My 2012 Reading Journal

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Audiobook
US author
Originally published 2011
Review: A few years ago I read the book "Hitler's Willing Executioners" which focused on how the German people succumbed to Hitler's mesmeric appeal. This book, "In The Garden of Beasts", focuses on the despairing frustration faced by our US Ambassador to Germany, William Dodd, as he tried to communicate his dire predictions of Hitler's intentions. It was an interesting story, a true one, and I am not sure whether I would say it was discouraging or encouraging in terms of how the US government was thinking at the time of this set of events....1933 to 1938. This is one of many stories which helps illuminate the ease with which people can be manipulated by a charismatic leader.

Audiobook
Originally published 2009
#11 in Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series
US author
Review: What do you get when you combine Shakespeare's play within a play within a play, Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" and Fernando Pessoa as translator/anarchist/poet/philosopher? Why what could it possibly be but the 11th installment of Laurie R. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. Mary finds herself "awash in a sea of megalomaniacs" and having a rollicking, swashbuckling adventure. I really enjoyed King's witty writing and chuckled out loud several times. You don't have to have read the earlier novels, but I think they are worth reading and just enhance the level of enjoyment, particularly in terms of the Russell-Holmes interactions. Fun read!

Audiobook
Originally published 2009
Japanese author
Review: The language in this novel is strongly reminiscent of Haruki Murakami in its starkness and psychological nature. The reader is taken inside the mind of a highly accomplished pickpocket in Japan which is a fertile field of moral ambiguity. What makes a thief tick? What does a thief give up to be good at what he does? What does a thief run towards and run from? These are a few of the issues addressed in this story. Strongly recommend taking this revealing psychological journey.

Audiobook
Irish author
Narration by David Hyde Pierce
Originally published1726
Review: No wonder this novel is considered a classic which has been enjoyed "in the nursery" and in the library! Jonathan Swift wrote a story in the 1700s which is absolutely timeless. On one level this is a delightful fantasy romp to imagined lands with amazing inhabitants. However, do not be deceived. This is a philosophical treatise written with tremendous wit and a profound message about the author's desire for truth, indeed his bottomless pit of want for truth. The author levels his satiric wit at the following topics and fires away: religion, travel tales, politics, sex, relationships, colonialism, capitalism, prejudice, social superficiality, prejudice, stereotypes and more. Anyone who has traveled to a culture which is vastly different from their own and reveled in the experience will likely appreciate this book, and those who have not but harbor strong opinions about those folks from another culture......well, it should be required reading! Go ahead, read it and laugh out loud, smile, wince, cringe, and love it!

Audiobook
Originally published 2011
US author
Review: What does it take to induce a state of wonder? Would American researchers induce it in the indigenous people of the Brazilian Amazon? Would the possibility of a miracle drug which induces lifelong fertility do it to American researchers? Would the sight of an anaconda trying to squeeze the life out of a young boy do it to a boatload of friends? Or would something as simple as a family reunion do so for a friend and colleague? Read the wonderful tale of journeys to a state of wonder as experienced by scientists,, surgeons, and people who are just plain human to find the answers. Ann Patchett continues to know how to weave a multi-layered tale which pulls in the reader and keeps them engaged to the last word. Themes of this story include: friendship, cross-cultural respect, joy, sorrow, transformation and determination. It is also a sad statement of the lies we tell to achieve our needs. Very good book!