 560

Genre: Autobiography (classified as fiction)

Grade: B+

Synopsis: This is the autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan who was forced to leave his home, village and family when he was 7 years old and civil war broke out in Sudan.  He trekked with many other young boys across Sudan by foot all while being pursued by government bombers, rebel groups and militias and wild animals.  They first temporarily settled in a refugee camp in Ethiopia before being forced out once again and finally settled in a more permanent refugee camp in Northern Kenya.  After many years, Achak was resettled in the United States, where he found freedom along with a myriad of other challenges. Deng and Eggers classified their book as fiction as many of the stories and experiences took place when Deng was very young and while they believe they are true and reliable, they are still subject to the years of Achak's memory.

My Review: This is one of those books that is both hard to put down and hard to continue.  The stories are fascinating while at the same time they are heart-wrenching and disturbing.  I felt especially sad that I was so unfamiliar with the plight of the Sudanese Lost Boys and the violence of the long civil war in that country.  More recently the genocide in Darfur has been in the news and to a large extent it is a continuation of the same violence that started many years ago in South Sudan (which finally gained independence in 2011).

The Very Best of the Feynman Lectures

Title: The Very Best of the Feynman Lectures

Author: Richard P. Feynman

Pages: 6 discs

Genre: Physics, Non-Fiction

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Richard Feynman is one of the more famous modern physicists.  He was a long-time professor and lecturer at UC Berkeley and his lectures have long served as a go-to resource for students of physics.  These lectures covered Newtonian physics, Einstein's general theory of relativity, superconductivity, quantum mechanics as well as a couple of other topics.  

My Review: I enjoyed listening to these lectures on CD as the audio is taken straight from his courses in the late 1960's.  The upside was that you got to hear his lectures and it almost felt like you could be participating. The downside was when his lecture included a demonstration or complex mathematical formula that he was deriving on the board.  I was able to use my imagination for the demonstrations, but I got lost during the equation descriptions as they were harder to focus on while I was driving.

Janitors

Title: Janitors

Author: Tyler Whitesides

Pages: 288

Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Janitors in our schools are far more powerful and important that any of us previously thought.  They are wizards and magicians tasked with fighting toxins in the schools.  Very few people can actually see the toxins as they are magical creatures, but everybody would recognize their effects, especially the effects they have on elementary school children.  They cause children to fall asleep in class, get distracted and uninterested in their school lessons.  However, the Bureau of Educational Maintenance (BEM) has other ideas for the roles the janitors should play in this battle.

My Review: This is another book that took a really long time to read.  As often as I could, Ada and I (and sometimes Kate) would read a chapter from the book.  I was afraid that a lot of the vocabulary would be too complicated for the girls, but like always, they surprised me with their understanding.  Ada really loved the book and is begging to read book #2.  I also enjoyed the book, but the plot was a little too unbelievable at times.

The Skeleton in the Closet

Title: The Skeleton in the Closet

Author: M.C. Beaton

Pages: 6 discs?

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B

Synopsis: Fellworth Dolphin is a pretty simple kid who works hard to pay the bills and support his mother after his father died. The Dolphin's live in a simple house and have never really had anything exciting happen to them.  When Fellworth's mother dies suddenly Fell finds out that he has inherited a sizable sum.  He can't figure out how or where this money came from so he enlists the help of his homely friend Maggie to help him unravel the mystery.

My Review:  This book wasn't great, but I enjoyed it.  I started listening to this book back in January of 2012, but when my car was broken into and my stereo was stolen, the City Library required me to pay for the stolen disc.  At the time I was halfway through the book, it took me this long to find another audiobook and to startup where I left off. The story is unique and the characters each have flaws that help to make them more real. I was glad that I finally got the chance to finish the book.

Sophie's World

Title: Sophie's World

Author: Jostein Gaarder

Pages: 19 discs

Genre: Fiction, Philosophy

Grade: B+

Synopsis: This book is a philosophy textbook disguised as a novel about a Swedish girl, Sophie.  Luckily, I knew that when I started this book or I would have found this book to be very strange.  Sophie is a young teenager who comes home to school one day and find a couple of notes with the questions: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" The anonymous note-sender begins sending pages and pages about the history of philosophy and is essentially running a correspondence philosophy course for Sophie.  As the course progresses, Sophie begins to receive birthday cards for another girl, Hilde.  Sophie works hard to unravel the mystery and must use the things that she is learning from philosophy to understand the mystery.

My Review:  There's no question that this book is strange, but I was surprised the I enjoyed it as much as I did when the end rolled around.  I'm no philosopher, but I think that I understand more of what philosophy is and what philosophers are trying to address.  The course, I mean book, covers everything from Plato and Aristotle to Camus, Kant and Nietzsche.  I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Philosophy during the time of Christ and in the modern day.

