2013 - 2014 International Fiction Book Club of New Orleans Reading LIst

We meet at the Blue Cypress Books at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the novel.

Map to: 8126 Oak Street - New Orleans, LA 70118

NEW MEMBERS and Out-of- Town VISITORS ALWAYS WELCOME.


Contact Isabel at 504 975 5064 or workingwords100@yahoo.com for details.


No attendance records are ever kept, so if LIFE gets in the way, it's ok. If a book doesn't interest you, you aren't obligated to attend the meeting.


We read books that are meet these conditions:

Foreign author, foreign setting

Foreign author making observations about US setting

US author going to a foreign place

A couple of non-fiction works are OK also.

January 16 - No Place For Heroes - Laura Restrepo

February 20 – On Rue Tatin: Living & Cooking in a French Town – Susan Loomis

March 20 – Hash – Torgny Lindgren

April 17 - Cinnamon Garden – Shyam Selvadurai

May 15 – Anil’s Ghost – Michael Ondaatje

June 19 – Waterland – Graham Swift

July 17 – The Singapore Grip – J. G. Farrell

August 21 – The Thread of Grace – Mary Doria Russell

September 18 – Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet – Jamie Ford

October 16 – Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness – Alexandra Fuller

November 20 – Age of Iron – J. M. Coetzee

 

2014

January 15 – Tiger’s Wife –Te’a Obreht

February 19 – Cellist of Sarajevo – Steven Galloway

March 19 – The Spirit Catches You & You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures – Anne Fadiman

April 16 – Feast of the Goat – Mario Vargas Llosa

May 21 – Dream of the Celt – Mario Vargas Llosa

Books - Book Review - Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

When I attended the American Library Association meeting in the summer of 2011, I was able to get a review copy of this novel. I've read it about 3 times already but have not had the chance to review it until now.

It's 2044 in Kansas City. Wade Watts is an orphan, living with relatives and other people on the top level of mobile homes, that have been stacked up, one home on top of the other. He is still in high school, but his life is not like a typical American boy of this time. He attends school in OASIS, an online world (similar to Second Life). He has no idea whether his classmates are even in Kansas; everyone has an avatar. However, since he is poor in the offline world, he can't explore OASIS like the other teens. He crawls into a car, buried under a pile of other rusty cars, in order to log into school; he can't do that at home, because his clunky laptop would be stolen by his aunt or someone else living in the mobile home.

This is Wade's World: "The ongoing energy crisis. Catastrophic climate change, widespread famine, poverty, and disease. Half a dozen wars..."

James Halliday, one of the designers of OASIS, had died. He left no heirs and announced a contest. The winner will receive a lot of money! All the players on Earth start to play.

The key to winning the contest is to know what Halliday liked: 1980s movies, music, and video games. All the players had to go back to Anorak's Almanac to discover what detail of Halliday's interests and life could allow the players to proceed to the next level. The players also watched all the movies that Halliday like and played the early versions of the video games.

Even though there are no illustrations, save for the cover art, Cline's writing really captures the virtual worlds where the players are. Wade also meets some of the more famous players in the world. But, all is not fair in this game. The largest company in the world wants to win so they can buy OASIS. Free things, like education, would not be available anymore. The Corporation players hire Halliday experts to try to solve the puzzles in the games.

The novel made me realize how quickly the gaming technology had changed. I was never a gamer, but I remember seeing the early games and how addicting they were. 

If you are not familiar with the references in this novel, a wiki has been built. 

Despite spending most of his time in the online world, Wade learns to live on the outside some more and finally meets real people who really like him.

Books - Book Review - A Place Called Armageddon - C. C. Humphries

I received this book courtesy of Source Books.

This is a great novel to read on a cold winter day or when you don't have electricity. I finished it in two days, because I had nothing else to do after the power outage after Hurricane Issac. The engaging plot kept my mind off the heat; I even used up precious battery power from my flashlight to keep reading after the sun had set. I just didn't want to put it down.

The novel is set in Constantinople of 1493. The city is still a Christian city but it will become Istanbul after the siege is over. Its churches become mosques; the religion changes to Islam; Greek is replaced by Arabic.

