The Humanity Project

The Humanity Project Jean Thompson 3 / 5	Published 2013 First Sentence "We were afraid of so many things: Of our children, who lived in their own world of casually lurid pleasures, zombies and cartoon killers and thuggish music."
Publisher's Description: After surviving a shooting at her high school, Linnea is packed off to live with her estranged father, Art, who doesn’t quite understand how he has suddenly become responsible for raising a sullen adolescent girl. Art’s neighbor, Christie, is a nurse distracted by an eccentric patient, Mrs. Foster, who has given Christie the reins to her Humanity Project, a bizarre and well-endowed charity fund. Just as mysteriously, no one seems to know where Conner, the Fosters’ handyman, goes after work, but he has become the one person Linnea can confide in, perhaps because his own home life is a war zone: his father has suffered an injury and become addicted to painkillers. As these characters and many more hurtle toward their fates, the Humanity Project is born: Can you indeed pay someone to be good? At what price? Thompson proves herself at the height of her powers in The Humanity Project, crafting emotionally suspenseful and thoroughly entertaining characters, in which we inevitably see ourselves. Set against the backdrop of current events and cultural calamity, it is at once a multifaceted ensemble drama and a deftly observant story of our twenty-first-century society.
Dear Reader, For some reason, I was REALLY eager to read this book for quite some time when it first came out.  But, when I finally got my hands on it, it was nothing like I was expecting.  I loved the idea of examining the philosophy behind what makes a person do good in the world, but the story itself was kind of ... superficial.  Very interesting how the book revolves quite a bit around a school shooting, which feels still a little soon and a bit too raw for a lot of people these days. I got the impression that the book revolved around two single fathers, basically.  One was trying to raise a teen-aged son alone, and was struggling quite a bit to make ends meet.  The other was suddenly raising a teenage daughter who had recently experienced a severe trauma, and who he hadn't seen since she was a baby.  I often got the two men mixed up, though, which made the story a little hard to follow.  The men both felt very pathetic and lost, and their stories seemed strikingly similar.  Which is why it seemed like there was such potential for a good story when their children became friends, as they seemed to have very parallel family situations.  But I don't feel as if the book had much of a focus, and while I enjoyed it as a great character study, the story itself didn't seem to hold up very well. The title of the book implies that it centers around this "Humanity Project" which the reader finds out (maybe halfway through the book, and rather outside of the main story line) is the name of a foundation which a rich widow starts in order to make the world a better place (yes, that is really what the board is tasked with doing).  Much like the wishy-washy nature of the nonprofit organization itself - they don't ever have much direction - the book also followed a similar and very indecisive path.  I was pretty disappointed, because there seemed like so much great material to work with, but it didn't resolve into much.  I didn't really like any of the characters; they all mostly just annoyed me.  And the book started out with so much promise and intrigue: one of the fathers meets a woman on Craigslist and goes out for a drink with her on one of his last dollars (even while his house is about to be foreclosed on) and ends up seriously regretting the decision.  I won't tell you why, because that is probably one of the best parts of the book, and you'll have to read to find out.  I kind of want other people to read the book, too, and let me know what they think, because perhaps I was just missing something big.  I kept thinking I must be.  Maybe it was just my warped interpretation of the story? Yours, Arianna

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Monster on the Hill

Monster on the Hill Rob Harrell 4 / 5	Published 2013
Publisher's Description: In a fantastical 1860s England, every quiet little township is terrorized by a ferocious monster--much to the townsfolk's delight! Each town's unique monster is a source of local pride, not to mention tourism.  Each town, that is...except for one.  Unfortunately, for the people of Stoker-on-Avon, their monster isn't quite as impressive. In fact, he's a little down in the dumps. Can the morose Rayburn get a monstrous makeover and become a proper horror? It's up to the eccentric Dr. Charles Wilkie and plucky street urchin Timothy to get him up to snuff, before a greater threat turns the whole town to kindling.  Monsters of all ages are sure to enjoy this tale about life's challenges, the power of friendship, and creative redemption, packed with epic battles and plenty of wild beasts!
Dear Reader, As the publisher's description notes, this graphic novel was perhaps written for children, but can easily be enjoyed by any reader.  My boyfriend and I both devoured the book in one sitting, and we thought it was really well done.  The concept itself was so unique: a Victorian England where each town has its own monster, which is not scary but rather their claim to fame - as well as a strong source of tourist revenue.  So Stoker-on-Avon is disappointed to have a very ineffective monster, and they decide something must be done about it.  A disgraced doctor and a vagabond boy are roped into looking into the situation, and the story unfolds from there.  What I loved most (besides the great illustrations) were all of the little asides and sarcastic comments which peppered the story - things that could almost go unnoticed without a sharp eye.  The illustrations only add to the reader's enjoyment.  The story is definitely one of learning to be happy with oneself, and to own and make the most of what you have to offer.  But it's certainly done quite differently this time!  Who would've thought of using town monsters and their self-esteem to teach such a lesson? This book was recommended by a co-worker with excellent taste, and I will continue to follow her recommendations if all of them are as good as this one! Yours, Arianna