In the Skin of a Lion

Title: In the Skin of a Lion

Author: Michael Ondaatje

Pages: 256

Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: Patrick Lewis arrived in Toronto in the 1920's from deep in the woods of Ontario, where his father was a dynamiter for the logs that would be shipped down the river.  In Ontario, Patrick works as a searcher for the vanished millionaire Ambrose Small, and in doing so he falls in love with Small's mistress.  In parallel times and stories, there are detailed descriptions about the building of the Bloor Street Viaduct and the huge waterworks plant for the city of Toronto, focusing on the lives of the immigrant workers, who have accepted Patrick as one of their own.

My Review:  I enjoyed this book, and I think that I would have enjoyed it more if I had been able to read it over the course of a week or so.  Instead, I was quite busy at the time I was reading it, which meant that I would only get to read it about once a week.  Because of this, I had a hard time following the stories and parallel plotlines. Going back and reading the detailed summaries and synopses online was a big help in understanding and remembering what was going on.  I've read that this is a prequel to The English Patient, however, I have not read that book yet.

The Pale Blue Eye

Title: The Pale Blue Eye

Author: Louis Bayard

Pages: 16 discs

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: Augustus Landor is a retired New York City police detective living near West Point Academy.  After a cadet is found hanging on Academy grounds, he is asked to discreetly investigate the incident.  The death becomes even more bizarre when the dead man's heart is savagely removed during the night.  As Mr. Landor begins to investigate the crimes, he enlists the help of a young cadet, one Edgar Allan Poe.

My Review:  The book was an interesting amalgamation of West Point History and the younger life of Edgar Allan Poe.  A poem that Poe has written plays a large role in the course of solving the mystery.  I'm not sure if the author was trying to mimic Poe's style or the style for the time, but it felt like the book was literally written in the first half of the 19th century, and there were times that it dragged on a bit. 

Black Hawk Down

Title: Black Hawk Down

Author: Mark Bowden

Pages: 6 discs?

Genre: Non-fiction, History

Grade: B

Synopsis: This book is the heroic account of a group of  elite US soldiers that were sent into the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia as part of a U.N. peacekeeping operation in 1993.  Somalia was in the middle of a long and drawn out civil war and famine that was partially the fault of Mohamed Farrah Aidid.  The soldier's mission was to capture some of the high-ranking people working for Aidid. Things took a bad turn after one of the black hawk helicopters was shot down, and then another.  The US forces of Rangers and Delta Squads became trapped in the city for around 18 hours before an adequate rescue mission could be launched.

My Review: I've never seen the movie (although I'm interested in seeing it now), but this was a pretty intense account of a battle that did not go as scripted for the US.  From the very start when one of the officers fell out of the helicopter as the teams were being inserted (he hadn't grabbed the rappelling rope properly), the US was fighting an uphill battle.  The amount of shooting and fighting that took place in an urban setting in such a short time was pretty incredible.  The US eventually made it out of the battle, but not without casualties and injuries.

Disclaimer: This is a book about a large firefight, so there is going to be some violence and death.  However, compared to books about other military encounters, the language was less foul and crude.

Jack: Straight from the Gut

Title: Jack: Straight from the Gut

Author: Jack Welch, with John A. Byrne

Pages: 496

Genre: Autobiography

Grade: A-

Synopsis: This is the autobiography of Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric.  During his tenure as CEO (from around 1980 to 2000), General Electric's value rose 4000% (and Welch has been handsomely compensated as his net worth is currently estimated to be around $720 million).  Welch started at GE in 1960 as a junior chemical engineer, with a salary of around $10,500.  From his work ethic and performance, he climbed the internal ladder and was named CEO just 20 years after starting at GE.

My Review:  This book was suggested to me by our own CEO, so I added it to my list.  I found the book at the DI just a couple of weeks later, so I figured it was a sign that I ought to read the book.  I found the book to be an eye-opening look at Welch's career including the highlights as well as some of the decisions that he regretted.  It seems like Jack Welch was an incredible worker and motivator, however, I simply cannot fathom getting much work done while golfing as much as it sounds like he does.

The Maze of Bones (The 39 Clues #1)

Title: The Maze of Bones (The 39 Clues Book One)

Author: Rick Riordan

Pages: 220


Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: Just minutes before the wealthy matriarch Grace Cahill died, she made a small change in her will for her heirs.  She left them with a choice, one million dollars or a clue.  The Cahill family is the most powerful family in the world and most of the world's greatest leaders are descendants in the family.  However, the source of the world's power has been lost, but many believe that the clues Grace Cahill has left behind will help someone rediscover this power.  Young Amy and Dan lost their parents at a young age and were close to Grace Cahill.  Now they must decide whether or not to take the money or join the search for the clues.