The people of the city still see themselves as Greeks, the last citizens of the empire that had long ago vanished. They lead comfortable lives (if they have money and power) or harder lives (if they didn't have as much as the former). 

Gregoras is the main character. He is bitter and a cynic. His own twin did nothing to defend Gregoras on accusations of treason. Gregoras swore never to return to Constantinople; he has spent years as a mercenary, saving up his pay to renovate a home by the sea that he bought. 

Circumstances lead him back to Constantinople. He reunites with people from his youth and also uses his experience to defend the city. However, in the end, the city is conquered.

The amazing thing for me is how much some men traveled in those days. Gregoras had fought in the Balkans and other parts of Europe. His fellow warriors included men from various large cities of what is now Italy. Trade and war help to spread knowledge; even in its waning days, Constantinople was cosmopolitan.

I learned a lot about battle techniques and history from this novel, but the writing was fast-paced and interesting. I would recommend this work if you want a fun introduction to this time period.

The inside covers have excellent maps of the city and the region, so I was able to follow the movement of the characters, without having to dig up an old atlas.

For more information about this novel, click here!

Books - Book Review - A Bad Day For Voodoo - Jeff Strand

I received this novel courtesy of Sourcebooks.

Many teen boys lose interest in reading. But this book would be a fun gift for one. (It’s also available as an e-book).

Tyler is in high school, living in Florida. He just learned how to drive. He has a best friend, Adam and a very smart girlfriend, Kelly, who hated the word literally used incorrectly.

Adam and Tyler’s nemesis is Mr. Click, the history teacher. When he received an F for a test that he had studied very hard, Tyler was really fuming. Mr. Click accused Tyler of letting another boy cheat, so he and the other student both failed. Tyler suggested taking the test again, even though “70 percent of what I’d studied leaked out of my brain over the weekend.”

When Mr. Click said no, Tyler wanted to get back at him. Adam came up with a brilliant idea: giving Tyler a voodoo doll. Tyler would prick the doll with pin, and Mr. Click would feel a pain. But that didn’t happen.

“Mr. Click let out a shriek of pain that ripped through my eardrums.”

And then his leg shot off from his body in a spray of blood and bone as if it had been fired from a cannon.

The leg slid across the tile floor, leaving a thick red track and stopped only when it struck the wall.

I guess it goes without saying that everybody in the classroom began to figuratively scream their heads off...

Kids were sobbing and screaming and panicking, and there were at least two confirmed vomiters. There was blood everywhere. I couldn’t breathe.

I plucked the pin out of the doll. Sadly, Mr. Click’s leg did not slide back and reattach itself.

What had I done?

What kind of horrible monster was I?

What the hell kind of steroid-enhanced voodoo doll was this?”

Despite the gross out descriptions (which teens will love), it is also funny, in a morbid kind of way. I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t read again for a few minutes!

Needless to say, the situation gets worse and worse for poor Tyler. There is a happy ending, but he goes through enough trials and tribulations to get grey hair.

Books - Book Reviews - 2 Heyer Books

I received these books via Sourcebook. I think that I read them in September 2011, and I finally have time to review them.

If you are interested in reading of Heyer's works, Sourcebooks is offering e-versions of the novels until August 20th for $2.99!

Venetia and A Quiet Gentleman deals with two main characters who feel restricted by their roles in English society.

Venetia is a 22 year old orphan. She is taking care of the estate until her older brother returns from war. The younger  but sickly brother is about to start classes in Oxford. She moves to London when her sister-in-law and her mother (whom she first met when the ladies knocked on the door) arrive at the estate.

A suitor visits Venetia in London to propose marriage. The aunt advises her to "it would be better to marry a man one positively disliked than to remain a spinster ... even with a disagreeable husband, ... you would be a woman of consequence, and you would have all the comfort of your children, which you know, is a female's greatest interest - and in any event, Mr. Yardley is not disagreeable!"

Of course, Venetia follows her head and manages to find a purpose in her life in the next few years!

Gervase Frant, 7th Earl of St. Erth, or The Quiet Gentleman, could be Venetia's friend. He was expected to die at Waterloo, but to the dismay of his stepmother and half-brother,  he survived and returned to the estate in Lincolnshire.

