A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Author: Betty Smith

Pages: 493

Genre: Classic

Grade: A

Synopsis: Francie Nolan and her younger brother are growing up very poor in Brooklyn at the beginning of the 20th century. Their father is a friendly singing drunk and their mother is a beautiful realist. The children often know what it is like to go to bed hungry and collect scrap metal and junk for pennies. Their parents had very little education, but their mother has her mind set that her children will graduate from high school. On the recommendation of her mother (the children's grandmother) they read a page a day from both the Bible and Shakespeare. This is the story of Francie Nolan growing up.

My Review: There isn't much that happens in this book, but it is a page turner nonetheless. While reading I think that I experienced almost every emotion from happy and sad, anger, love, pity, joy, pain and understanding. One of the most intriguing parts of the book are the parts where the author gives little glimpses into the minds of the characters. While reading this book I often felt like I was watching a movie and wished that others around me could watch with me.

From the Book: "(p. 62) Mary was convinced that because of some sin she had unwittingly committed in her life, she was mated with the devil himself. She really believed this because her husband told her so. "I am the devil himself," he told her frequently."

"(p. 83) The secret lies in the reading and writing. You are able to read. Every day you must read one page from some good book to your child. Every day this must be until the child learns to read. Then she must read every day, I know this is the secret."

"(p. 166) For quite a while, Francie had been spelling out letters, sounding them and then putting the sounds together to mean a word. But one day, she looked at a page and the word "mouse" had instantaneous meaning. She looked at the word, and the picture of a gray mouse scampered through her mind. She looked further and when she saw "horse," she heard him pawing the ground and saw the sun glint on his glossy coat. The word "running" hit her suddenly and she breathed hard as though running herself. The barrier between the individual sound of each letter and the whole meaning of the word was removed and the printed word meant a thing at one quick glance. She read a few pages rapidly and almost became ill with excitement. She wanted to shout it out. She could read! She could read!"

"(p. 297) No, Katie never fumbled. When she used her beautifully shaped but worn-looking hands, she used them with surety, whether it was to put a broken flower into a tumbler of water with one true gesture, or to wring out a scrub cloth with one decisive motion--the right hand turning in, and the left out, simultaneously. When she spoke, she spoke truly with the plain right words. And her thoughts walked in a clear uncompromising line."

The Geography of Bliss

Title: The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World

Author: Eric Weiner

Pages: 325

Genre: Travel, Non-fiction

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Eric Weiner (pronounced 'whiner') wants to find the happiest places in the world. He's not exactly the happiest guy but thinks that maybe location has something to do with it. He travels to 10 countries, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, Iceland, Moldova, Thailand, Great Britain, India and The United States and informally researches whether or not people in each country are happy. His research mainly consists of talking to locals, American expats and happiness experts. He also does his best to live like the locals (i.e. very extravagantly in Qatar while rooming with an old babushka in Moldova).

Disclaimer: The book isn't dirty by any means, but be forewarned that the language can be a little crude.

My Review: This was quite an enjoyable read. A couple of the chapters drag on for a little longer than feels necessary, but on the whole, the book is very interesting and funny. Weiner's writing style is very relaxed and conversational and I really enjoyed his ability to throw in random facts and humor. The book really was quite funny. I only included two quotes on this review, but there were many, many that I would liked to have included. I particularly enjoyed learning a bit more about all of the countries that he visited and there were even a few that I added to my list of countries that I simply must visit before I die. In other words, I am very jealous of the travel that Mr. Weiner went on.

From the Book: "(p. 7, The Netherlands) And so I do. I have inter course, right there in the Hotel van Walsum dining room. I enjoy it very much, this unhurried dining experience. I sip my beer, stare into space, and, in general, do nothing--until the waiter brings the grilled salmon, indicating that, for now, my inter course is over."

