3M's Booklist

Wild Swans:
Three Daughters of China
by Jung Chang

1992, 508 pp.

Rating: 4.5

1994 British Book of the Year




This is a long, fascinating book that I'm really glad I finished. I got this after reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I absolutely loved. I didn't know it was non-fiction until it came in the mail. I saw that it was a banned book, so I used it for the Banned Book Challenge as well as the Chunkster Challenge.

The book tells the life stories of Jung and her mother and grandmother. Along the way I learned quite a bit about China under Mao as well. I love history when it is presented this way. I've always felt that history was more about how people's lives were affected by their rulers than just names, dates, and events that occurred.

The book is told chronologically. The first story is about how Jung's grandmother had no choice in being a concubine to a Chinese general. The "marriage" was arranged so that her grandmother's father would have more privileges of his own. Jung's mother was born from this union.

Next, we learn of her mother's life growing up under Japanese occupation in Manchuria, and then after the Japanese surrender, the fight between the Kuomintang and the Communists for power in China. Jung's parents become Communist officials who very much believe in the Communist ideals. Their "faith" is eventually shattered by Mao's thirst for power and his "Cultural Revolution."

Although her parents were still receiving their salaries from the government, they were also being detained or being made to go to denunciation meetings where they were yelled at and/or beaten. The Red Guard and the Rebels were encouraged to rise up against the old Communist officials and take control. Even young children were encouraged to beat up their teachers. School days consisted of reading Mao's works, punishing anyone who was a "class enemy", and tearing up the grass and flowers in the courtyards as they were too "decadent."

As Jung grows up, she is at first enamored with Mao, but is eventually disillusioned with what has happened to her family and to herself. She is a bright young woman who is required several times to be "reeducated" by the peasants or factory workers. After Mao dies, eventually China changes for the better. She is able to go to the West and study, but she never permanently returns to China.

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in history in general or Chinese culture. It is also a "wake-up" call to us softies in the West. Books like these really make me appreciate American freedom!

The Bone People
by Keri Hulme

1984 , 445 pp.

Rating: 4

1985 Booker Prize




I didn't think I was going to like this book at first, and I didn't love it, but it definitely kept me reading and I did care about the characters.

Kerewin is an artist who lives in a Tower by the sea. She likes living by herself and even likes the isolation. She is estranged from her family.

Joe is a factory worker with an adopted son who is always getting into trouble. Joe has a bit of a drinking problem and doesn't keep good tabs on his son. The boy ends up at Kerewin's place, and the three end up becoming friends, if not a quasi family unit. Secrets, lies, and violence lie beneath the surface, though, and threaten to tear them all apart.

The story takes place in New Zealand with Joe and Kerewin being part Maori. Some of the myths, culture, and history of the Maori are also part of the book.

This is a different kind of book that is written in almost a "stream of consciousness" style. I thought this was a bit distracting at first, but then I got used to it and even enjoyed it. I also don't like it when authors use the present tense rather than the past tense. This aspect bothered me for about 3/4 of the book, but then I didn't notice it anymore.

For instance (p. 34) "She picks up the curious pendant one last time, to fondle and admire before she goes downstairs," rather than "She picked up the curious pendant one last time and fondled and admired it before she went downstairs." I guess it's a preference issue.

If you've already read this book and would like to talk about it further, we are discussing it right now at BookAwards.

Coraline
by Neil Gaiman

2006, 163 pp.

Rating: 4.5






I listened to this on CD with my kids. It was narrated by the author, and I must say he did a fantastic job. I will definitely be reading more by Gaiman. I hope to read Stardust before the movie comes out.

Coraline is an only child who lives in an apartment with her work-at-home parents. She's a bit bored and is always looking for something to do. One day she unlocks a door that has a brick wall behind it--only the brick wall isn't there anymore. She goes through the door and finds what looks like an exact replica of her apartment--including her parents. I will stop here because I don't want to spoil the plot. Let's just say I highly recommend it! Thanks to those in the Once Upon a Time Challenge who recommended it as well.

1. New Testament *****
2. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken ****
3. March by Geraldine Brooks ***1/2
4. Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates ****
5. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos ****

37. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde ****
38. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken ****
39. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle ****
40. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry ****1/2
41. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys ****
42. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke ****1/2
43. New Testament *****
44. Coraline by Neil Gaiman ****1/2
45. The Bone People by Keri Hulme ****
46. Wild Swans by Jung Chang ****1/2

Pages read in June: 3364
Pages read in 2007: 13,473

Completed on June 20, 2007!!