The estate was a mish-mash of styles: fortress, rococo, "Gothick", and Palladium. Each earl had added his preferred style to the home.

Frant finally has a party and wants to dance with Marianne. But she was told by her mother to just do the quadrille, not a waltz; she didn't want to have the "delible stigma of being a fast girl" !!!

This novel also is a mystery. Someone wants to kill Frant. Marianne is injured a couple of times while trying to save Frant.

I need to buy more Heyer books; I learn more about the times, and the roles of women and have fun reading. It will be a great Christmas present to myself! But, I want the paperback versions.

Stuff - Slowly Coming Back

Patient Readers,
I've completed most of my courses for my graduate degree. I can now actually read for fun. So, I'll be working on getting back to posting again.

Books - International Fiction Book Club of New Orleans

We meet at the Blue Cypress Books at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the novel.
Map to: 8126 Oak Street - New Orleans, LA 70118


NEW MEMBERS and Out-of- Town VISITORS ALWAYS WELCOME.


Contact Isabel at 504 975 5064 or workingwords100@yahoo.com for details.


No attendance records are ever kept, so if LIFE gets in the way, it's ok. If a book doesn't interest you, you aren't obligated to attend the meeting.


We read books that are meet these conditions:

Foreign author, foreign setting

Foreign author making observations about US setting

US author going to a foreign place

A couple of non-fiction works are OK also.

2012

January 18 My Son’s Story - Nadine Gordimer

February 8 (moved due to Mardi Gras) Foe - J.M Coetzee

March 21 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

April 18 Island Beneath the Sea - Isabel Allende

May 16 Dancing to Almendra by Mayra Montero

June 20 Rose - Martin Cruz Smith

August 15 Saturday - Ian McEwan

September 19 Little America – Henry Bromell

October 17 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

November 21 Heat and Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

December - No Meeting

2013

January 15 No Place for Heroes - Laura Restrepo
February 19 On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town - Susan Loomis


Books Read in the Past

Books - Past Reads of the International Fiction Book Club of New Orleans

Alpha Order by Title

2011

After Leaving Mr. McKenzie - Jean Rhys

After the Fire, a Still Small Voice - Evie Wyld

A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

By Night in Chile Roberto Bolaño

The Heat of the Day – Elizabeth Bowen

Purge - Sofi Oksanen

 The Restraint of Beasts - Magnus Mills

The Shipping News - Annie Proulx

Suite Française - Irène Némirovsky

Through Black Spruce – Joseph Boyden

The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga

2010

The Elegance of the Hedgehog – Muriel Barbery

Elizabeth Costello - J M Coetzee

The God Of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

Gourmet Rhapsody – Muriel Barbery

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

My Name is Red – Orhan Pamuk

On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan

The Peppered Moth - Margaret Drabble

 Persistence of Memory – Tony Eprile

2009
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

GraceLand - Chris Abani

The Fifth Child - Doris Lessing

How to Be Good - Nick Hornby Waiting - Ha Jin

In the Time of the Butterflies - Julia Alvarez
The Language of Baklava - Diana Abu-Jaber
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Peony in Love - Lisa See

2008

Absurdistan - Gary Sheyngart

Black City - Georges Sand

Bone People - Keri Hulme

Bridge on the Drina - Ivo Andric

Cloudstreet - Tim Winton

Don't let Go to the Dogs Tonight - An African Childhood - Alexandra Fuller

The Gathering - Ann Enright

The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing

Gould's Book of Fish A Novel in Twelve Fish - Richard Flanagan

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Star of the Sea - Joseph O'Connor

2007

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

The Conjurer’s Bird - Martin Davies

The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho

Everything is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer

The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai

Maps for Lost Lovers - Nadeem Aslam

The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre - Dominic Smith

Pope Joan - Donna Woolfolk Cross

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague - Geraldine Brooks

Stuff - Lost Sounds and Books

I've been offline too much. Too much schoolwork and elder care issues and just regular work. I need 2 maids!

I've been catching up with my magazine  reading and found two interesting items in the Smithsonian Magazine.

The Top Ten Books Lost To Time - these books have been mentioned in other works or diaries, but they can't be found. If you run into them, you will be famous! The authors are many-unknown-but-inspired-by-God writers (including an Arctic explorer monk) Homer, Jane Austen, Sylvia Plath, Thomas Hardy, William Shakespeare, Herman Melville, Robert Lewis Stevenson, and Ernest Hemingway.