"(p. 302, India) Emma has just returned from a visit to her factory. On the floor, she has spread piles of bags. They are everywhere, and they are beautiful. I'm tempted to get naked and roll around in the pile but restrain myself. This is a forgiving place, but even the inhabitants of 1 Shanti Road have their limits."

the secret history of moscow

Title: the secret history of moscow

Author: Ekaterina Sedia

Pages: 303

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Grade: C-

Synopsis: People all over Moscow are disappearing and a few people are claiming to the police that the people that are disappearing are actually turning into birds. Galina's sister Masha is one of the disappeared. Galina, a policeman Yakov and a street painter, Fyodor, head out to try and track down where all the birds are going to when they enter an underground world full of Moscovites from past and present as well as beings from Russian folktales. Galina, Yakov and Fyodor continue to try and track the birds down on a quest in a strange underground world.

Disclaimer: The language in the book is fairly fowl.

My Review: I had a hard time following along with the storyline in this book. The title of the book gets an A, but the story within the book was not nearly as good as I hoped. I didn't realize the book was a fantasy until I started reading it and it is quite an unbelievable one at that. I was sorely disappointed (and yes, the language is foul).

From the Book: "(p. 198) The bird Gamayun was related to Alkonost and Sirin in some vague fashion--even the most casual observer would've noticed that all three of them were not entirely birds; they had the faces and breasts of women, severe but beautiful. And when their lips opened, they sang in women's voices, deep and rich and bittersweet."

The Secret Life of Bees

Title: The Secret Life of Bees

Author: Sue Monk Kidd

Pages: 302

Genre: Fiction

Grade: A

Synopsis: Lily Owens has very faint memories of her mother who was tragically killed when she was just a young girl. Every succeeding year, her father grows meaner and meaner and more abusive towards Lily. When her black nanny is thrown into jail, Lily comes up with a plot to break her out and then runaway. Set in South Carolina in 1964 they have nowhere to go because nobody will take in a white child and black nanny. They make it to Tiburon, South Carolina where they are taken in by a trio of single beekeeping ladies.

My Review: I can't remember the last time that a book made me cry but this one did. Set in a time and place where racism was the rule the author introduces us to characters that truly look beyond the color of a person's skin. Whenever I read a book set in this time period I am embarrassed for the way white people treated other races. It is a despicable part of American history. What I especially liked about this book is that racial issues weren't the theme of the book but almost everything that happens has to be understood with racial inequality in mind. This is a sad, inspiring, thought-provoking story.

From the Book: "(p. 71) Standing there, I loved myself and I hated myself. That's what the black Mary did to me, made me feel my glory and my shame at the same time."

"(p. 149) "Egg laying is the main thing, Lily. She's the mother of every bee in the hive, and they all depend on her to keep it going. I don't care what their job is--they know the queen is their mother. She's the mother of thousands.""

"(p. 215) Sometimes I didn't even feel like getting out of bed. I took to wearing my days-of-the-week panties out of order. It could be Monday and I'd have on underwear saying Thursday. I just didn't care."

Cheaper by the Dozen

Title: Cheaper by the Dozen

Authors: Frank B. Gilbreth Jr., and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Pages: 180

Genre: Autobiography

Grade: B+

Synopsis: This book is the true story of the efficiency expert Frank Gilbreth and his wife's adventures of raising 12 children. Two of his children reminisce about the experiments and excitement of growing up in a house where the father is a motion study expert. He often uses his children as guinea pigs for his newest hypotheses and teaching methods.

My Review: This was quite an enjoyable and quick read. I had to look up whether or not this book was billed as a true story or not (it is) because some of the stories are quite off the wall - but not quite unbelievable. If nothing else, the book is good for displaying various teaching methods. Some of which work and some of which don't.

From the Book: "(p 2) Dad took moving pictures of us children washing dishes, so that he could figure out how we could reduce our motions and thus hurry through the task. Irregular jobs, such as painting the back porch or removing a stump from the front lawn, were awarded on a low-bid basis. Each child who wanted extra pocket money submitted a sealed bid saying what he would do the job for. The lowest bidder got the contract."