12 books I already own that I will read in 2007

1. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
2. Atonement by Ian McEwan
3. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
4. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
5. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
6. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
7. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
8. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
9. Silas Marner by George Eliot
10. The Birds by Aristophanes
11. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
12. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
13. Possession by A.S. Byatt
14. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Susanna Clarke

2004, 782 pp.

2005 Hugo Award
2005 World Fantasy Award

Rating: 4.5



I chose this book as one of my 5 Once Upon a Time Challenge books because I also had it on my TBR Challenge and my Chunkster Challenge list. Because the hardback is almost 800 pages, I think it qualifies for 3 challenges! I thought surely I would be able to complete the book if it were on *3* of my lists. When I started it, I honestly didn't like it much at first. It took about 80 pages before I was "into it", and then I was hooked. The next 700+ pages were very easy to read.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell are two English magicians who collaborate at first but then find they have very different philosophies of how magic should be viewed and performed. Mr. Norrell wants to be the foremost authority of magic and keep Strange under his tutelage. Jonathan Strange realizes he is just as good a magician as Norrell and is much more open to teaching anyone his art. This battle of wills frames the story, but there is also romance, a tiny bit of comedy, and history interwoven into the story as well. Napolean, Duke Wellington, and Lord Byron make small appearances as do a gentleman with thistle-down hair and a magician called The Raven King. I won't tell much of the plot here because I wouldn't want to spoil the story for those who haven't read it yet! I will say that the ending hints that there might be more books to follow.

The book is written in the style of a Victorian novel. There is no bad language and not much, though a little, violence. The violence that is present reminded me a little of Edgar Allen Poe's stories. I was worried about what the book would contain when I started it, but the content was mostly accepable to me. I'm a little more conservative than most readers, so this concerned me a little. The only objection I do have is that there are a few places in the book that are a bit condescending to the Church and religion. It wasn't enough for me to downgrade the book's rating, though, and I'm very glad I read it. It looks like there will be a movie in 2008, and I will really look forward to seeing that as well.

Wide Sargasso Sea
by Jean Rhys

1966, 192 pp.

Rating: 4






The Wide Sargasso Sea is listed in the top 100 novels by the Modern Library. I wouldn't go that far, but I did enjoy it. A warning though--some fans of Jane Eyre may hate it. Most members of my face to face book group felt like it ruined their idea of Mr. Rochester's character. I felt the same way when I read March by Geraldine Brooks earlier this year. Little Women is a favorite book of mine, and I didn't like how Mr. and Mrs. March were portrayed in Brooks' story at all.

However, in this book, we learn how Mr. Rochester became the dark, brooding figure in Jane Eyre. We not only feel sorry for him, though, we also feel sorry for Bertha as well. At least I did. We learn how and why she had a mental breakdown. We learn that both she and Mr. Rochester are victims. While I won't go so far as to integrate this story into my feelings about and fondness for Jane Eyre, I am able to take this as a separate story altogether and appreciate it.

Just finished Wide Sargasso Sea. It only took me 3 hours this morning (5:30-8:30am) to read. I'll put up a review later.

Less than 100 pages to go in Jonathan Strange.

NT--a few books left. I hope I didn't leave the impression in my previous post that I had the entire NT to read. I've been reading bits and pieces all along.

Hopefully I'll make my first June "leg" after all!

To complete all the challenges I've joined that end in June, I have to:

by the 21st
1) complete the New Testament (Spring Thing Challenge)
2) finish Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (halfway through a 800 page book!)(Once Upon a Time Challenge & Chunkster Challenge)

by the 30th
3) read The Bone People (Chunkster Challenge)
4) read Wild Swans (Banned Book & Chunkster Challenge)

I'd also like to finish The Wild Sargasso Sea by Wednesday for my face to face group. I know I can read it in a day as it's rather short.

I've already read 7 Chunksters but I really wanted to complete 10. I don't know if reading 3 Chunksters in 13 days can be done, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

Words cannot describe my joy. We've waited for 8 1/2 years to get high speed in our neighborhood, and it's finally here. Of course, now we're moving whenever our house sells.

I think high speed will be a requirement for our next one. . .

