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Three books have made their way into my hands over the past couple of weeks. The two photographed above — ‘B’ is for Burglar by Sue Grafton and Jane and the Genius of the Place by Stephanie Barron — were found on the table of books in my university’s library labeled “FREE”. I have read the first book in Grafton’s series and while I didn’t love it, I have always wonder if my so-so feelings were due to the audiobook rather than the story itself. Barron’s series star Jane Austen and I would like to read this book for Advent with Austen.
The third book, which is not pictured, is Linore Rose Burkard’s Before the Season Ends. This eBook was a free download for Kindle, and I have enjoyed the sixty pages I read over the weekend. Unfortunately, my school work is beginning to pile up and I have to set this book aside for a while.
Despite the poor representation of Darcy on the cover of my copy, Jeffers attempt to tell Ftizwilliam Darcy’s Story produced one of the more plausible adaptions of this beloved character’s point of view.The title comes for Jeffers’ decision to focus on Darcy’s three passions — Elizabeth, Georgiana, and Pemberley — and the challenges trying to mesh all three pose on his person.
The novel begins at the start of Austen’s novel and continues on for a few months after the Darcys’ marriage. I have to applaud Jeffers for not succumbing to the notion that Darcy’s flaws dissipate over the night. Not only does the reader see him struggle before and after his first proposal but we are also privy to his struggles after Darcy’s marriage to his beloved Elizabeth.
Purists would be happy to find that Jeffers does not provide a lot of detail about the periods where Darcy is away from Elizabeth. Other than her epilogue, she sticks quite closely to the narrative provided by Austen. However, I missed this section; I would have liked to seen what Darcy was up to as he was nursing his wounds.
Even so, Jeffers’ retelling is quite good. Her representation of Darcy is one of the closest to that of my own interpretation.
Others’ Thoughts:
Book Mentioned:
- Jeffers, Regina. Darcy’s Passions: Fitzwilliam Darcy’s Story. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris, 2007. Print. 308 pgs. ISBN: 9781425781286. Source: PaperBackSwap.
Advent with Austen:
Hosted by Alex of The Sleepless Reader, Nymeth of things mean a lot, Iris of Iris on Books, Teadevotee, and Yvann of Reading, fuelled by Tea, Advent with Austen is meant to celebrate the 200 years since Jane Austen published her first novel, Sense and Sensability. The celebration runs during Advent, November 27 to December 24, 2011. To participate during this time, participants must read or watch Austen-related items: books by her, about her or modern re-imaginings and films.
My youngest uncle has one of the largest, most eclectic collection of coffee table books I’ve ever seen. He told me during my most recent visit to his place that he actually doesn’t purchase the books for their content but rather for how well they match the decor. To each there own, I guess.
Subtitled “A History Of Uncommissioned Urban Art”, this book examines the rise and global reach of graffiti or urban art, if you are so inclined to call it. The book includes large colorful photographs of these unsanctioned works of art but is rarely accompanied by an explanation of what the picture or sign or words mean.
Perhaps that was my biggest complaint about the book. I didn’t always “get” what the artist was trying to say and some of the “art” really leaned towards the side of urban blight for me. Some of the artwork, particularly that in section entitled “Magical Thinking”, was just too out there for me.
I did, however, love the sections on urban art that makes political statements and the range the book includes. There’s pictures from the wall in Israel-Palestine and a picture asking if women have to get naked to be included in the Met. (Less than 5 percent of the artists in the Modern Art Sections are women but 85 percent of the nudes are female). Certainly worth a perusal.
(Note: You can preview 100 pages of the book at the publisher’s website.)
Book Mentioned:
- Seno, Ethel, ed. Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art. Köln: Taschen, 2010. Print. 320 pgs. ISBN: 3836509644. Source: Borrowed.
Böll finished the manuscript that would later become this novel in August 1950. But publishers at the time were unsatisfied with the novel, concerned that the German public would have no taste of novels dealing with World War II and its aftermath. Published as Der Engel schwieg in Germany, this novel would not be published until 1992 in time for what would have been Böll’s seventy-fifth birthday.
I picked up this novel for the Literature and War Read-a-Long hosted by Caroline of Beauty is a Sleeping Cat; this book also counts for German Literature Month hosted by Caroline and Lizzie of Lizzie’s Literary Life. The novel follows Hans Schnitzler as he takes one identity after identity and navigates war-torn Germany after the day of the capitulation. Among the ruins of the city, Hans meets Regina Unger, yet another war widow and a woman who has just lost her baby, as he searches for the widow of a comrade.
Bread, the symbol of both physical and moral survival, is a key part of the novel. Hans and everyone else in Germany are concerned about finding food for physical sustenance. Yet the church that gives Hans bread ends up also becomes a source of moral sustenance in addition to physical sustenance. There is also Regina, a symbol of survival all to herself.
Unfortunately, I think I liked the idea of this novel than I liked the actual book. I just could not loose myself in the pages and I was incredibly aware of each passing minute. The novel did not pack the necessary punch it needs to be truly remarkable for such a short book.
Book Mentioned:
- Böll, Heinrich. The Silent Angel. Translated by Breon Mitchell. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994. Originally published 1992. Print. 182 pgs. ISBN: 0312110642. Source: Library.
Subtitled “A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty”, my economics development class has been using Banerjee and Duflo’s book as a textbook for our discussion on the real nature of poverty. Part One covering the private lives (known in economics as the micro-scale) is as far as my class will go with the book. I hope to finish the book after my final examination in two weeks. For now, though, I thought I would pen some thoughts on the five chapters I have read.
The first five chapters cover what are considered the most important measurements indicative of poverty — hunger, poor health, lower education, and high fertility. Each chapter looks at the big-picture, or macro, story about the measurement in question and then attempts to dispute or prove common held beliefs on the micro level. For example, the poor are said to have poor health because they are unable to afford preventative measures such as mosquito nets to prevent malaria or an electrolyte treatment for diarrhea. However, Banerjee and Duflo prove that the poor actually bypass such “low-hanging fruit” for more expensive, curative treatments.
Or, in the case of hunger, it is commonly held that the poor cannot afford to purchase more food and improve their nutrition. Their low levels of nutrition mean they are too weak to perform well at their jobs and are therefore stuck in what Jeffrey Sachs calls a poverty trap. However, the poor actually spend a sizable chunk of their income on alcohol, tobacco, and festivals/funerals.
It’s an interesting read that certainly forces a person to challenge commonly held beliefs about the poor. Just don’t look to Banerjee and Duflo to offer solutions to these problems because, at least at the point where I am in the book, there are none to give. The data both proves and disproves the authors’ hypothesis.
Book Mentioned:
- Banerjee, Abhijit V. and Esther Duflo. Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty. New York: Public Affairs, 2011. Print. 303 pgs. ISBN: 9781586487980. Source: Purchased.