"(p. 54)"I give nightly praise to my Maker that I never cast a ballot to bring that lazy, disreputable, ill-tempered beast into what was once my home. I'm glad that I had the courage to go on record as opposing that illegitimate, shameless flea-bag that now shares my bed and board. You abstainer, you!""

Eragon

Title: Eragon

Author: Christopher Paolini

Pages: 513

Genre: Fantasy

Grade: B+

Synopsis: While hunting deep in the Spine, 15-year-old Eragon finds a majestic blue stone. He returns home empty-handed from the hunt and tries to sell the stone for food. Nobody is willing to buy the stone and before long a dragon hatches from the stone. Eragon and the dragon form a bond and Eragon becomes a Dragon Rider. Eragon's uncle is killed by the evil Raz'ac after which Eragon leaves his hometown to try and extract revenge.

My Review: Paolini started this book when he was only 15 and it shows in his writing. I really, really like the books and the stories but sometimes the writing is a little cheesy and tacky. If the writing had been more refined and polished I would have given this book an A. This is one of those few books that force me to stay up late reading "just one more chapter."

From the Book: "(p. 460) Engaged in a fiery dance, their bodies were linked and seperated by the flashing blades. At times they nearly touched, taut skin only a hair's breadth away, but then momentum would whirl them apart, and they would withdraw for a second, only to join again. Their sinuous forms wove together like twisting ropes of windblown smoke."

The Path Between the Seas

Title: The Path Between the Seas

Author: David McCullough

Pages: 698 (including 83 pages of notes and index)

Genre: History, Non-fiction

Grade: A+

Synopsis: This is the story of the building of the Panama Canal. The book is split up into three sections. The first (1870-1894) explores the French's attempt at building the canal at Panama. The French spent hundreds of millions of dollars with a loss of around 20,000 lives and ultimately failed in their endeavors. Their failure brought depression to the French and forced out the government's leaders. The next section (1890-1904) involves the United States's decision to build a canal in Central America. Most of America wanted the canal to be built in Nicaragua (because how could the French have possibly chosen the best location?) but due to ingenious lobbying, the Americans ultimately decided on Panama. They purchased the canal holdings from the French and helped Panama secede from Columbia because the Colombian government wouldn't ratify the canal treaty that the Americans had drafted. The final section (1904-1914) covers the building of the great Panama Canal. The sheer scale of the work in the Panama Canal defies comprehension. At the height of the work, 45,000-50,000 people were working on the canal. Enough dirt was excavated to build a canal 55 feet wide and 10 feet deep from San Francisco to New York.

My Review: This book has claimed the top spot of my favorite books. This is a book that shouldn't be interesting but ends up being one of the most fascinating. The story is full of intrigue, deception, hard work, failure and ultimately success. McCullough has a way of describing events using written accounts and his knowledge of the time period that brings history to life. This is the fourth book by McCullough that I've read, and I look forward to reading all the rest; my only disappointment is that he has not written books about every President and historical occurrence.

From the Book: "(p. 78) One had only to look at the map to see that Panama was the proper place for the canal. The route was already well established, there was a railroad, there were thriving cities at each end. Only at Panama could a sea-level canal be built. It was really no great issue at all. Naturally there were problems. There were always problems. There had been large, formidable problems at Suez, and to many respected authorities they too had seemed insurmountable. But as time passed, as the work moved ahead at Suez, indeed as difficulties increased, men of genius had come forth to meet and conquer those difficulties. The same would happen again. For every challenge there would be a man of genius capable of meeting and conquering it. One must trust to inspiration. As for the money, there was money aplenty in France just waiting for the opening of the subscription books."

