I am always looking forward to the beginning of a new year. Who doesn’t like a fresh start? I know I do. Sometimes, I really need it, too.

This year, I NEED a fresh start in a bad way. 2011 sucked hard! There were good parts, as always, but, man, were the hard parts hard. I have no desire to revisit any of them for this blog post, either. I’m content to leave them in the past.

I went back and read my first post of 2011, and I wrote,

” I hope this year brings you joy, and that God gives you exactly what you need. In the words of Henry the Penguin… “No more. No less.”

I guess, painful though it may have been, God probably gave me what I needed.

I read Chris’ blog post today, and he wrote:

“2011 started rough, got a little better, and then went downhill fast. I have never had my faith challenged like I did this year. Thankfully, God brought me through it. Things aren’t where I want them to be, but they are getting better. Hopefully, this time next year, I will be saying goodbye to the best year of my life.

Thinking back about who I am now, I can honestly say I am a better person. I am not what I used to think I wanted to be. I am thankful for that. Five years ago, I would never have thought I would become who I am now. But, I truly believe, I am better.”

I have to say, the last bit he wrote about not being who he used to think he wanted to be, but being thankful for that…that’s true for me, too. I am nothing like who I thought I should or would be, but I can honestly say, even with all my faults and failures and sin and mess-ups, I still like who I am now better than that idea of who I thought I would be. I hope that I will improve, but I feel like I’m headed in the right direction. Whether anyone else agrees or not.

So, upward and onward! Out of this pit of 2011, and on to new places.

I have finished the seventy-second book in my Epic 100 Book Attempt of 2011!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett was an absolutely wonderful book. I had already seen the movie, but I hadn’t read the book. Generally speaking, I almost never like the movie version of a book that I’ve read. With “The Help”, however, the movie was pretty close to the book, and so it was like everything was the same but I got more story for my money with the book.

“The Help” is a story about the black women who were employed as household help by the white women of Jackson, Mississippi. In particular, the book focuses on the characters of Abilene, Minny, and Skeeter. Abilene and Minny are maids, and Skeeter is the privileged, white daughter of a Jackson cotton farmer. Basically, Skeeter’s eyes are opened to what the maids go through working for the white women, and she decides to, in her efforts to become a writer, interview them in secret and anonymously publish a book about their experiences working for white women.

“The Help” is a fantastic novel from both a literary and a sociological standpoint. Every part of it intrigued me. The characters’ multiple relationships were fascinating to me. The civil rights issues were brilliantly brought to light for people like me…who were born too late to truly appreciate the struggle for basic human rights that happened during the Civil Rights Movement in America. I know that this is a work of fiction, but you truly care about what happens to the characters. When they are slighted, you, as a reader, are so involved in their plight that you truly feel the sting of the myriad indignities that they suffered daily.

As an aside, I found it interesting how reading “The Help” has colored the way I feel about things. Chris and I went to a comedy show the other night, and one of the comedians was a black man. He made several jokes about black people that offended me. They weren’t dirty or anything, but just stereotypical. The really offensive part to me was that it was a black man performing to a room full of white people and making disparaging remarks about all black men as a whole. I was sitting there thinking, “This isn’t funny. Some of the men and women in the civil rights movement gave their lives for the cause. So that this guy could peddle his unilateral attempts at comedy for a few laughs?” It just didn’t sit right with me. I guess if a novel can affect the way I think in my day to day life, that is a mark of a good novel.

I have one disclaimer about some of the book’s content.

**Spoiler Alert**

~
There is a really graphic miscarriage description in the book. As a woman who has suffered a miscarriage, it was hard for me to read. It brought back a whole wave of emotion that I haven’t felt in a long time. I just wanted to include the information in this review so that someone who is not ready or willing to go there emotionally isn’t blindsided. It has been over three years since I miscarried my baby, but it can still bring up a lot of emotions, apparently. That’s all. Just a heads up.

I highly recommend this brilliantly written book. Five stars!

I have finished the seventy-first book in my Epic 100 Book Attempt of 2011!

The View From a Monastery by Brother Benet Tvedten is an interesting, easy to read book written by a monk about his experiences living as a Benedictine monk in the Blue Cloud Abbey in South Dakota.

Brother Benet writes short topical chapters about different aspects of life in the monastery, such as work, prayer, dogs, etc., and also short vignettes of some of the Benedictine brothers that he has known and lived with. He gives a little bit of his own personal history and tells how he decided to become a monk. He sheds a lot of light on what being a monk actually looks like, as opposed to what people on the outside assume that it does.