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This Is Water

This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, About Living a Compassionate Life David Foster Wallace 4 / 5	Published 2009 First Sentence "There are two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, 'Morning, boys. How's the water?'"
Publisher's Description: Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in THIS IS WATER. How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured piece of writing reprinted in The Wall Street Journal and the London Times, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend. Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with every reading.
Dear Reader, As far as graduation speeches go, this one was pretty great - despite its not being the usual fare of one part mushiness and nostalgia, one part rose-colored optimism.  I love David Foster Wallace's work, and his outlook on the world.  And I think that's why this speech resonated with me.  It was all about how you may learn how to view the world in college, but how you truly learn to live in the real world once you leave it.  And how you must continually question your complacency in adult life. It also made me glad to see that Wallace - such a great writer of people - lived his life much like I try to live my own: trying constantly to interpret strangers, and perhaps give them a back story which would explain this sleight or that bout of anger.  Things that seem aimed at me, and that I make the center of my own universe, but which might not have a thing to do with my presence.  (My sister will understand what I mean, especially!) The format of this little book itself was a neat concept, the way it broke almost every sentence (and thus idea) up into a new page, but I found it frustrating to read that way; it made it difficult to inhale the speech as a whole, rather than swallowing the small disparate bits separately.  I'd be eager to re-read this in a more cohesive format, or hear a recording of Wallace's delivery of it. All in all, I'd recommend this quick read to anyone who wants a little bit of real-world inspiration.  I don't think that and Baz Luhrmann's "Wear Sunscreen"* are in the same league, but I do love them both equally, for very different reasons. Yours, Arianna * (The original text was actually written by journalist Mary Schmich.)

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Babbit

Babbit Sinclair Lewis 4.5 / 5	Published 1922 First Sentences "The towers of Zenith aspired above the morning mist; austere towers of steel and cement and limestone, sturdy as cliffs and delicate as silver rods. They were neither citadels nor churches, but frankly and beautifully office-buildings."
Publisher's Description: Prosperous and socially prominent, George Babbitt appears to have everything a man could wish. But when a personal crisis forces the middle-aged real estate agent to reexamine his life, Babbitt mounts a rebellion that jeopardizes everything he values. Widely considered Sinclair Lewis' greatest novel, this satire of the American social landscape created a sensation upon its 1922 publication. Babbitt's name became an instant and enduring synonym for middle-class complacency, and his story remains an ever-relevant tale of an individual caught in the machinery of modern life.
Dear Reader, This book reminded me in many ways of Updike's Rabbit, Run - and I don't think that's just because the titles kind of rhyme.  They both revolve around an indecisive protagonist who is striving desperately to figure out happiness in a postmodern world.  I think I liked this one better, though, perhaps because the main character - despite his many flaws - was much more likable than Updike's.  It's taken me a pretty long time to write the review of this book.  I am unsure why.  I really loved it; it is truly a classic and has so much to say about America at the time.  But...I wasn't quite sure what to SAY about it.  I'm still kind of at a loss for words, except for: I highly recommend it! I did find it interesting that the book was written & took place in the 1920s.  Oddly, I had a difficult time keeping that in mind, for two major reasons: One, I couldn't equate it in time with other books I'd read recently (The Other Typist, The Dressmaker), even though they were written about relatively the same time period.  This, I believe, was due to Lewis writing about an entirely new & different place: suburbia!  And this book examined in depth the fragility of the modern American dream, which the other two books did not do.  The Other Typist, for instance, centered much more around Prohibition than did Babbit, although Babbit's life did revolve somewhat around the illegality of alcohol.  Strangely, though, the author made it feel like this was just a fact of life, and that people were going to drink anyway.  Perhaps it is how society feels these days about marijuana - nobody really seems to care who uses it, but it is still against the law in many places. Two, I kept pausing to think about how so much didn't change for entire decades in the early twentieth century -- this book just as well could have taken place in 1950, rather than 1920.  Or in any of the intervening years!  I often found myself thinking it was written in the post-WWII era.   And when I'd catch myself doing that, I would go off on a tangent thinking about how things didn't change for so many years.  But when they did, they did so exponentially.  Nowadays, if a protagonist uses a flip cell phone instead of a smartphone, the book is already dated for the reader.  How strange is that?! I know this isn't speaking much to the actual quality or content of the book, but I can't really say much about the story itself - there was one, but it was pretty much the vehicle for an examination of poor George Babbit's life.  His experiences as he became roped into being a family man at a young age, found himself in the rat race without even really noticing, first trying to embrace the situation, then rebelling quite drastically, then trying once again to find his place.  A very interesting study of a very distinct slice of life: the America of "yesteryear."  And a man who could be truly be anyone. Yours, Arianna