My Review: This book was chosen as one of the monthly selections in Alison's book club.  While clearly a children's book, I enjoy reading this type of book every once in a while.  In typical Rick Riordan fashion, this book was an enjoyable adventure with the kids figuring things out and having adventures that may be slightly unbelievable.

Between Shades of Gray

Title: Between Shades of Gray

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Pages: 338

Genre: Memoir

Grade: B+

Synopsis: As World War II is breaking out in Eastern Europe, a Lithuanian teenager Lina and her family are torn from their home by the Soviets and sent to work in Siberian prison camps.  Just as Hitler is cramming the Jews on train cars and shipping them to concentration camps in Poland, Stalin is doing much of the same to people in his country.  This is an incredible story of survival during difficult, cold times.  Frankly, it is amazing that anybody lived to tell the tale.

My Review:  What I find most amazing about this book and this story, is how little publicity Stalin's genocide has received.  Everybody knows about Hitler and the Jews, but Stalin and his brutality has been far less publicized.  Estimates of Stalin's brutality range from 15 million deaths to 50 million+, but probably most likely in the 20-30 million range.  This book is a tearjerker.  

East of Eden

Title: East of Eden

Author: John Steinbeck

Pages: 21 discs

Genre: Fiction, Classic

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Adam Trask moves into the Salinas valley in California with his pregnant wife where he buys a large plot of land and is looking forward to living out his days as a family man with his wife and twin sons.  Adam and his wife Cathy come from very different backgrounds.  Adam begrudgingly served for years in the army (to appease his father), while Cathy murdered her parents and had been a prostitute (neither fact of which Adam knew).  Adam becomes close friends with Sam Hamilton and others in the Salinas valley.  After Mr. Hamilton helps to deliver the twins, Cathy runs away from home to start another life.

My Review:  It is unfortunate to narrow down a book of this scope and magnitude to a single paragraph synopsis, because there is a whole lot that goes on in the book.  Steinbeck has a particular penchant for describing the characters hearts and desires, so that you feel like you are quite familiar with each of the characters in the book. I'm not terribly familiar with Steinbeck's books (having only previously read Tortilla Flat and The Pearl), but this book went into surprising places and unexpected stories.  I found myself really enjoying it.

Cultural Amnesia

Title: Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of my Time

Author: Clive James

Pages: 800+

Genre: Biographical Essays

Grade: B

Synopsis: This book is a collection of historical biographical essays penned by the author, Clive James.  Preceding each essay is a short biography of 2-4 pages or so about each individual.  The essays are about a wide range of 20th century artists, politicians, entertainers, writers and more often focused upon those who were a part of the cultural scene in Vienna, Austria in the 1920's.  In total there are 106 essays from Anna Akhmatova to Stefan Zweig, including essays about the following:

Louis Armstrong
Dick Cavett
Chamfort
Coco Chanel
Charles Chaplin
Alfred Einstein
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Charles De Gaulle
Josef Goebbels
Adolf Hitler
Ernst Junger
Franz Kafka
Nadezhda Mandelstam
Thomas Mann
Mao Zedong
Marcel Proust
Margaret Thatcher
Dubravka Ugresic
Isoroku Yamamoto

My Review: This book was too smart for me.  I enjoyed the essays and especially the short biographies, but I was overwhelmed with the scope of the book (and the slowness of my reading of the essays). After I made it through the A's, B's and C's, I ended up only reading the biographies about each person and the essays about the people that I was interested in.  Still, it was a very interesting book and I wish that I was better able to retain the things that I read about.

 From the Book: p. 88, Albert Camus

"Tyrants conduct monologues above a million solitudes" --Albert Camus, The Rebel

"When I first read The Rebel, this splendid line came leaping from the page like a dolphin from a wave. I memorized it instantly, and from then on Camus was my man. I wanted to write like that, in a prose that sang like poetry. I wanted to look like him. I wanted to wear a Bogart-style trench coat with the collar turned up, have an untipped Gauloise dangling from my lower lip, and die romantically in a car crash. At the time, the crash had only just happened. The wheels of the wrecked Facel Vega were practically still spinning, and at Sydney University I knew exiled French students, spiritually scarred by service in Indochina, who had met Camus in Paris: one of them claimed to have shared a girl with him. Later on, in London, I was able to arrange the trench coat and the Gauloise, although I decided to forgo the car crash until a more propitious moment. Much later, long after having realized that smoking French cigarettes was just an expensive way of inhaling nationalized industrial waste, I learned from Olivier Todd's excellent biography of Camus that the trench coat had been a gift from Arthur Koestler's wife and that the Bogart connection had been, as the academics say, no accident. Camus had wanted to look like Bogart, and Mrs. Koestler knew where to get the kit. Camus was a bit of an actor--he though, in fact, that he was a lot of an actor, although his histrionic talent was the weakest item of his theatrical equipment--and, being a bit of an actor, he was preoccupied by questions of authenticity, as truly authentic people seldom are. But under the posturing agonies about authenticity there was something better than authentic: there was something genuine. He was genuinely poetic. Being that, he could apply two tests simultaneously to his own language: the test of expressiveness, and the test of truth to life. To put it another way, he couldn't not apply them."