The Museum of American History has experimental sound recordings that Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Emile Berliner made. However, there is no machine to play these voices.

The Museum and the Library of Congress joined forces to recover the audio. Hear a test batch of recordings by Bell and his associates.

Books - Book Review - Midnight on Julia St - Ciji Ware

I received a copy of this novel from Sourcebooks.

This novel is set in pre-Katrina New Orleans; it's a reprint, but many of the locations described by Ware still exist. The neighborhoods and buildings that she talks about are close to the banks of the Mississippi River and weren't wiped out during the Katrina.

 Corlis McCullough is a television reporter who moves to New Orleans from California. She doesn't realize that her ancestors have ties to the city, until she starts getting visions and discusses them with an aunt who knows the family genealogy.

But, the visions are not figments of Corlis' imagination; they are events that really occurred around the 400 block of Canal St., the main business street which divides the "New" New Orleans (the American side) from the "Old" New Orleans (descendants of the original French and Spanish settlers and the free people of color). The time frame of the visions is the 1830s.

At first, she is disturbed by them, but she enlists the new friends to find out what the visions mean. She is also researching the proposed razing of a historic building that housed businessed that used to be owned by free African-American many years before the Civil War.

I took this novel to Atlanta, when I visited my friend. I was also supposed to be studying for two finals. I would pick up the book as a reward for studying for certain amount of time, and my friend thought that I was spending all my time reading instead of studying. I left my copy for her to read; since she has a young family, she has to be selective about her reading. I highly recommended the book to her.

The novel deals with the razing of the Sanlin building.

Behind this modernist facade, there is an older building. Here's an article that describes the history of the building:


Ware was able to capture a historical event in an interesting manner and also combine it with a modern story. I had a hard time putting it down, and if you like works with a bit of the supernatural and history, you will enjoy it also.

Books - Book Review - Tout Sweet - Karen Wheeler

Sourcebooks kindly sent me a copy of this memoir.


Karen Wheeler had a interesting life: a great job and home in London, a French boyfriend, and a few good friends. However, her outlook changes, and she decides to buy a home in a village in France and to move there. 


Since other foreigners have moved to France and renovated homes, her experiences weren't as frustrating as Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence. She made friends with a neighbor, who chided the craftsmen who didn't do a proper job. Wheeler made her renovations slowly and even did a lot of the work herself.


However, not all is perfect in this new life. She has a falling out with one of the ex-pats, she must drive far to eat in a decent restaurant (gasp!), and she must adapt to not being able to walk to grocery stores to buy organic fruits and vegetables.


She is still able to make a living as a fashion writer by doing freelance work. And her life has balance. "It is June and the courtyard is in full bloom. The French have a word for this e'panouie. But it doesn't apply to flowers, It can also be used to describe the blossoming of a person.. I am never short of company. In fact, I have made more genuine friends in the short time that I have lived here than I did in almost two decades of living in London."


Wheeler gives a realistic view of a major lifestyle change. The discouraging events are described as well as the small triumphs.


If you are tempted to chuck it all in and start over in another place, this memoir will give you an idea of what you would experience!

Books - Book Review - Hash - Torgny Lindgren

Kevin From Canada offered an intriguing review of this novel,so I decided to take the plunge!



An old man in a nursing home in Sweden writes in his notebook. He was a journalist until his editor found out that everything that he wrote was fiction. The editor forbade the journalist to write another word; he followed the order until the editor had died. He assumed that he was now free from the edict.


The old man writes about two men in northern Sweden who ride a motorcycle looking for the best hash (a type of stew, with everything thrown into the pot). The first man is Robert Maser , an ex-Nazi official; he now works as a peddler selling clothes. The other man is the school teacher, Lars Hogstrom.


Lars contracted TB in his childhood and spent most of his youth in the sanitarium. When he was cured, he really didn’t want to go out into the world. ““The whole sanitarium, all its corridors and stairs and lobbies, full of the constant smells of stewing, and new-bake bread and cloves and oranges. Where in the world shall I be able to find such nourishing and well-cooked food?” He was particularily fond of the potted pork with mashed turnip and potato and pickled gherkin or beetroot. And herring pie with melted butter.”