"(p. 417) Seen under the microscope, Stegomyia is a creature of striking beauty. Its general color is dark gray, but the thorax is marked with a silvery-white lyre-shaped pattern; the abdomen is banded with silvery-white stripes and the six-jointed legs are striped alternately with black and pure white. Among mosquitoes Stegomyia is the height of elegance."

"(p. 499) To the majority of those on the job his presence had been magical. Years afterward, the wife of one of the steam-shovel engineers, Mrs. Rose van Hardevald, would recall, "We saw him...on the end of the train. Jan got small flags for the children, and told us about when the train would pass...Mr. Roosevelt flashed us one of his well-known toothy smiles and waved his hat at the children..." In an instant, she said, she understood her husband's faith in the man. "And I was more certain than ever that we ourselves would not leave until it [the canal] was finished." Two years before, they had been living in Wyoming on a lonely stop on the Union Pacific. When her husband heard of the work at Panama, he had immediately wanted to go, because, he told her, "With Teddy Roosevelt, anything is possible." At the time neither of them had known quite where Panama was located."

Enchantment

Title: Enchantment

Author: Orson Scott Card

Pages: 387

Genre: Fantasy

Grade: A-

Synopsis: The subtitle of the book reads: "A classic fantasy with a modern twist" and that seems to be a pretty good description of the book. Ivan was born in the Ukraine when it was still under Soviet rule. His family finds a way to leave the Soviet Union and emigrate to the United States. When Ivan is a graduate student working on his dissertation about old Slavic folktales he returns to visit and study in the Ukraine. Once there, he wakes an enchanted 9th century princess placed under a spell by Baba Yaga with a kiss (ala Sleeping Beauty) and then finds their lives intertwined across a millennium.

Disclaimer: While I wouldn't call the book dirty, it does have some fairly frank discussions about sexuality.

My Review: Alison recommended this book to me a few years ago and then was surprised that I was reading this book because she didn't really like it. First off, this book was really strange. A large chunk of the story takes place in Russia and is based upon popular Slavic folktales. I'm not sure if I liked the book because of its Russian and Slavic folklore references or because it was a good book. I actually took a class in college on Slavic Folklore and was able to relate to many of the stories and tales that the book is built upon. At the beginning of the book I felt like Card was really struggling to make the story believable (and I realize that the book is a fantasy), but by the middle of the book the story begins to mesh and flow a little better. I found the book to be very clever.

From the Book: "(p. 20) Before we are citizens, he thought, we are children, and it is as children that we come to understand freedom and authority, liberty and duty. I have done my duty. I have bowed to authority. Mostly. And now, like Russia, I can set aside those burdens for a little while and see what happens."

"(p. 83) You get used to being naked, that's the first thing that Ivan discovered. Crashing through thick brush with branches snagging at your bare skin, you stop worrying about who's looking and spend your time trying to keep yourself from being flayed alive. He got shy again when they entered the village, but once he decided simply to let the gawkers gawk, he found himself much more interested in what he was seeing than what they were."

The SCIENCE of FEAR

Title: The SCIENCE of FEAR - Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger.

Author: Daniel Gardner

Pages: 324

Genre: Non-fiction

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Daniel Gardner takes a look at why we are so afraid of things that have incredibly slim chances of occurring to us. He compares decisions made by our gut to decisions made with our heads. Topics from terrorism to biology, crime to radiation are discussed. We are always overestimating the risk from crime and terrorism all the while underestimating the risks of major killers such as car accidents and heart disease. Gardner explores how politicians, the media and private corporations all use fear-mongering to their advantage.

My Review: If I had to come up with one word to describe this book it would be 'insightful.' The author cites study after study that shows how humans in general allow their gut to control their decisions and thinking. I often found myself thinking "Well, that doesn't apply to me" or "That's not how I look at it," before I realized that I am pretty much the same as the subjects in these studies. While people don't see themselves as biased by their gut or fear-tactics, we all certainly are. This isn't a book that you can cruise through, and there are some parts that are slower than others, but on the whole, this book was very interesting and one that everybody that is interested in how politicians, corporations, and the media use fear should read.