If the Cup Could Talk

Title: If the Cup Could Talk

Author: Michael Ulmer

Pages: 144

Genre: Non-fiction, Sports

Grade: B

Synopsis: Lord Stanley's Cup is known as one of the most iconic, revered and famous trophies in professional sports.  For more than 100 years, the Cup has been awarded to the best hockey team.  The names of the winning team's players are engraved on the cup for future generations to appreciate.  Each player on the winning team gets to spend a day or so with the cup, sleeping with it, showing it off to friends and families and taking it to their favorite local bars. In the cup's storied history, it has been lost, stolen, vandalized and treating in ways not typically becoming for a trophy. This book tells the story of the cup and stories about the cup.

My Review:  This book has been on my to-read list for years (I'm not sure where it came from), but the book isn't available from the local library, so for Christmas I ponied up the $4 and got a used copy on amazon.  I'm don't particularly care for hockey, but I did enjoy reading about the Stanley Cup.  It probably has the most interesting history of any professional trophy.  Next time I'm in Toronto, Canada I'll have to stop by the Hockey Hall of Fame to take a look at one of the official replicas.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Title: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Author: Barbara Robinson

Pages:96

Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: Everybody knows their roles in the upcoming Christmas Pageant, they've played the same roles or similar roles for years.  But when the usual director breaks her leg and a family of incorrigible children begins to show up to rehearsals (they heard there were treats).  Because of the new kids, everything with the pageant turns out different than it has in the past.

My Review: This was a nice book to read just before Christmas.  It was Alison's book club selection for the month.  I think Alison read it ti Ada, and she is just about the perfect age to enjoy it.

The Origin of Species

Title: The Origin of Species

Author: Charles Darwin

Pages: 576

Genre: Non-fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: This book took Charles Darwin more than 20 years to produce.  He left on the Beagle in 1831 as a geologist and naturalist and formed his theory of natural selection based upon his discoveries and observations.  Many of Darwin's predictions on natural selection and evolution have since been proven as factual as additional research and investigation has taken place.

My Review:  I found this book to be more readable (or in my case, listenable) than I expected.  I generally understood the discussions and chapters and found myself even enjoying many of them.  As you can imagine, this book does get bogged down in the details, but that is also one of the more impressive parts of Darwin's theories.  What really struck me in the book was Darwin's genius.  To make the observations and connections that Darwin made required pure genius.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Title: How to Win Friends and Influence People

Author: Dale Carnegie

Pages: 320

Genre: Self-help

Grade: B+

Synopsis: First written in 1936, Dale Carnegie's book is a collection of tips, tricks and anecdotes about being more likeable, being a leader and helping people that you interact with to feel needed and important.  Simple ideas, such as being a good listener and talking about your own mistakes prior to criticizing another person.

My Review: This is a book that I've been interested in reading for quite a few years, so I was happy when I found it at the DI or a garage sale (I don't recall exactly).  It's a book that I'd like to read every few years; at least the first half of the book, the second half wasn't quite as engaging.

Predicatbly Irrational

Title: Predictably Irrational

Author: Dan Ariely

Pages: 384

Genre: Non-fiction

Grade: A-

Synopsis: This book investigates how we make decisions and how we think that we are in control of our lives, yet in many situations it is easy to predict how we are going to act.  Dan Ariely is a behavioral economist from MIT who has designed and implemented a ton of different experiments to try and figure out the process of decision making.  As noted on the book jacket, "We consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. We fail to understand the profound effects of our emotions on what we want, and we overvalue what we already own. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable — making us predictably irrational."

My Review: I found this book very fascinating.  There were plenty of times when I thought to myself, there is no way that I would act like that (or do that), but the experimental proof is nearly inarguable.  The fact of the matter is, is that we as humans are a bunch of suckers.  Hopefully, though, we can start to realize when we are being taken advantage of so that we can start to take control of our lives and decisions.

Just a couple of weeks after finishing this book I came across an interesting article in Wired by Dan Ariely "How Online Companies Get You to Share More and Spend More."  Give it a read!