Living in a foodie-loving place such as New Orleans, I can understand someone being fond of food, but these entrees sound unappetizing to me.


Lars asks for and get assigned the most tubercular school district in the northern Sweden. Both he and Robert are newcomers and find out (funnily) that they share a love of music and sang together some evenings. And later on, they go on the hash quest during the summer.


Everyone in the district makes their version of hash (even the winter ones) and wait for the men to taste and comment on their hash.


When Lars and Martin go to Ellen’s home, to taste her hash, “they broke off small fragments with their fingers and pressed them against the roof of their mouths, where the hash dissolved on its own accord and trikletle over their tongues and molars. They didn’t chew, they let the air filter in between their lips so that nothing of the experience would be lost, and they delayed swallowing as long as they could.”


Between the story of the people in this region of Sweden, the novel goes back to telling the story of the journalist and his life in the nursing home. This portion of the novel (and Lars’ unethusiatic return to work) can be seen as a comment on the government’s policy to take care of everyone. The home had an obligation to take care of the journalist but now the administrators were worried about the costs; he kept on living and didn’t die.


Two words of caution. The novel is a bit strange. It doesn’t really follow in the traditional pattern, but you will get accustomed to the rhythm. Another think is the descriptions of what is put into the hash can turn your stomach. Don’t read this after a nice meal.


The format reminded me of Magnus Mills’ works. Both authors make commentaries on their worlds, but there is really not too much action. Both writers have the characters going in circles or loops as they live out their lives. You have to be in the right mindset to enjoy this novel and any of Magnus Mills’ works.


I am going to look for more of Lindgren’s novels to discover whether they follow the same pattern.

This novel follows a similar format as Star of the Sea: a  headline, a little summary about what will happen in this chapter, occasional photographs or drawings, and ballads.This story of the aftermath of the Civil War, told by many voices.



I started this novel in January but had to put it down, because of my spring graduate classes. I did have to review the beginning parts of the novel so I could pick it up again.


Eliza Duane Mooney, Mary's daughter from Star of the Sea, decides to walk from Baton Rouge, LA to a northern territory state, to look for her brother. The boy, Jeremiah, was a drummer boy for the Confederates and never came back. She heard (and I don’t know how!) that he was still alive and living up North. But, her trip was anything but pleasant; be prepared for graphic descriptions of her troubles.


Up in the cold northern territory (it's not a state yet, but it's close to Canada), the acting governor is trying to forget the horrors of war. James C. O’Connor was sentenced in Ireland to live in the penal colony of Australia, managed to escape and moved to the United States, where he fought on the Union side of the Civil War He became important on the lecture circuit, telling his story.


Two women play an important part in the telling of the novel. A former slave, Elizabeth Longstreet, lived in his home; she later moved to Liberia. O’Connor married the very rich socialite, Lucia-Cruz Rodriguez y Ortega McLelland.


You need to read this novel continuously. There are many characters, telling the story from their viewpoints, so that it’s easy to lose your place.


I learned about many aspects of the Civil War that I didn’t learn about in school.


I found this novel more difficult to read than Star of the Sea. Even though both deal with events that disrupted the lives of many people (The Irish Potato Famine vs the Civil War), O’Connor brought these events down to a personal level, so we could experience what the characters felt. However, the effects of the Civil War marked everyone more deeply than I thought possible.


This counts as a book for the War Through the Generations Reading Challenge - Civil War.  I've set my goal low this year due to graduate school.

Books - Book Review - Maintenance of Headway - Magnus Mills

In a large European city (most probably London), there are bus drivers who go round and round on their routes. The purpose of their work is not to take people from point A to point B, but to maintain the balance of the bus system.


If you finish the run too early, you will be chided. If you finish too late, you will also be chided. When obstacles are in the way (such as street repairs), the managers throw hissy fits and the drivers become stressed out.


The conversations between the bus drivers goes something like this. Jeff comments: . “ “Is there a difference between early running and running early?” he enquired. “Not really, “ I said. “Early running is the generic form. Running early is the deed itself.””