I didn’t see a very strong theme or idea that threaded through the chapters, tying them all together. Instead, I see this book as kind of a collage…lots of individual snapshots that give a good idea of the big picture of living in the Blue Cloud Abbey. I enjoyed it.

I have finished the seventieth book in my Epic 100 Book Attempt of 2011!

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was an intriguing book. I checked this book out because I am intending to read one called “Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir” and I thought I should read the book mentioned in the title before reading it. Seems like I’ll understand it better. Or something.

I had only the barest of knowledge about what “Lolita” was about. I knew it involved a man who was obsessed with and inappropriately, sexually involved with a young girl. And so it was. The book is written from the point of view of the man…Humbert Humbert…and it is obvious that he is writing his memoir from prison. While it reads very much like a true account, it is, in fact, a novel…a work of complete fiction. Humbert fell in love with a twelve year old girl when he was thirteen, but his amorous advances were thwarted by the adults in their lives. The girl died of an illness, and Humbert never got over his love for her. Instead, he found himself continuing to be attracted to girls the age of his deceased first love while he increased in years. He never acted on these attractions until he met twelve-year-old Dolores “Lo” Haze and began rooming in the house where she lived with her mother. He goes to great matrimonial lengths to keep “his Lolita” in his life. After a terrible accident ends her mother’s life, Humbert manages to take Lo and hit the road with her.

I had some reservations about the book, but I found it much less salacious than I assumed. The only sexual event that was described was one in which Lo was not even aware of the sexual activity on Humbert’s part. It was also written in such a way that only someone well acquainted with the English language would really understand what was going on. Nabokov writes brilliantly, and I adore his use of language. “Lolita” is definitely not some titillating erotic story. It is finely crafted literature and an intriguing, if somewhat appalling at times, story.

One thing I really loved about the book was how, in the end, after Humbert had lost everything he so badly wanted, he let himself see how he had robbed Lo of her childhood. He was brokenhearted when he finally admitted that, despite the love he felt for the girl, he had deeply wronged her in a way that he could never redeem.

I really liked this book, despite the controversial topic at its heart. I’m glad I read it.

I have finished the sixty-ninth book in my Epic 100 Book Attempt of 2011!

First Love by Joyce Carol Oates is a very short book. I read it start to finish in about two hours. I’m not really sure if I liked it. I hate when I don’t know if I liked it or not.

This story follows eleven year old Josie who has, along with her mother, moved into an old house with her matronly great aunt and her twenty-something, seminarian grandson, Jared Jr. As Josie’s mother neglects her and spends less and less time with her, her predatory cousin, Jared Jr., begins asserting his will upon Josie. His acts against her get more and more extreme until Josie finally listens to her own voice and reacts against her abuser.

I have been a big Oates fan over the last few months, but some of these books I’ve been picking up at the library are just dreadfully dark. I know one thing for sure. I would hate to ever see inside the mind of Joyce Carol Oates. I’m quite sure it would be terrifying.

I have finished the sixty-eighth book in my Epic 100 Book Attempt of 2011!

My Mortal Enemy by Willa Cather was a bit of a unicorn chaser after the last book I read. The simple beauty of Cather’s writing was very refreshing after the coarse, gruesome story I had just read. I love Cather’s work. Her book, “My Antonia”, is one of my favorite books of all time.

“My Mortal Enemy” is about Myra Driscoll, as seen through the eyes of her young niece, Nellie. Myra turned her back on a life of wealth and ease to run off with the young man she was in love with when she was a young woman. This act had made a heroine out of her, and people talked of the day she sneaked out of her uncle’s house to elope. The first half of this short book is about Nellie hearing of, meeting, and then traveling to stay with her Aunt Myra. The second half of the book finds Nellie grown, and, by chance, living in the same apartment building as her aunt and uncle. Myra is dying, and Nellie spends the last months of Myra’s life ministering to her and learning about her.

This book has a poignant and touching ending that I just loved. We are all our own mortal enemies, after all.

I have finished the sixty-seventh book in my Epic 100 Book Attempt of 2011!

Zombie: A Novel by Joyce Carol Oates

From the book description on Amazon:

Meet Quentin P.

He is a problem for his professor father and his loving mother, though of course they do not believe the charge (sexual molestation of a minor) that got him in that bit of trouble.

He is a challenge for his court-appointed psychiatrist, who nonetheless is encouraged by the increasingly affirmative quality of his dreams and his openness in discussing them.

He is a thoroughly sweet young man for his wealthy grandmother, who gives him more and more, and can deny him less and less.

He is the most believable and thoroughly terrifying sexual psychopath and killer ever to be brought to life in fiction, as Joyce Carol Oates achieves her boldest and most brilliant triumph yet—a dazzling work of art that extends the borders of the novel into the darkest heart of truth.