Joy at Thoughts of Joy is doing another challenge after The Non-Fiction Five. The 2nds Challenge will be from October 1 through December 31, 2007. The idea is to read a second book from an author you enjoyed the first time around. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to read some books that I have wanted to get to but haven't had time for yet.


My choices are the following:

1. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith

This book is a sequel to The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency which I enjoyed very much.

2. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde

Another sequel--this time to The Eyre Affair. I can't wait to see the further adventures of Tuesday Next.

3. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

I absolutely loved the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead and hope to enjoy this book just as much.

Bonus/Alternates may be added until October 1st. Thanks, Joy!

Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry

1989, 144 pp.

Newbery Medal

Rating: 4.5



This was an excellent children's book. I read it in a couple of hours while the rest of my family was at the movie theatre.

Annemarie Johansen and Ellen Rosen live in Copenhagen. They are neighbors and best friends. Ellen and her family are Jewish and World War II is going on; consequently they are in very real danger and Annemarie's family does everything they can to help them.

I can't really say much more without giving the whole story line away. This book fascinated me because many of the details are based on factual evidence. Books like these truly make history come alive and make the reader eager to do more research on the subject.

Highly recommended.

A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle

1962, 224 pp.

Rating: 4

Newbery Medal



I listened to this book on CD with my sons on a short road trip. All three of us enjoyed it very much. Meg Murry is a girl whose parents are both scientists. Consequently her family is a little different than others. She and Charles Wallace, her littlest brother, get made fun of at school because everyone thinks they're either stupid or not living up to their potential. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Her twin brothers are more normal so they fit in.

Their father works for the government and has been missing for a few years. The search for Mr. Murry, with a little help from Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, takes them on a journey too incredible to imagine. Three sequels follow that each of us plan on reading this year or next.

A Severe Mercy
by Sheldon Vanauken

1977, 238 pp.

Rating: 4

National Book Award Winner


This memoir is a book about life, marriage, friendship, and faith. Vanauken tells the story of how he and his wife's relationship changed from an intense, romantic love to one controlled by their Christian beliefs. That is not to say that their love wasn't intense or romantic after their conversion, but it did change significantly. He also details his wife's illness, death, and his own grief process afterwards.

Most interesting to me were the letters exchanged between the Vanaukens (mostly Sheldon) and C.S. Lewis. The couple met Lewis while at Oxford and kept up a healthy correspondence with him after they moved back to the States. Lewis is my favorite author, so it was interesting to hear his viewpoints on a much more personal level. These exchanges were my favorite parts of the book.

The Eyre Affair
by Jasper Fforde

2002, 374 pp.

Rating: 4



Literary allusions, time travel, a mystery to solve, and a protagonist named Thursday Next--what more could you want in a mystery/fantasy novel? I really enjoyed this book. There is just the right amount of mystery, fantasy, romance, and even comedy to suit just about anybody. With people named Jack Schitt, Braxton Hicks, and other punny names, I found myself laughing quite a bit through this book.

Thursday Next is a LiteraTec--a sort of literary detective. She reads, time travels, investigates lit crimes, and still finds time to pine over a man at the end of the day. I definitely look forward to reading more of Ms. Next's adventures.

Phantastes
by George MacDonald

1858, 185 pp.

Rating: 4




This was one of C.S. Lewis' favorite books, and it is obvious that Lewis borrowed quite a bit from MacDonald's ideas. I found several passages that were very similar to passages in Lewis' books. There is also a lengthy introduction to the book by Lewis that is well worth reading.

This 1850's fantasy novel involves a man whose grandmothers were descended from the fairies. Because of this, he is granted access to a fairy land where he encounters several strange and wonderful creatures--some benevolent and some malevolent. Both he and the reader learn lessons in his journey through this land and back again to his home world.

"Yet I know that good is coming to me--that good is always coming; though few have at all times the simplicity and the courage to believe it. What we call evil, is the only and best shape, which, for the person and his condition at the time, could be assumed by the best good."

My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult

2004, 423 pp.

Rating: 4




My Sister's Keeper is about a family with a deathly sick child and how that illness colors every decision they make. How far would you go to keep your child alive? Would you have another baby--even make it a "designer baby" that would be a perfectly matched donor for your sick child?

These questions are explored in the novel from all sides. There are multiple narrators. We get to hear from the mother, father, each sister, the brother, and others important to the story. I really liked the multiple points of view. Picoult takes a tough ethical issue and represents each side quite well. This was my first Picoult novel, and I look forward to reading more.

29. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ****
30. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood ****1/2
31. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields ****1/2
32. Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates ****
33. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos ****
34. The Color Purple by Alice Walker ****
35. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult ****
36. Phantastes by George MacDonald ****

Pages read in May: 2466
Pages read in 2007: 10,109

Are you interested in the Book Awards Reading Challenge? The rules for this challenge are as follows:

1. Read any 12 award-winning books from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. Please look on the sidebar for eligible books from the Pulitzer, Booker, etc. prize lists. Also feel free to pick non-fiction books or other prize winners not listed.

2. Books may be cross-posted with other challenges.

3. You may post your challenge books just on your blog, or you may also contribute to the BAC blog by giving your email address in a comment to this post. I will email you an invitation to be a contributor. Please write your email address in a manner similar to the following: janedoe AT hotmail DOT com. You must be a blogger member in order to contribute.

4. There will be prizes.

1st prize: 5 credits or in-stock books from paperbackswap.com
2nd prize: 3 credits or in-stock books from paperbackswap.com
3rd prize: 1 credit or in-stock books from paperbackswap.com

Everyone who completes 12 books for the challenge will be entered once into the drawing. For every book over 12 completed, you will receive one more chance for the prize. For example, if you complete 14 books, you will receive 3 chances.

5. Anyone may participate, but to be eligible for the prize, you must sign up by November 1, 2007. To participate in the BAC blog, you must sign up before January 1, 2008.

6. This is NOT required, but if you would like to discuss prize-winning books with others, you are encouraged to join any or all of the follow yahoo book groups:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bookawards
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pulitzer_literature
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookerPrize

7. Have fun reading!


I only have a partial list so far, but the titles were easy to come up with because of The Newbery Challenge and the reading groups listed above.

I'll probably have at least the first 12 titles below finished before the end of 2007. I'd like to complete 18-24 books for the challenge. My list so far:

1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (Booker 2000)
2. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (Booker 1997)
3. The Sea by John Banville (Booker 2005)
4. A Death in the Family by James Agee (Pulitzer 1958)
5. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (Newbery 2007)
6. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (Newbery 1950)
7. I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (Newbery 1966)
8. Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska (Newbery 1965)
9. The White Stag by Kate Seredy (Newbery 1938)
10. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Pulitzer)
11.
12.

Award winners I read in the first half of 2007 (not counted for the challenge):
Angle of Repose **** (Pulitzer)
Atonement ***1/2 (NBCC)
To Kill a Mockingbird ***** (Pulitzer)
The Echo Maker **** (NBA)
The Road ****1/2 (Pulitzer)
Everyman * (PEN/Faulkner)
The Giver ****1/2 (Newbery)
March ***1/2 (Pulitzer)
The Inheritance of Loss ***1/2 (Booker/NBCC)
The Handmaid's Tale ****1/2 (Governor General)
The Stone Diaries ****1/2 (Pulitzer/NBCC/Governor General)
Amos Fortune, Free Man **** (Newbery)
The Color Purple **** (Pulitzer)

I have 230+ book credits at PBS!! As of today, I am #2 on the 7 day AND the 30 day swapper chart. I have been a very busy girl. I mailed almost all of them before the postal rates changed. I won't be mailing much out from here on out until I get settled in the Omaha area.

Remember to comment with your PBS i.d. if you haven't already. I'll be getting a "few" books after I move! I'd like to get them from people I "know."

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

1982, 289 pp.

1983 Pulitzer Prize/1983 NBA

Rating: 4


I read this for the Banned Book Challenge, and I can definitely see why people would be against it. Some of the themes include incest, rape, lesbianism, language, and drug and alcohol use. I'm not saying it should be banned--just that if I had a teenage daughter, for instance, I would want to read and discuss it with her.

All of the above (and more) happen to Celie, the main character in the book. By contrast, Celie tries to protect her sister Nettie, and Nettie ends up going with a missionary family to Africa. We see Celie and Nettie both grow in different ways through what happens to them. They are separated for 30 years but do keep in contact through letters. It is appalling, really, what men can do to women. This type of novel is always hard for me to read, but sometimes I do think it is necessary for me to venture out of my protected little world into the very unprotected world of other women. If only to appreciate and thank God for what I do have and to pray for and help other women whenever I can.