As in all of Mills’ novels so far, there are wry comments and commentaries on British life. For example, during a break, the guys were talking about the university graduates  (who were hired by the company) and their failure to come up with an appropriate slogan. The narrator commented that it was a waste of taxes. However, Edward remarked “”The purpose of taxation is to spend other people’s money, “ he explained. “Therefore, by definition, it cannot be wasted. “”

In another phase of Mills’ life, he worked as a bus driver in London. So, the novel probably has some realistic scenes in it.

Books – Book Review – The Return of the Black Douglas – Elaine Coffman

This book was sent to me courtesy of Sourcebooks.


A new genre is emerging in the historical romance novels: people traveling back to the Highlands of Scotland.


Elizabeth Douglas is there , doing genealogical research, instead of being on her honeymoon. Her fiancé decided he wasn’t ready to marry her.

Despite having degrees in anthropology, Elizabeth was a romantic at heart. Her twin Isobella, on the other hand, was logical and clinical; she was about to complete her medical residency at Johns Hopkins.

They are transported to the past in the same location to the early 1500s, but they don’t realize it at first. When Alysandir Mackinnon, the head of his clan, sees Elizabeth walking around in shorts and a blouse, he just couldn’t believe his eyes.

Elizabeth is really enjoying her time in the past. As an anthropologist, there is a treasure trove for her to find

The funniest part happens when Elizabeth is trying to prove that she is from the 21st century. She shows Alysandir a movie trailer of Braveheart from her Iphone. He points out what is historically incorrect. Elizabeth also tries to speak an English that has less of the Romance language influences, so that no one is asking her what she is saying.

Elizabeth does long to return to her time. She wants a shower, she wants to brush her teeth, and she wants to be able to read books, activities that are not so common in the 16th century.

The novel has good historical information, that was fun to learn. But as much as enjoyed reading this novel, I still don’t want to live in those times.

Stuff - not reading fiction

I feel like I've fallen off the Earth.

I am taking two classes in grad school. I have been reading a lot of non-fiction but no fiction. I did have a chance to read one book during Spring Break, but it was one that I read yearly, so I went through it quickly.

I take my final exams in a couple of weeks, so after that I can hit my TBR pile.

Books - Book Review - If the South Had Won the Civil War - MacKinlay Kantor

This was my first book for the Civil War Challenge. It was very short, because it was an article for Life magazine. 

I was able to borrow an older version from the library. I don't know whether the reissued version has the illustrations that the older one has.

I am not going to present all the of events that Kantor visualized but here are some that I thought were important:

1. Grant died, and Atlanta didn’t burn.
2. The Confederates won the Battle of Gettysburg.
3. Lincoln evacuated the White House in a wagon and spent time in a prison. He moved back to Illinois
4. The new capital of the United States was in Ohio; Columbus was renamed Columbia
5. Confederate States of America had 13 states.
6. Washington D.C. became Washington, District of Dixie.
7. Texas was a country for a long time.
8. The slaves in the south were freed in the 1880s, but it was a gradual process that there were no lynchings and discrimination.
9. Cuba became a state in the Confederacy and REL Stuart, Jeb Stuart’s son, was the hero of the Spanish American War, not Teddy Roosevelt.
10. Alaska remained a part of Russia .
11. Woodrow Wilson (CSA President) wanted the USA and Texas to be united, after they all fought in WWI. Teddy Roosevelt (US President) and Roy Smith ( Texas ) agreed but it didn’t become reality until the 1960. That’s when the Russians started its campaigns to take over the world. 
12. Washington became the capital of the new USA .

I enjoyed reading this book. One event, Grant's early death, could have really changed the course of history.

You do need some basic knowledge of American history to understand the implications of this alternate history, but you will enjoy reading what could have happened.

Books - Book Review - After Leaving Mr. Mackensie - Jean Rhys

This book counts for the 2011 International Book Challenge.

A young woman constantly asks old lovers for money. She goes to bars by herself, and the men keep asking her to go back to their apartments or hotel rooms with them. She looks for sugar daddies and her life style is scandalous to the family.

I had to look at the copyright year to find out why I wasn't really shocked; it was originally published in 1931, and proper young women didn't do these things!

