4 - The Postman by David Brin

I've been meaning to read The Postman for a number of years.  I love post-apocalyptic stories (click here for others I've blogged about).  This one takes place in what was once Oregon, before the Doomwar.  The story is told from the point of view of Gordon Krantz, who was in his twenties when war and plague and famine tore the world apart.  Throughout the story, he travels from town to town dressed as a US Mail Carrier.  The effect his uniform and persona have on the people he meets is fascinating.

My favorite thing about this book might be the circumstances of the apocalypse itself.  There was war, beginning in Eastern Europe.  There were nuclear strikes, and there are still wide swaths of land that "glow".  But the real downfall of society came after, when people in the cities starved and people in the country died of easily prevented or cured plagues, simply because the infrastructure collapsed and people stopped cooperating.  As civilization fell, the survivalists, who were "prepared" and thus lived through the initial onslaughts, began looting, scavenging, pillaging, and enslaving those who were weaker or in need of protection.  Thus in a matter of years the societal structure of North America went from late-twentieth century urban sprawl to a feudal structure more like that of the Dark Ages in Europe.

This book was made into a movie starring Kevin Costner.  I was talking with my movie buff husband about it tonight, and it seems like there were a lot of, shall we say, differences, between the book and the movie.  I'm going to investigate how I might be able to watch it and if I do, I'll come back and post about the differences.

I looked up two words while I was reading this book (I always appreciate books which serve up new words...).  The first word I learned was abatis a defensive obstacle formed by felled trees with sharpened branches facing the enemy.  Like this:

This word comes from a French word meaning to strike down or slaughter, which is exactly what is done to the trees involved.  

The second word I looked up was solipsistic, which basically describes something related to the idea that one is the only person that exists.  In other words, if Gordon dreamed this whole apocalypse, he would be the only thing out of it that really existed, making his dream solipsistic.  I think.  That's a tricky word, grammatically and conceptually.  It's got an interesting etymology, from the Latin solus "alone" and ipse "self" with the lovely English -ism tacked on.  So it kind of means to be alone with oneself, or to believe oneself to be alone.  I like it.  

Page Count: 321
Find it on Amazon!

I blogged about a Tweet (which I can no longer locate) that suggested that Liam Hemsworth might be reading the script to audition for the part of Peeta in the planned Hunger Games movie.

He was born in 1990. I feel ancient. Oh, I'm so old. :P

24 - Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

I have lots to say about this book! First, the saga of getting my hands on it! I visited a certain friend who lives in a certain small town in our state, and we spent the weekend discussing books (which is awesome) and the rights denied to people we love because of who they love. At some point during the weekend, we made the usual trek to the big-box bookstore. After perusing the shelves for some time and discovering that not only was this title missing, this AUTHOR was missing entirely, we asked for help. I approached the desk and had the following conversation:

Me: (bright smile) Hi, I'm looking for a book by David Levithan. The title is Boy Meets Boy.
Clerk: Um...hang on. Yeah, we're showing lots of copys available, but...we don't stock that here. Sorry...
*At this, I glance at my friend."
Clerk: We can order it for you in a few days!
Me: No, thanks, I'm from out of town.

So...I went to my local Barnes and Noble at home and plucked it off the shelf! Unfortunately, I didn't see anything else by Levithan, who is definitely an author I want to read more of. $7.71 later, Boy Meets Boy was mine and all I had to do was explain it to my mom. :)

This book has won numerous awards, including An ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults and A Lambda Literary Award. According to Levithan's website, it's "a dippy, happy gay romance". And so it is.

One review of this book claimed that the prophecy of a world where there was no discrimination against gay or lesbian couples was exactly what the genre needed. I guess because this world is so different from the one we currently live in, it felt contrived and unbelievable. The first half of the book bothered me in more ways than one. However, the ending of the book was so sweet, so heartfelt, and so true that I couldn't help but love it. Now I see why it won so many awards.

My favorite part of the book came when Paul, the openly gay narrator, spent seven days trying to repair his relationship with Noah. The sweet things he did are the types of things any person in love would long for, no matter their sexual preference. It was all so beautiful.

I also really enjoyed the way the group banded together to rescue Tony. I love the relationship between Paul and Tony, two gay boys who knew early on they were not supposed to fall in love. One of the things I've talked at length with a dear friend about is that most literature about/for/by the gay or lesbian community is either angst-ridden or overly sexualized. This book was neither. Even though the society was simply wishful thinking, and it is unlikely that that many unusual characters could ever coexist peacefully in one school or be surrounded by that many supportive and understanding adults, the main characters were real and beautiful, even in their faults. It's nice to see gay and lesbian youth in relationships that aren't romantic in nature. It's nice to see them searching for the one special person they want to be with, just like straight kids do for the most part. I appreciate such a caring, respectful, realistic perspective on these kids.

