Reading Challenges: Improvement

February brought with it the end of cable TV in the Librarienne household, and not coincidentally I read more books. Regarding my nonfiction challenge, I read 2 qualifying works (The Canon and Quiet). Additionally, these 2, plus Ship Breaker, count toward my personal challenge of reading from my own collection. If I read another 3 in March (and it looks like I will), I will have caught up in that category. Full steam ahead.

Between Shades of Gray

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I first heard about the Baltic purges about 10 years ago, when a friend mentioned that her Latvian mother and grandparents had been in a Soviet prison camp for a few years before coming to the US. Between Shades of Gray is a brutal but touching novel about 15-year-old who overnight goes from the usual teenage concerns to fighting for her life as an enemy of the Soviet state sent to prison camps in Siberia. Periodic flashbacks provide information about the slow progression toward the Soviet takeover, brief vignettes that meant little at the time to Lina, our protagonist. Sepetys based the story on reports from family members and others who faced similar circumstances as well as other primary sources, which make the tale that much more horrifying. The ending is rather ambiguous, leaving a large gap in the time frame between the denouement and the epilogue. But that too seems appropriate, considering how many people never knew the confirmed fates of loved ones swept up in the madness.



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Ship Breaker

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I wanted to give this book a 3.5, but I rounded up today.

I got about 1/3 through the book before taking a break of a month or so. The story was so dark, with few redeeming values at the time. I got started again mainly because I scanned ahead and decided that I needed to read the part about Orleans, my current place of residence. Interestingly, it's only in the second half of the book that you start to get the back story about the world in which Ship Breaker takes place. In this milieu, the southern U.S. has devolved into a Third World country that supplies the world with resources (yeah, even more so than it is now) and most of the population lives in poverty under the rule of thugs. Think the Congo with half-man/half-dog hybrids. What happened: It seems that all of those predictions about climate change were realized in Bacigalupi's world. Meanwhile, Canada, India, and China are the benevolent superpowers using the U.S. as a colony. For some reason, this extra information that turns the current geopolitical situation on its head made the rest of the novel more palatable to me.

Ship Breaker has a strong, evocative story that moves along quickly. It's emotional without being angry or sappy. The ending is appropriately ambiguous. It all works.



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Quiet, by Susan Cain

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


For whatever it's logical flaws (judging from some of the other reviews), after finishing this book I felt like I could give it to other people and say "If you want to understand who I am, read this." (I've only had this reaction with one other book, Limbo by Alfred Lubrano.)



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Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz

Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


�I probably haven't read a Dean Koontz novel since I was in high school. This book (which takes place in my current home of New Orleans) may not cure cancer, but I enjoyed it thoroughly anyway. Not the modern retelling that I imagined, Prodigal Son starts off a 4-book series about the mad scientist and his original creation, here calling himself Deucalion. The story is fast, with unexpected twists and turns. The characters all have some depth to them, and Victor Helios (nee Frankenstein) is your archetypical American villain--insanely rich, evil on the inside but suave on the outside (think Patrick Batemen grown up), with half the city in his pocket. I'm looking forward to the next one.



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Dear European Union...

According to media reports, you're all very concerned about birthrates, replacement of retirees, and such. You fear that you'll soon lack the workers needed to keep your economies going. Well, I'd like to volunteer my services. I have at least 20 good years of working life ahead of me, and I believe I have a lot to offer.

I'm a fast learner, not afraid of hard work, and a professional at finding and disseminating information (and have master's and bachelor's, respectively, in both). I have a stronger knowledge of the vagaries of English grammar and syntax than a large portion of the American population. My particular specialty is turning research information into something folks can actually read. I adjust quickly to new situations and environments. After moving from West Virginia to Washington, D.C., I am undaunted by a life abroad. I speak a little of two of your languages and would jump at the chance to become fluent. I come with a spouse who is fluent in one and conversational in another. I admire and envy the societies you have developed and would love to be a part of them. I want to live somewhere where evolution is established fact, alternative energy is pursued and valued, and fossil fuels are avoided if at all possible.

In exchange, all I ask for is a work visa and a salary that will cover living expenses (including kibble for my canine family members) and such.

Sincerely,
Mtnlibrarienne

The Canon

The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Natalie Angier is one of my favorite science writers, and this book did not disappoint. While her writing style allowed me to understand the scientific concepts involved, it is not simple, eg, Science for Dummies. Her lush use of language, including metaphor, pop culture as well as historic references, and rapid-fire banter, paints a picture with words. I will never write with a pencil without seeing the chemical bonds breaking as the graphite molecules attach themselves to paper. Speaking of pictures, I found that to be one of the few flaws of the book (other than the fact that she couldn't cover the entire body of science). The complexity of the material involved could have used some well-done illustrations to better, well, illustrate the concepts she was discussing.



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