Julia Martin lives in Paris. She is getting older; she is now in her 30s. She finds it harder to get money, she drinks too much, and she must find cheaper quarters as each year passes due to the drop of income.

After meeting another guy and deciding to go back home to London to see her family, she finds that her francs don't go far after the exchange rate. She tries to be a better daughter and sister but discovers that she just can't do it. Her sister has an idea of Julia does for a living and is jealous that Julia doesn't  seem to care too much about responsibility.

This novel is a bit dark and depressing.

But, it still applies today. Many women still want have the easy life, and they don't realize that youth won't last. There will always be someone younger!

(I gave the lady on the cover a bikini :})

Books - Book Review - Napoleon’s Buttons - How 17 Molecules Changed History - Penny LeCouteur and Jay Burreson

One of my classmates from graduate school recommended this book on the class forum.

Two chemists wrote another view of history: certain objects have shaped world events, and this is the first record of how it happened.

For example, they used Napoleon’s loss in Russia. Besides the rough winter, the Russians burning all the crops,  and a lack of supplies reaching the French troops, the authors believed that tin and quinine also caused the downfall of Napoleon on the Russian front.

First of all, tin, which was used in the uniforms as buttons. Tin crumbles when the temperatures drop. The soldiers couldn’t button their coats, and the cold penetrated them. 

Quinine, which fights malaria, was not available to the troops either. That portion of Russia has swamps, as do other cold places. Swamps don’t exist just in the Deep South and other tropical areas. So, possibly, malaria helped to wipe out the troops.

This book also examines the chemistry of the elements or compounds. If you don’t like reading about organic chemistry, you can skip this portion of the chapters.

However, you might miss some interesting facts. Caffeine (which I am addicted to in the form of coffee) and tea and cocoa (in chocolate) differ only by one CH3 group!

Check here for the table of contents. Other events that are covered include, the Salem Witch Hunts, the start of industrial dyeing, WWII events,development of anesthesia, contraception, and other topics. I look at some of the dates and can’t believe that if I had lived just less than 100 years ago, a lot of diseases could have done me in!

Books - Book Review - The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

This books counts for the International Book Challenge.

Munna, later known as Balram Halwai, was born somewhere in the interior portion of India. He did learn how to read, but he didn’t have much of a chance in life. He wasn’t even given a proper name; Munna means Boy.

His father is a rickshaw driver, his mother is dead, and the grandmother is a true matriarch. He and his brother survive the best they can by working in tea shops and other minor jobs. He has to practically bribe someone to teach him how to drive; the tutor is so horrible to Balram, telling him he will never drive, because he is of the sweetmaker caste and doesn’t have the brains to learn such a difficult task. He does master the car.

The ruling family comes back to the home village of Balram, and he is employed by them to be the driver.

The novel is set up in an unusual manner; Balram is writing a LOOOONG letter to Wen Jiaboa, a Chinese Premier, who is coming to visit India. Balram’s is a memoir, an essay of the defects of Indian society that prevents its advance, and a reflection of what attributes India needs to adopt to have the economic prosperity of China.

Some of the facts of India not progressing are known to me: corrupt government, disdain for anyone living in the provinces, crazy traffic, high pollution levels, beggars, and discrimination according to caste, even though it’s been outlawed. However, Balram shows us the people who work just a tad better off than the squatters. He has to sleep in a dormitory with the other servants, he has a filthy bed with a net to keep out the roaches and other vermin, he shares a communal bathroom to keep clean, he works 7 days a week, and other indignities. He notices workers who are constructing skyscrapers live in tents next to the building, and there are no sanitary facilities for them.

The one thing that I didn’t like and other reviewers have commented on is that Balram reveals a murder that he commits too early on, in one of the letters to Premier Jiaboa.

Despite this being a bit depressing, I found it hard to put down this novel. I wanted to know what Balram would do next in the big city.

I also liked learning about some little things:

• Empty Johnny Walker bottles can be sold; they make great containers
• Regular working people don’t have time to do yoga or to meditate
• Used, dusty books from the UK and the USA are sold for a fortune in markets
• Chauffeurs and maids can’t go into shopping malls; a guard keeps them out.

Caveat: you need a strong stomach to read this novel. Don’t read anything after a big meal.