From the Book: "(p. 3) The safety gap is so large, in fact, that planes would still be safer than cars even if the threat of terrorism were unimaginably worse than it actually is: An American professor calculated that even if terrorists were hijacking and crashing one passenger jet a week in the United States, a person who took one flight a month for a year would have only a 1-in-135,000 chance of being killed in a hijacking--a trivial risk compared to the annual 1-in-6,000 odds of being killed in a car crash."

"(p. 10) Put all these numbers together and what do they add up to? In a sentence: We are the healthiest, wealthiest, and longest-lived people in history. And we are increasingly afraid. This is one of the great paradoxes of our time."

"(p. 24) The rather uncomfortable feeling most of us have when we're around snakes is evidence of how this ancient experience continues to influence us today. Throughout the long prehistory of our species and those that preceded it, snakes were a mortal threat. And so we learned our lesson. Others didn't, but that had a nasty habit of dying. So natural selection did its work and the rule--beware of snakes--was ultimately hardwired into every human brain. It's universal. Go anywhere on the planet, examine any culture. People are wary of snakes. Even if--as in the Arctic--there are no snakes. Our primate cousins shared our long experience and they feel the same way: Even monkeys raised in laboratories who have never seen a snake will back away at the sight of one."

"(p. 130) However hyped the risk of germs may be, it is at least real. Some corporations go so far as to conjure threats where there are none. A television ad for Brita, the German manufacturer of water-filtration systems, starts with a close-up of a glass of water on a kitchen table. The sound of a flushing toilet is heard. A woman opens a door, enters the kitchen, sits at the table and drinks the water. The water in your toilet and the water in your faucet "come from the same source," the commercial concludes. Sharp-eyed viewers will also see a disclaimer a the start of the ad printed in tiny white letters: MUNICIPAL WATER IS TREATED FOR CONSUMPTION. This is effectively an admission that the shared origin of the water in the glass and the toilet is irrelevant and so the commercial makes no sense--at least not on a rational level. As a pitch aimed at Gut, however, it makes perfect sense. The danger of contaminated drinking water is as old as humanity, and the worst contaminant has always been feces. Our hardwired defense against contamination is disgust, an emotion that drives us to keep our distance from the contaminant. By linking the toilet and the drinking glass, the commercial connects feces to our home's drinking water and raises an ancient fear--a fear that can be eased with the purchase of one of the company's many fine products."

"(p. 240) So should we ban or restrict synthetic chemicals until we have a full understanding of their effects? This attractively simple idea is a lot more complicated than it appears. If pesticides were banned, agricultural yields would decline, fruits and vegetables would get more expensive and people would buy and eat fewer of them. But cancer scientists believe that fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of cancer if we eat enough of them, which most people do not do even now. And so banning pesticides in order to reduce exposure to carcinogens could potentially result in more people getting cancer."

"(p. 233) In 1933, it was in Franklin Roosevelt's political interest to tell Americans the greatest danger was "fear itself." Seventy years later, it was in George W. Bush's political interest to do the opposite: The White House got the support it needed for invading Iraq by stoking public fears of terrorism and connecting those fears to Iraq."

Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity

Title: Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity

Author: John Stossel

Pages: 284

Genre: Non-fiction

Grade: A-

Synopsis: John Stossel, host of 20/20 (of which I've never seen a minute), investigates common myths and old wives tales that are simply not true. Stossel looks at lies in the media, business, government, lawyers, religion, health and many other topics. Each argument is backed up with expert opinion, true stories and tests that Stossel ran for his television show.