If you have been reading my book reviews, you know that I am a big fan of Joyce Carol Oates. I love her writing style, and her stories are captivating. Oates’ books tend to be a little bit on the dark side, but they are just so brilliantly written that I love them anyway…even when they grate against my more delicate sensibilities. That said, “Zombie” was just too much for me. The writing was good as always. The story was terrifyingly grotesque, but, much like a horrible traffic accident, you just can’t seem to look away. The premise of the story is that Quentin, a psychopath, becomes obsessed with the idea of creating a zombie to do his bidding (sexually and otherwise). He murders several people in his botched attempts at lobotomies. The second half of the book centers around Quentin’s obsession with a teenage boy whom he chooses to be his zombie. After he makes that choice, the rest of the book was almost too horrible to read.

I did read it, though, and it left me feeling totally disgusted. At the same time, if Oates’ goal was to have an average, decent, compassionate human being be able to understand what goes on in the mind of the most depraved of our species…well, then, she has succeeded. Recognizing that shared spark of humanity in even the most deviant of men is something that is most unwelcome. However, in Oates’ character, it was just the tiniest of sparks. He was truly abhorrent.

So, unless you are wanting to be shocked, grossed out, and acquainted with the thoughts of a deranged man, I don’t recommend this book. Good writing…but the subject matter was just too much for me.

I have finished the sixty-sixth book in my Epic 100 Book Attempt of 2011!

The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a short book that I read for the first time several years ago. I picked it up again last night, and read it start to finish. It is such a good book. I love Steinbeck’s writing, and “The Pearl” is one of my favorites. In it, we follow Kino, his wife, Juana, and their baby, Coyotito, through a jubilant and, subsequently, harrowing few days. Kino and Juana, simple fishing people on their island, are happy with their little family, but, in the first couple of pages of the book, Coyotito is suddenly gravely ill and they are in need of money to pay a doctor. Kino goes diving for pearls and finds “The Pearl of the World”. Suddenly, he has the means to make all of his dreams come true. Unfortunately for him, the world is full of selfish, malicious people who always want to take what you have away.

This short book is very poignant, and has a heart-wrenching ending. I highly recommend it.

I have finished the sixty-fifth book in my Epic 100 Book Attempt of 2011!

Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert is a delightful novel about a girl named, Ruth, the island where she lives, and the lobster-fisherman and their families what inhabit it. This novel is like the famous onion analogy that Shrek uses to describe himself…it has layers. I was thrilled as I read this book when Gilbert would reveal a new part of the story that suddenly changes everything. She did this several times. I just loved it.

Gilbert is a fantastic writer. I already knew this. I have already reviewed two of her books, “Committed” and “Eat, Pray, Love“. They were both intriguing, and I am not disappointed in her ability to write good fiction. “Stern Men” was a great story with interesting, well-developed characters, and a very satisfactory conclusion.

I have finished the sixty-fourth book in my Epic 100 Book Attempt of 2011!

The Land of Elyon Book 2: Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman is the second book in “The Land of Elyon” series. I read book one and reviewed it a week or so ago, and I was anxious to get the second book. These books are actually young adult books, geared toward grades 4-6, but I assure you that they are well written and intriguing, regardless of age.

“Beyond the Valley of Thorns” picks up a year after Alexa, now aged thirteen, succeeded in having the walls surrounding her city, two neighboring cities, and the roads that connected them torn down. A year has gone by, and new dangers have come to Alexa’s attention, and she is called on another quest to help free an oppressed people and fulfill her destiny. In this book, there are giants, ogres, and other creatures that keep things exciting.

I noticed a lot of Biblical allegory in this story, much like C.S. Lewis’ “Narnia”. The Creator…Elyon…created angelic beings…Seraphs…to serve him. One of them, Abbaddon, the most esteemed of them all, seeks to become more powerful, and leads the rest away. After leaving the Tenth City, the Seraphs become giants. As time goes on, Abbaddon’s actions bring these giants to an increasingly evil place, where they are transformed into ogres…purely evil. In this book, Alexa begins hearing Elyon’s voice, brought to her in a still, small voice…like the wind. I’m not sure how complete the allegory is, or even the author’s intention for it. I read this book for the pure enjoyment of the story, not to pick it apart. I did find it interesting, though.

The book ended with a cliffhanger, and those dreaded words…”to be continued”. I can’t wait to read book three, and I’m really hoping my library has the next books. They weren’t there when I checked out book two. Kyra is halfway through the first book, and is really enjoying it a lot. I definitely recommend these books if you have kids that are old enough to read them. I’m sure they would enjoy them. I certainly do.