The Jungle by Upton SinclairMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book has been on my "to read" shelf for some time, but always seemed to get slipped out of place for something more pressing from the library or something more interesting. Well, I knuckled down and dove in and really enjoyed the story. I was gripped by the horrible things that happened to and around this poor immigrant family and how they chose to deal with them. The only thing I didn't care for in the book was the last 30 pages where Sinclair dove into Socialism and how great it is for our society. It really became a rant at that point and lost some of its charm to me. Regardless, I would certainly recommend the book and as far as classics go, this one certainly appealed to me much more than many others I've read.
10. Life and Death in Shanghai, Nien Cheng, 05 Oct 2009
Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien ChengMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was an interesting autobiography from a former prisoner of the Chinese Revolution. I learned a lot about the Kuomintang (Republic of China), Chinese culture and history from 1950-1980, and Communism in China. Ms. Cheng's memory of the events and discussions she was involved in so many years ago was incredible. She went through some terrible things and the stupidity of many aspects of Communism and Marxism were well illustrated with real life examples.
There were no parts of the book that I found offensive or even particularly crude language. My biggest complaint was that the author is fairly wordy, so the book dragged a little during her six years in prison when the same things happened over and over again.
9. The Secret Knowledge of Water, Craig Childs, 13 Aug 2009
The Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert by Craig Leland ChildsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
While the book doesn't contain a strong story line, the point of the story is brought out beautifully. Childs is a student of water. He lives his life searching for and studying water in the deserts of the Southwest. Perhaps some of the draw of this book is that much of it is set in Arizona--from the Grand Canyon to the Mexican border. He trudges through the deserts and canyons of the desert searching for secret pockets of water and rock holes that hold water through the hottest time of the year. He tells of flash floods and terrible tales as well as that two gallon hole he dug in the sand and was able to scrape enough dirty water out of to survive.
The common theme woven throughout the book is the idea that water is the thing that defines these desert scapes, not the lack thereof. It is water that is the blood giving life to the lands that appear to have so little of it. His travels and tales help illustrate these points and his prose is artistic and educated, which makes it enjoyable and somewhat granola-ish to read.
I would recommend the book to anyone who can imagine a long hike in Southern Utah or Arizona where they aren't quite sure where the next water stop will be.
The book is very clean and I can't recall any significant swearing or distasteful content.
8. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson, 10 July 2009
Treasure Island by Robert Louis StevensonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the classic tale of young Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver and their struggles to find the hidden treasure on Treasure Island. I love the book and would highly recommend it as a young teenage read. It was a quick listen (I didn't read it) and quite captivating. I'm going to watch the movie now and see how they did!
7. Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe, 27 June 2009
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DefoeMy review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was thoroughly pleased with Robinson Crusoe. I was a little nervous because I could only checkout the unabridged ebook version of it, but I didn't think it dragged much and I really enjoyed every minute of the book.
I was surprised to learn that this book was the beginning of the English novel, being the first story written in English that did not take parts from other works. Defoe wrote it in 1719!
As you know, this is the story of a young Englishman who sets to the seas and is shipwrecked on an desolate island for 28 years. He first learns how to survive, and recounts in great detail how he was able to make life pleasant for himself and transition from mere survival to pleasant living. He does encounter people on several occasions, including some local cannibals and some mutineers.
Overall it was a great adventure and one I'd recommend to anyone. It did not have any questionable material in any way as far as I am concerned.
6. Cry, The Beloved Country, Alan Paton, 7 June 09
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan PatonMy review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed reading this book a lot. While I did not have many expectations when I picked it up, I found myself drawn to the story of this poor, older priest--umfundisi in Zulu. I don't know that this story was written to depict the struggle between white and black South Africa, but it definitely has some strong elements of that theme. Mostly, it seems to be a story of forgiveness and hope amid a world of death and ugliness. I'd recommend the book to anyone.
Disclaimer: None.
5. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, 19 May 2009
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WildeMy review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is the story of a beautiful young man who gets a picture painted of him when he's young. As he ages, the painting shows signs of his sins and age and he remains looking like the day the painting was completed.
This book reminded me a bit of the Screwtape Letters because Dorian has a friend who constantly is "educating" him about the world, but all of his suggestions and views are evil and wrong. It has a very strong impact on Dorian and takes his innocence from him.
The middle of the book dragged a bit for me, but it definitely picked up again in the last 1/3 of the book. Overall, in interesting read and one worth spending a few weeks of leisure time on.
No content warning or swearing.
4. Riders of the Purple Sage, Zane Grey, 22 April 2009
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane GreyMy review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was not quite what I expected. I can definitely see where Louis L'amour got all his inspiration, but for being the book that started the traditional Western genre, I was a little disappointed. The story was good, but the disappointing part was that the antagonists were Mormons. All of them. The ringleader of the bad guys was the Bishop, and Elder Tull, his counselor, was #2 in command. He portrayed them as rustlers, wife stealers, zealous preachers, killers, and brainwashers. I am not sure what Zane Grey had against Mormons, but this surely did not paint them in a good light. At the same time, I don't think Zane Grey knew too much about Mormons because he didn't mention the Book of Mormon once and I thought he portrayed the LDS settlement/community quite poorly. He forgot to mention that outlying Utah towns were only in existence because of the Mormon settlers.
That said, the story was fun to read and I just pretended that the bad guys weren't of my faith, and it was a lot more enjoyable. A quick read, quite clean, and I'd consider it a "Classic", at least as far as Westerns go! I had to read it after we visited central Arizona where Zane had built a cabin and spent quite some time writing and living in the West.
3. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Richard Bushman, 26 Mar 09
Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard L. BushmanMy review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have gained a totally new perspective of early Church history. I think my Doctrine and Covenants reading will be much more interesting now as I have a better road map of what was going on in the Church at the time. Overall, this book seemed to gel the time frame of the beginnings of the Church from New York to Nauvoo. I thought Bushman did a very good job of presenting fair and fact based opinions of why Joseph was who he was and why he did what he did. He showed that Joseph honestly believed in his own revelations the most and even acted on those revelations when he did not want to. His illustrations of the growing pains of the Church during its inception were very informative and I think I learned a lot about how prophetic revelation was received.
Joseph was a man who learned line upon line and was raised by the hand of God to become something more than he could ever have been without His help. This book illustrated that to me and strengthened my testimony because of it.
2. Arctic Drift, Clive and Dirk Cussler - 22 Mar 09
Arctic Drift by Clive CusslerMy review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is exactly what you'd expect it to be--a cold weather Sahara. I did really enjoy it and was glad I listened to it. It was perfect to keep my interest piqued as I rode to work or drove around in the car. I listened to the whole thing in two weeks or less. The adventure can't get much better than icebreakers, dynamite, scuba diving, and old sailing ships. If you are looking for a fun, adventurous read, this will likely fit the bill nicely.
1. Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, 17 Jan 2009
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson RawlsMy review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read and very simple to read. His colloquial language was kind of fun and not so heavy that you couldn't get through it. It has a great moral too and was a very happy ending type book. The biggest downfall was that it didn't require much thinking or brainpower, but overall it was enjoyable.
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