My Review: I realize that everything in this book needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The issues are explored through Stossel's glasses and the arguments are very, very compelling and enlightening. I learned loads about how the media places spin on stories (and exaggerate the truth), how politicians are catering to the lobbyists and how slimy many lawyers can be. Stossel attacks teacher's unions, school vouchers, Title IX (if a lawyer wins a civil rights lawsuit (such as Title IX) in many states, they are entitled to 6 times their regular hourly fee!), homeopathic remedies, DeBeers (diamond cartel), farm subsidies, Republicans, Democrats (Stossel considers himself a Libertarian), minimum wage, frivolous lawsuits, etc. I think that if you can read this book without getting angry about some things then you've got issues. The book is almost depressing in how twisted some things are. This is one book that I think everybody should read (and then form your own opinion about these "myths").

From the Book (I'm paraphrasing):

Myth: We're drowning in garbage!

Truth: There's plenty of room.

Off and on, the news will carry stories about how there is not enough room for all of our garbage. This simply isn't true (and if you think about it, how can we ever produce more garbage than the earth can store?). Owning a landfill is very competitive and many beautiful green areas are created by the garbage beneath them.

Myth: Feminist lawyers' fight sexism

Truth: Feminist lawyer's lawsuits make other lawyers richer.

Stossel gives the example of hair salons being forced to charge men and women equally. even though it takes longer to cut woman's hair, salons are being sued because it's a "human rights" violation. He also tackles the argument that aside from physical differences, men and women are the exact same. Many feminists are trying to sue because they aren't being elected to public office in equal numbers as men (how sexist!) and because people still believe that, in general, women are naturally better nurturers than men.

the five people you meet in heaven

Title: the five people you meet in heaven

Author: Mitch Albom

Pages: 196

Genre: Fiction, fable

Grade: A

Synopsis: This book is about death. The protagonist, Eddie, is an old man that works as a maintenance man at an amusement park in California. The book traces the story of his life and experiences and the impact that he had on other people, whether he knew them or not. Once Eddie dies, and exactly as the title suggests, he meets five people in heaven whose lives he impacted or who impacted his life.

My Review: This was a great one-day read. I left the other book that I'm reading at my parents' and picked this one up to fill the time. The book flows well and incorporates short lessons and stories into the bigger overall picture very easily. After finishing this book I took a few minutes to think about the people that have impacted my life and the people that I may have had an impact on. It was also very clear that nobody can know somebody else's entire story. The impressions that we have about other people consist of partial stories. Hopefully we will not judge others because there is so much going on that we are unaware of.

From the Book: "(p. 91) "Time," the Captain said, "is not what you think." He sat down next to Eddie. "Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on earth is only the beginning.""

I Am David

Title: I Am David

Author: Anne Holm

Pages: 239

Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade: A

Synopsis: David has spent almost his whole life in a concentration camp in Eastern Europe. While there, the most important thing that he learned was how to do whatever it took just to stay alive. David is confused when a guard helps him to escape and tells him to make his way to Denmark. What follows is an inspiring story of a boy learning the nuances of the world outside the concentration camp, finding God and living on his own.

My Review: I'm really glad that I picked up this book. It's been on my list for a really long time. It's a children's book but suitable for adults. The descriptions of what is going on in David's mind is so clear and it is exciting to read as he meets children for the first time and as he learns to talk like a normal person. David's conversations with God are some of the best parts of the book.

From the Book: "(p. 32) The sun glistened on a drop of water as it fell from his hand to his knee. David wiped it off, but it left no tidemark: there was no more dirt to rub away. He took a deep breath and shivered. He was David. Everything else was washed away, the camp, its smell, its touch--and now he was David, his own master, free--free as long as he could remain so."

"(p. 131) David thought living in a house was very difficult. It was not the house itself--that was lovely to be in--but the people. What was so difficult about them was that they constantly seemed to expect him to say and do things he would never have though of, and what appeared sensible and natural to him seemed to surprise them..."

