Awed by an Author

I feel so fortunate in living at this time, in this place in the world where I have access to magnificent books, and good friends who recommend them. At the same time, I feel a lot of guilt about being so unaware of the actual suffering of other women. Not that I could have done anything, but women as a group could have, and we should have known.
I love our country deeply, but hate the fact that we Americans allow ourselves to be so isolated from the rest of the world. Try learning anything of any depth from the ordinary media. Ha!
All the above was inspired by reading two books written by Kahled Hosseini. They are Kite Runner (about 2005), and A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007)
Both books were heart-breakers. They are set in Afghanistan in the very recent past.
Kite Runner tells the story of two boys who grew up together in an Afghan city. The narrator was the son of a rich man; the other boy the son of a servant. Their friendship is shattered by a betrayal, but the love continues, though unrecognized by one of them. I feel certain that the book is at least somewhat autobiographical, but don't recall any confirmation of that.
A Thousand Splendid Suns tells of two women. We meet them as children of very different backgrounds, but as a young adult (15!), each of them is married to the same man, who is a miserable excuse for a human being. The book tells of living under the Soviet occupation, the Taliban, and all the way to the current situation.
I am not getting old and easily moved to tears, but the author makes you love these women and care deeply about what happens to them. Read it!

Not a book, but a movie

Mike, my husband, and I watched the movie Kelly's Heroes in 1970. Admittedly, that was 37 years ago, but we remembered it as a good, funny movie. I remembered Donald Sutherland as a spaced-out hippie, I remembered his tank that shot paint and played loud music, and I remembered that that these army guys were trying to get some gold bars that were in a German bank behind enemy lines (the movie was set in WWII).
Since we subscribe to Netflix, and love it, we thought we'd like to see this movie again.
Decades make a big difference in perspective.
Yes, it had funny moments, and it's still a good movie. I don't know about Mike, but what I saw was greed, death and destruction.
The earlier memory was more fun, but this realization was more accurate.

Old, New (to me) and Wonderful

Since the last post, I read a couple of mysteries by Harlan Coben, whose books are always good. However, since I read so many mysteries, I instantly forget the plot, and sometimes buy (as a used book) or check out the same one. If it's a library book, I simply return it, or I use a purchased one as a trade-in.
As a change of pace, I then read Final Gifts -- subtitle: Understanding the special awareness, needs, and communications of the dying -- by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley (1992). I believe the subtitle tells you probably as much as you might want to know about this one, other than that I found it gentle, factual and worthwhile.
The main subject of this post, though, is High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver (1995). I thought I had read most of her books, but somehow, I missed this one. Why didn't any of you guys tell me about it??? I don't remember enjoying a book this much in a long, long time , if ever. This is a collection of essays Barbara has written over the years. She writes of a hermit crab; weather in Tucson; her career; childhood; a secret slut society; divorce; living in Spain; a visit to Africa; traversing a volcano in Hawaii; being in a rock band; and well, you get the idea. I love her attitude about almost everything. If I had to be lost on that mythical island with only one book, I take this one. It gives you so darn much to think about.

I'm not THAT zippy!

Are you thinking "Wow! A review on the 4th, the 5th and the 7th. This person is one fast reader". I am a fast reader, but didn't read three books in four days. I was reading them all at the same time.
The God Delusion was heavy, so I read some, then started another book which I also couldn't stay with steadily, so I read (part of) the Cornwell book as an alternative. Here's a short report on the middle one.
It was Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (2003).
I liked and didn't like it, though never doubting that it's a good book. The author is a professor of literature, and while I would have adored her as an instructor when I was much younger, discussions of and analyses of major fiction aren't exactly my cup of tea now. That said, let me say that I very much enjoyed the stories that disclosed so much of life in Iran. The women in the book were bold and courageous -- and very likeable.
If for no other reason, you should read the book to learn a little about Iranian women.

A Different Perspective

I always think I read everything that comes along, but have come to realize that I really don't. I don't read romances, westerns, regular detective stories, and not much in the self-help line anymore (Could I have given up?).
If those are your kind of books, please don't look here for any reviews of them.
I do read lots of political books, courtroom dramas, quality mysteries -- Richard North Patterson, John Grisham, and others -- and books about religion. Most of the latter are negative, but I read a spiritual one every now and then for balance.
I just finished The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (2006). Dawkins is a famous biologist who is known also as an atheist. The book got a little over my head in the middle (physics??!), but that was the only part that I didn't enjoy.
It was extremely well-written, and leaves you with much to think about.
Coming soon: one on spirituality.

Big Disappointment

Most of us who enjoy a well-written mystery have enjoyed Patricia Cornwell's novels for several years. We've known her main character, Kay Scarpetta, so well that she seems real to us. While I've forgotten the title (too many years ago), I'll never forget the impact of reading about the brutal slaying of Kay's lover, Benton. I actually cried, and there are very few books that can affect me that way.
I felt angry and somehow cheated, or at least manipulated when the next book revealed that Benton's death had been a hoax.
In subsequent books, Kay has moved, her life has changed, and so have the other characters that surround her. In my opinion, the books have not been as good as the earlier ones, but they're still written by Patricia Cornwell, so how could that be bad?
I just found out. The latest (as far as I know), At Risk, stinks. All the characters are new, unlikeable, and boring. I gave up at about the halfway point.
I didn't think Patricia Cornwell could write a bad book. I was wrong.

A Recent Find

My daughter and I share a common interest in "religious sightings", such as The Holy Tortilla, The Chocolate Virgin, Jesus on Grilled Cheese, and others. So when I saw a library book titled The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard (2006), of course I had to try it.
Hey, it's a really good book. Small Plains is a small town, and the female in the title is not a virgin. When the townspeople find a young woman's body which they are unable to identify, they give her a Christian burial, and as years go by, a legend grows that she was a virgin and is subsequently credited with performing miracles for those who pray to her.
There is another story being told at the same time about two teenagers who are truly in love. The scene where they decide to consummate their relationship is one of the sexiest I've ever read. I'm not a fan of gratuitous sex scenes written to sell books, but this is instrumental to the story. You can almost feel the heat between these two.
I have since read sever books by Nancy Pickard, and she's always good. I liked this best of all.