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Frog Music

Frog Music Emma Donoghue 4.5 / 5	Published 2014 First Sentence "Sitting on the edge of the bed in the front room, Blanche stoops to rip at the laces of her gaiters."
Publisher's Description: Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heat wave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman named Jenny Bonnet is shot dead.  The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days, she will risk everything to bring Jenny's murderer to justice--if he doesn't track her down first. The story Blanche struggles to piece together is one of free-love bohemians, desperate paupers, and arrogant millionaires; of jealous men, icy women, and damaged children. It's the secret life of Jenny herself, a notorious character who breaks the law every morning by getting dressed: a charmer as slippery as the frogs she hunts. In thrilling, cinematic style, FROG MUSIC digs up a long-forgotten, never-solved crime. Full of songs that migrated across the world, Emma Donoghue's lyrical tale of love and bloodshed among lowlifes captures the pulse of a boomtown like no other.
Dear Reader, This book thoroughly enchanted me.  I did partly race through it in order to have read as much as possible before going to see this author give a talk (more on that in a future post!), but I also just didn't want to put it down (or, er, stop listening - I audiobooked this, which I highly recommend doing - great reader!). I don't know what it was about this story in particular, because as you probably know by now, I'm a sucker for historical fiction.  This was just one of many that I've found myself reading lately.  I first loved the setting of this book: 1876 San Francisco, so post both the gold rush and the Civil War, but before the city or state had really settled into their new identities.  This made for a really interesting background to a fascinating real-life story, fictionalized by Donoghue.  I have to admit that I wasn't really the biggest fan of Room, so I was a bit wary of this new book, but I thought the premise sounded promising enough to give it a shot - and boy, am I glad I did!  The historical details she added - everything from burlesque shows to high wheelers to frog-catching to awful "health facilities" which would never stand up in court today - really made the story.  Blanche's former life in a French circus was also fascinating to hear about, especially in light of her new life in America, complete with the awful, opportunistic men who were apparently pretty typical companions to French immigrants at the time.  And their house was based in Chinatown, which at the time still featured oddities such as new laws against the use of bucket yokes to carry large loads. I just loved all of the details that Donoghue added to her story to make it so much more real and vivid to the reader.  This was especially great because the bones of the story (Jenny's reputation and murder) actually did happen in 1876 California, and Donoghue crafted her novel around what she thought might have transpired on those hot summer nights to lead up to Jenny Bonnet's death. The friendship between Blanche and Jenny was fun to watch develop, and was certainly the central part of the story.  Even though they had just met, they had a relationship much like dissimilar sisters.  They both leaned on and supported each other, without really even realizing they were doing so.  Blanche often found Jenny frustrating, as she watched the woman deliberately dress like a man (there were also laws against that at the time) and get herself into various scrapes and adventures on a regular basis.  Jenny herself often seemed somewhat simple at times, but really she just enjoyed the little things in life, and didn't let others stop her from what she wanted to do.  It was a brave way for a woman to be at that time, and it's probably why I loved the character so much.  Jenny definitely taught Blanche how to take care of herself for the first time in her life.  Her influence was life-changing, and her legacy continued on long after she was murdered. Yours, Arianna

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Life After Life (review by AmberBug)