This has made me wildly curious about other books by this author. He wrote the book Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, which was recently made into a movie. He also wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which I have and am excited about reading. :)

Reset for a New Year!

I read so much from September to December!

I discovered a wonderful series of books that's as old as I am: the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. I devoured the first four books (So You Want to Be a Wizard, Deep Wizardy, High Wizardry, and A Wizard Abroad) and came up short just before Christmas because book five was checked out of the school library. After a fourteen year hiatus, a new book (ten, I think) is due out sometime this year.

I pored over the unusual syntax and lofty vocabulary in Cormac McCarthy's The Road. It was easily one of the most challenging books I've read in quite some time. The movie was excellent and very faithful. However, I appreciated that they left out some of most graphic images, which are easier to digest in print than on screen.

I developed a strong hatred for Darcy Rhone, the selfish, self-absorbed protagonist of Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed. Even though she redeemed herself in the eyes of her friends and family at the last possible second, I still hated her for her selfishness and complete disregard for others' feelings throughout the story!

I revisited a childhood friend in Return to Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus and Winnie the Pooh by A A Milne. I LOVED both, but I never realized that the Hundred Acre Wood was a socialist stronghold. Rabbit especially talks a great deal about the greater good and even proposes a census and a subsequent tax! Eek! :)

I prepared for an early-2010 movie by reading How to Train Your Dragon by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (and translated by Cressida Creswell). It's cute, but I don't think, from the previews, that the movie will be very faithful. Also, it's geared toward intermediate students: fourth and fifth grade boys, specifically. However, I don't think that most students in this age range will be intellectually ready to understand the linguistic jokes and puns which make this so much fun to read.

I know I read other stuff, too. I started The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which I am struggling through. It's somewhat compelling, but extremely depressing and I can only handle it in small doses. I also started Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead and it's a struggle. I'm not really enjoying it all that much, especially considering it's about Robin Hood! :( Finally, I'm still slogging through Inkdeath, which I think I started in 2008 and definitely blogged about finishing on March 22. It's just so...drawn out. Kind of like Breaking Dawn and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it feels like there was such pressure to publish as soon as possible that the process of cutting and slimming down the text was skipped over entirely.

For Christmas, I received Bruce Feiler's Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses, which is absolutely amazing. I don't usually read nonfiction for pleasure, but this is interesting! I desperately want to visit the Holy Land myself. Someday, maybe...

Those bookstore emails come in handy sometimes...

I get emails from Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, and Borders. Interesting how all three start with the letter B. At any rate, those emails sometimes clog my inbox. They irritate me. They are often filled with books I will never read and coupons I will never use. And they always seem to come on the same day! Today's emails, however, brought up several interesting things.

The first is this article from NPR about James Patterson's unusual writing process. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about this. Apparently, Patterson researches a topic and writes his , then sends his notes to a "teammate" who writes the first draft. Then Patterson reads and edits the manuscript until he is satisfied. When he explains it in the article, it sounds so normal. Honestly, upon firs treading the article, my thoughts were along the lines of "How cool! What neat way to work as a team." However, this seems so far removed from my own writing process and from what is considered "usual" that I am struggling to form an opinion of it. The comments on this article brought up another interesting point. This may not be an authentic way to write novels; it may smack of a kind of literary dishonesty or laziness.

I was excited to see the following upcoming books: Return to Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney, and Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies by Emma Walton Hamilton.

Next post: on rereading novels, movie adaptations, and fanfiction (gasp!).

13, 14, 15 - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by J. Berendt, Finger Lickin' Fifteen by J. Evanovich, Outcast by A. Allston

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt

Matt and I read this book together before we went to Savannah for our anniversary. It's a murder mystery and a marvelous character study...of both Savannah's most colorful citizens and the city herself. It was so much fun to explore the city and be able to say "This is where ___ happened!" We visited the Mercer-Williams house and Johnny Mercer's grave in Bonaventure Cemetery. It was great! The movie is also a good adaptation, given that the story is better told in chronological order on the silver screen.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen, Janet Evanovich

This was another fun installment in the Stephanie Plum series! I really wish they would make these into movies or a TV show or something! I love the characters. This one was better than some of the previous books.

Outcast, Aaron Allston

I am so thrilled to see Luke, Han, Leia, Lando, and Wedge back at the forefront of the adventure! I've enjoyed getting to know the next generation through the Yuzhaan Vong invasion and Jacen's regime, but I've been missing the old familiar characters. I think that Allston has done a good job of showing their age and the way they've changed...I hate static characters. I am really looking forward to the rest of this set.

The Princess Bride

I showed the movie The Princess Bride in my class today (it's the last day of school, sue me). My girls were hilarious! They were fussing and scolding Buttercup the whole time! They thought she was a girly-girl and not nearly good enough for Westley. It was interesting to watch them watch the movie and fun to get their perspective on one of my all-time favorite stories!