The Brothers Karamazov

Title: The Brothers Karamazov

Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Pages: 702

Genre: Classic

Grade: B

Synopsis: The book follows the penny-pinching father, Fyodor Karamazov and his three sons, Dmitri, Ivan, and Alexey. Dmitri is the prodigal son of sorts, he has received much of his inheritance but feels that his father has cheated him out of the rest. Ivan is the intellectual son, who struggles to get along with others and Alexey is the spiritual strength of the family and the hero of the book. The book mainly follows the three brothers and their relationships with each other, their father and ladies in the town. The father gets killed and one of the brothers is accused of the murder and is set on trial as the book winds down.

My Review: There were parts of the book that I loved and there were parts of the book that were incredibly difficult to get through. The book is long (over 411,000 words, according to amazon.com) and a fairly slow read. One thing that Dostoevsky has going for him is that the book really gets you thinking about religion and God, philosophy and the nature of man. For some reason, everytime I read this book, I would be falling asleep within a few pages.

From the Book: "(p. 60) 'By the experience of active love. Strive to love your neighbour actively and indefatigably. In as far as you advance in love you will grow surer of the reality of God and of the immortality of your soul. If you attain to perfect self-forgetfulness in the love of your neighbour, then you will believe without doubt, and no doubt can possibly enter your soul. This has been tried. This is certain.'"

"(p. 219) 'To begin with, for the sake of being Russian. Russian conversations on such subjects are always carried on inconceivably stupidly. And secondly, the stupider one is, the closer one is to reality. The stupider one is, the clearer one is. Stupidity is brief and artless, while intelligence wriggles and hides itself. Intelligence is a knave, but stupidity is honest and straightforward. I've led the conversation to my despair, and the more stupidly I have presented it, the better for me.'"

"(p. 227) 'No, I can't admit it. Brother,' said Alyosha suddenly, with flashing eyes, 'you said just now, is there a being in the whole world who would have the right to forgive and could firgive? But there is a Being and He can forgive everything, all and for all, because He gave His innocent blood for all and everything. You have forgotten Him, and on Him is built the edifice, and it is to Him they cry aloud, "Thou art just, O Lord, for Thy ways are revealed!"'"

"(p. 271) 'Truly,' I answered him, 'all things are good and fair, because all is truth. Look,' said I, 'at the horse, that great beast that is so near to man; or the lowly, pensive ox, which feeds him and works for him; look at their faces, what meekness, what devotion to man, who often beats them mercilessly. What gentleness, what confidence and what beauty! It's touching to know that there's no sin in them, for all, all except man, is sinless, and Christ has been with them before us.'"

"(p. 442) 'When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading,' he kept repeating to himself, again and again. 'It's like a dream, I've sometimes dreamed of being in such degrading positions.' It was a misery to him to take off his socks. They were very dirty, and so were his underclothes, and now everyone could see it. And what was worse, he disliked his feet. All his life he had thought both his big toes hideous. He particularly loathed the coarse, flat, crooked nail on the right one, and now they would all see it. Feeling intolerably ashamed made him, at once and intentionally, rougher. He pulled off his shirt, himself."

"(p. 542) 'God preserve you, my dear boy, from ever asking forgiveness for a fault from a woman you love. From one you love especially, however greatly you may have been in fault. For a woman--devil only knows what to make of a woman: I know something about them, anyway. But try acknowledging you are in fault to a woman. Say, "I am sorry, forgive me," and a shower of reproaches will follow! Nothing will make her forgive you simply and directly, she'll humble you to the dust, bring forward things that have never happened, recall everything, forget nothing, add something of her own, and only then forgive you. And even the best, the best of them do it. She'll scrape up all the scrapings and load them on your head. They are ready to flay you alive, I tell you, every one of them, all these angels without whom we cannot live! I tell you plainly and openly, dear boy, every decent man ought to be under some woman's thumb. That's my conviction--not conviction, but feeling. A man ought to be magnanimous, and it's no disgrace to a man! No disgrace to a hero, not even a Caesar! But don't ever beg her pardon all the same for anything...'"