Life After Life Kate Atkinson 4/5	Published 2013 First Sentence "A fug of tobacco smoke and damp clammy air hit her as she entered the cafe."
Publisher's Description: On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born, the third child of a wealthy English banker and his wife. Sadly, she dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in any number of ways. Clearly history (and Kate Atkinson) have plans for her: In Ursula rests nothing less than the fate of civilization. Wildly inventive, darkly comic, startlingly poignant — this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best, playing with time and history, telling a story that is breathtaking for both its audacity and its endless satisfactions.
Dear Reader, I have been waiting to read this book ever since Arianna wrote a glowing review of it (check it out). I'm glad she convinced me to read the book, because I really enjoyed it. I thought the idea of reading someone living life over and over again would get annoying, but the Author makes very good use with repeating subjects (hardly at all) and jumping through time (skipping long bits to catch us up). I really appreciated the timeline of the story and the delicacy in which she traveled on it. Ursula, the main character, is the one who ends up living her life over multiple times... giving her the chance to set things right and change her future/history. In the beginning life, she is strangled by her umbilical cord, making her first life very short and tragic. Whenever Ursula dies, the "black bat of darkness" comes and then snow falls (Arianna points out the symbolism of that in her review). The remarkable thing surrounding each life, is that she gets to change her situation (sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse). I loved the anticipation of the "do-over" that you started to realize was coming. My one gripe revolves around this as well though, I kept reading a little too quickly... anxious to get to the next part. This might be my own problem though, I get overly curious and anxious sometimes and this can be detrimental when reading a book that needs you to stay in the "here and now" without looking to what might be ahead. I don't think this is a universal problem and it probably didn't have the same effect on others reading this book. When something went "wrong" in her current life, I was just focused on what she would do to fix it in the "next" life. Smartly, the Author doesn't make Ursula's memory of her past lives clear cut. Each time she comes across an event that was troublesome in her past life, she has a feeling (almost like a dream) that something should be done about it but she doesn't really know why. The vague cloud of memory is a nice touch and might have been my favorite small detail to the crazy idea behind reincarnation (if you'd call it that). I loved the way the story progressed (even if it had me wanting to jump ahead), each life was unique and Ursula had fantastically unusual experiences in all of them. One of my favorite moments was when she rescues (more than once) a dog she dubs "lucky" from a building about to come down. I almost wished there would be more to the dog and the connection they might have shared. Alas, he plays a very small part but still won my heart over. I also liked how in each different life, she seemed to have different connections with her siblings, the situations changing the closeness she felt with different ones. In one life, she was best friends with her sister, Pamela (told her absolutely everything), while in another life... her younger brother was the one she constantly turned to. I found that fascinating, the turns and bends through life becoming waves that change small things but effect the larger picture (such as sibling relationships). To sum up my thoughts on this book, I loved reading it. Atkinson has a beautiful way with words and she thinks outside of the box (a value I absolutely love). I wish I could have slowed things down a bit, my anticipation got to me and I found myself on edge too many times. Again, this is my own silly personality and I shouldn't fault the book for this. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes to read thoughtful literary novels with beautiful writing. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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Saga, Volume 2 (Saga #7-12)

Saga, Volume 2 Brian K. Vaughan (Writer), Fiona Staples (Illustrator) 4.5/5	Published 2013 First Sentence "<---This is my old man  back when he wasn't."
Publisher's Description: From award-winning writer BRIAN K. VAUGHAN (Pride of Baghdad, Ex Machina) and critically acclaimed artist FIONA STAPLES (Mystery Society, Done to Death), SAGA is sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. Thanks to her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana, newborn baby Hazel has already survived lethal assassins, rampaging armies, and horrific monsters, but in the cold vastness of outer space, the little girl encounters her strangest adventure yet... grandparents. Collects Saga issues #7-12
Dear Reader, The magic continues! So, it's not a fluke... this really is a fantastic comic. Just look at the cover, look at that illustration!!! Just look at it. Amazing, right? Yes, even though Marko is covered in blood, it's still amazing. Yeah, thought so. Volume 2 continues where Volume 1 left off, we are thrust into the back-story of Marko and Alana, finally! We get to learn how they met, where they come from and what made them want to risk everything for love. All this while still being followed by assassins and trying to escape the grips of everyone who wants the baby, Hazel. More adventure, some mysteries are solved but more are added, the plot thickens, the characters develop and the quirkiness continues. Imagine a seal in overalls walking a walrus on a leash!?!? Since I don't want to give much away, the reviews of these volumes will be short and sweet... but... You haven't read this yet? What the HECK are you waiting for??? Start with Volume 1, which you can click to read the review here. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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