Pillars of the Earth and Kindle

So I haven't updated for a while. Between the end of a grading period at school, preparing for a three day Model United Nations student trip, and picking up the 900+ page "Pillars of the Earth" I havent' had much time or content to contribute.

I read one other Follett book, "Eye of the Needle," last fall. Set in the world of espionage and civilian survival in England during WWII the setting was very different than the story of the construction of a middle age cathedral in England. Despite the differences both books employed similar methods. Various story lines or characters interacted in ways that were somewhat predictable by the time they came together but interesting, complex, and believable enough to make them delightfully frustrating and suspensful. I recommend both both books highly.

I decided to pick this book at such a busy time because I am preparing to teach this time period in my 9th grade history classes. I wish I could make my students read it. From a historical perspective I really liked how it represented the feudal system of land use and social classes. It had vivid depictions of monarchial intrigue, the power of the church, not so noble knights, forest outlaws, and most importantly a broad and descriptive portrayal of the peasants, millers, stonemasons, other craftsmen, and traders. All of this was done without neglecting the important role of women in all of these professions (plus one of their own). However, as my wife points out, his "bedroom scenes" are clearly written by a man. I suspect she would say the same if she read "Eye of the Needle."

One of the greatest experience I had reading this book was trying out the amazon kindle. I was about 600 pages in when I had to pack for my U.N. trip and didn't want to lug around a monster sized book just to read the last 300 pages. Enter kindle. My school library has one available and they allowed me to purchase one book. Every time a person buys a book it's added to their kindle library so that selections for future readers are increased. Anyway, I loved carrying around the light little kindle. Never had battery problems. The digitial ink has no brightness or glare like a computer screen. I have wanted to have a kindle since they came out. I held out for the second version but it's place on the wish list has dropped to #3 for now (#1 new laptop, #2 iphone). The only trouble I had was finding my spot in the book without remembering which chapter I was in when I left the real book behind.

A Dose of Science

Full disclosure: I did not finish this book. I think I will come back to it, perhaps more as reference than as a read for pleasure. Angier is taking on a difficult task in trying to summarize all the basics of science in one simple book. While this seems like an incredibly difficult task my problem was that she was spending too much time an particular concepts and ideas when I was ready to move on.

Of course, it's hard to match the balance of history, science, and humor that Bill Bryson exhibits in his similar effort with A Short History of Nearly Everything. I knew that this book wouldn't be able to match Bryson's but was hoping to get a bit more focus on the actual science than an the history of the discoveries and the people behind them. I guess it's just too much for one read as I look ahead at the topics of the next chapters with enthusiasm....but just can't read it now. In short, I recommend this book with dosing instructions: 1 chapter a month. Perhaps this is also why I like the Best American Science and Nature Writing series as well. Small doses that I can pick up and enjoy without having to feel that I need to read the book cover to cover right away.

I think my former science teachers would be satisfied to know I'm still interested in their discipline, even if its just an occasional chapter's length at a time.

Glasses

I don't consider myself a prolific reader but have been on a great pace since the holidays. Having graduate school finished has been very helpful. A few flights without wrestling children has also helped. But the biggest difference has been the glasses.

I am not one to cringe about my age or dread the approach of a birthday. Not that I necessarily feel young. My attempts to play soccer over the last few months have been evidence enough that my body is not what it used to be (the mirror tells the same story). I guess I'm just not that sensitive to my own mortality and signs that I am inching closer to death's door. So it wasn't much of a blow to my ego when I decided to give reading glasses a try.

I can see fine without the glasses but my eyes get tired after reading for 15 minutes. Now I can read for much longer and much more comfortably. A pleasing result. At least I can hold off looking at canes and dentures for the immediate future. Knock on wood.

Heroes of the Valley

After a long streak of non-fiction it was nice to read some simple adolescent fantasy. I have long been looking for a story in this genre with a Viking theme. I ran across this book in target and was pleasantly surprised to find that it seemed fit the bill. Of course, it really got my attention because it was written by Jonathan Stroud. He is the author of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. That series didn't end as strongly as it started but I would reread the first book again just to laugh at the footnotes.

I loved the darkness of the trows, evil creatures living and attacking from under the ground who had been banished to live beyond the rock cairn borders of the valley. They were described with a good balance of horrific detail and unknown mystery to make them very creepy. It was fun to follow the progression of the main character, Halle, from awe and revernce of the mythical heroes of the past to becoming a hero in his own right but in a much more realistic and meaningful way. The book is up for a Book Video Award in the UK. I don't know much about this award but this link has a nice video clip that sets up the legend behind the story and finishes with a glimpse of Halle and his uncle.

Historically, there was a lot less Viking in the book than I was hoping for but the setting and many parts of the story fit the general theme well. It's a little less Viking than Megan Whalen Turner's series,"The Queen's Thief" is Greek. Turner's geography is based on ancient Greece and the story is full of tales of the gods and conflicts between rival city-states that mirror Greek history in a very interesting way.