The Woods

Title: The Woods

Author: Harlan Coben

Pages: 404

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Grade: A

Synopsis: 4 teenagers were killed by a serial killer after they snuck out from the camp they were in.  The person that was supposed to be on patrol that evening (Paul Copeland) had also snuck out into the woods for a bit of hanky panky with his girlfriend.  He and his girlfriend lived while the other four campers didn't.  Paul is now a county prosecutor and is in the midst of a rape case eerily similar to the Duke Lacrosse team case from a few years ago.  Somebody is trying to keep what really happened in the woods 20 years ago a secret from Paul.

My Review: The Woods has all of the elements that you would expect in a Harlan Coben mystery thriller. The twisted plot with unexpected turns and revelations and multiple storylines.  I enjoy books like these because I read them so quickly.  Even when I'm not reading the book I'm thinking about what's going to happen, what could happen and trying to decipher and figure out exactly what is going on.  Satisfyingly, all loose ends have been wrapped up by the end of the book.

From the Book: "(p. 76) I ordered a cheeseburger and a beer from a waitress who looked as though she wanted to be in one of those want-to-get-away? commercials. She called me hon. I love when a waitress calls me hon."

"(p.107) Her voice was polished with a hint of a New England-boarding-school accent that shouted refinement over geographic locale. I was trying not to stare. She saw that and smiled a little. I don't want to sound like some kind of pervert because it wasn't like that. Femal beauty gets to me. I don't think I'm alone in that. It gets to me like a work of art gets to me. It gets to me like a Rembrandt or Michelangelo. It gets to me like night views of Paris or when the sun rises on the Grand Canyon or sets in the turquoise Arizona sky. My thoughts were not illicit. Ther were, I self-rationalized, rather artistic."

The Kite Runner

Title: The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Pages: 372

Genre: Fiction

Grade: A-

Synopsis: Amir and his wealthy father, Baba, live in a beautiful house in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Their servants and lifelong friends Hassan and Ali live in a small house on the same property.  Amir and Hassan do everything together with Amir always trying to gain his father's love and adoration.  Hassan, being Amir's servant, is one of the most loyal and likeable character in all literature,  One of the boys' favorite things to do is to fly kites in the winter.  After one of the city's big kite running competitions, an unspeakable event comes between Amir and Hassan.  An event that would haunt Amir for the rest of his life.

My Review: There are very few books that you just love and hate.  The loyalty and unwavering love of Hassan and his father are inspiring and the friendship between the two boys (Amir and Hassan) is incredible.  The terrors that haunt Amir as he and his father flee the Russian occupation of Afghanistan are heartbreaking.  Amir is very likeable but some of the things he does and the decisions he makes tear you apart.  This is a powerful book about growing up in Afghanistan before all of the wars and occupations.

Disclaimer: The book has some violence and a bit of foul language and sex.  Not recommended for children.

From the Book: "(p. 52) Except that wasn't all. The real fun began when a kite was cut. That was where the kite runners came in, those kids who chased the windblown kite drifting through the neighborhoods until it came spiraling down in a field, dropping in someone's yard, on a tree or a rooftop. The chase got pretty fierce; hordes of kite runners swarmed the streets, shoved past each other like those people from Spain I'd read about once, the ones who ran from the bulls. One year a neighborhood kid climbed a pine tree for a kite. A branch snapped under his weight and he fell thirty feet. Broke his back and never walked again. But he fell with the kite still in his hands. And when a kite runner has his hands on a kite, no one could take it from him. That wasn't a rule. That was a custom."

"(p. 128) I wanted to tell them that, in Kabul, we snapped a tree branch and used it as a credit card. Hassan and I would take the wooden stick to the bread maker. He'd carve notches on our stick with his knife, one notch for each loaf of naan he'd pull for us from the tandoor's roaring flames. At the end of the month, my father paid him for the number of notches on the stick. That was it. No questions. No ID."