February 6th, 2009 kellyschnell
This book tells the amazing true-life story of Greg Mortenson – a man who has devoted his life to promoting peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan primarily through building schools and educating children. His story is both both inspiring and daunting. Inspiring because it demonstrates the change that one selfless man can inflict. Daunting because it demonstrates the change that one selfless man can inflict. So much for using “I’m only one person” as an excuse for sitting on my butt… When you are willing to set aside your wants and needs and personal comfort, you are freed to focus on the lives of others, to empower them and bless them and make their lives better.
I love Mortenson’s attitude toward the fight against terrorism – it’s not about scare tactics, or weaponry, or implementation of American culture and systems. It’s about providing the often-desperate impoverished people in these rural areas of Pakistan with an alternative to the existing Muslim schools which often exclude girls and indoctrinate young boys with extremist beliefs. It’s about respecting other cultures, empowering them with the knowledge of a well-rounded education, trading our arrogance for humility. So much easier said than done, I understand, but isn’t it clear that the U.S. government’s current approach has not worked? Time to try something else, maybe?
Read this book.
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February 1st, 2009 kellyschnell
This book was the subject of my very first monthly book club meeting. Several girlfriends and I have decided to read a book together each month and then convene on a Saturday morning for coffee and discussion. Our first book choice, unfortunately, turned out to be rather mediocre, and all of us agreed that we had a hard time really connecting with any of the characters in Run. I’ll spare you any of the uninspiring details. However, I will sing the praises of this whole book club idea. It’s a great motivation to read more, and a fabulous way to regularly connect with friends. I’d say that only about half of our discussion yesterday really focused on the book, but that was ok, because I’m in this for the friendship-building more than anything else. And it was neat to hear other how other women’s interpretations and impressions differed from my own (though we all generally agreed that this was a so-so read overall). Shane and I have been blessed with a wonderful group of common friends here in Seattle (rather than the my friends/his friends situation we had in California), but there is still great value in taking time to just hang with the ladies. And the fact that we’ve chosen meet at Macrina Bakery, which serves the most fantastic lemon lavender coffee cake, definitely doesn’t hurt things…
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December 27th, 2008 kellyschnell
I was determined to read this book before watching the movie, and now that I’ve finished it, it’s hard to believe that a film version could live up to the written piece. Much of The Kite Runner is set against the backdrop of a poverty-stricken and oppressive Afghanistan – a picture so devastating that I want to believe it was exaggerated for the sake of drama. But the more I look into the power and practices of the Taliban movement, the more I fear that the scene set in this story isn’t too far removed from what so many Afghans have experienced. It’s horrific. Sickening, really.
But as a counterpoint the devastation his country has seen, the author brings to light the beauty that can be found in the Afghan culture and family traditions. Of course, I should be wary of relying on fictitious novels as a reliable source for actual events and customs, but I do believe this book offered a glimpse into a side of Afghan life that I otherwise never would have experienced. A good read. Sad, to say the least, but intertwined with just the faintest glimmer of hope.
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November 29th, 2008 kellyschnell
I’m such a sucker for these female-solidarity, strong-women-making-it-on-their-own types of novels. Charms for the Easy Life is the story of a girl, her mother, and her grandmother living life together during the trying times of World War II. These women are unlike anyone you’ve ever met, but still somehow incredibly real. The grandmother is this headstrong, quirky doctor without a license who removes warts at dinner parties and always speaks her mind. The mother is dramatic and glamorous. And the daughter is quiet, bright, and a thoughtful narrator. This was a beautiful story – heartfelt, but not sappy, and cleverly balanced with humor and drama. Two thumbs up.
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October 29th, 2008 kellyschnell
A friend of mine saw that I was reading A Clockwork Orange and remarked, “Wow, I didn’t know you were so dark…” Well, I didn’t know that this book was so dark when I picked it up a month ago. Brutal beatings, intoxication, vandalism, rape, all within the first couple of chapters. If I were watching the movie, I would have closed my eyes through many of these violent scenes. But since it is difficult to get through a book with your eyes closed, I pushed through. And as I read on, I understood that this wasn’t violence for violence’s sake, but it was the set-up to a very difficult question: can true “reform” be forced upon a criminal, and if so, should it be done without any regard to what it actually costs the reformed? This brutal, remorseless narrator is brainwashed and manipulated into a weak, sniveling, choice-less shell of a man that has very little control over his actions and state of mind. Is this progress? At least this now-spineless being isn’t physically or emotionally capable of hurting anyone other than himself, but is it humane to strip a person of their ability to make choices? Big questions. A good read.
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September 30th, 2008 kellyschnell
I really wanted to like this book – the fantastical story of a group of kids that travels through alternate worlds in a mission to for the sake of saving summer (and all of humanity). I figured Summerland would be the perfect summer read. But, yawn. I had a hard time getting through this one. It was slow, the writing seemed disjointed and inconsistent, and I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters. And I knew I wasn’t into this book by page 30. Yet I insisted on persevering all the way through to page 500. I have this compulsion about finishing a book once I start it, even if I’m not the least bit taken with what I’m reading. I used to think this was a positive trait, but I’m realizing now how much time I actually end up spending/wasting on this stuff that I don’t even enjoy. Is there any shame in putting a book away after only a couple of chapters? Maybe not. Especially when I think about how many other fantastic pieces of literature I could be discovering in the meantime. And so I’m going to have to rethink my stance on “finish what you start” when it comes to novels. Sometimes the perseverance just isn’t worth it.
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August 8th, 2008 kellyschnell
I’m not usually a big fan of short stories, since I really like to become attached to the characters in the books I read, but I really ended up getting into this book of stories by Lorrie Moore. I was looking for a light, fun read, since I’d just finished wading through all the relatively boring material for my last architectural test, and this fit the bill. It was not particularly challenging or complex, but each of the stories was clever and well-written, with characters that I really started to “get to know” in the space of just 10 or 20 pages. Moore’s wit and sarcasm showed through in passages like this (from “You’re Ugly, Too”):
“She had to learn not to be afraid of a man, the way, in your childhood, you learned not to be afraid of an earthworm or a bug. Often, when she spoke to men at parties, she rushed things in her mind. As the man politely blathered on, she would fall in love, marry, then find herself in a bitter custody battle with him for the kids and hoping for reconciliation, so that despite all his betrayals she might no longer despise him, and in the few minute remaining, learn, perhaps, what his last name was and what he did for a living, though probably there was already too much history between them.”
Her characters are human and screwed up (my favorite kind of characters). Don’t expect literary genius, but expect a thoroughly enjoyable collection of stories.
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July 6th, 2008 kellyschnell
This book tells the true story of Chris McCandless, a young man that gives away all of his money and possessions, cuts his ties with his family, and heads into the Alaskan bush to deeply commune with nature. McCandless was never heard from again – his starved remains were discovered in the wild several months after his Alaskan trek began. This was a fascinating read for me, so far removed from anything I’ve experienced or even dreamed of. Admittedly, I am a materialistic person, far more attached to my comfortable lifestyle than I’d like to be. “Roughing it”, in my terms, is driving to a campsite, setting up our tent, inflating our queen-size air mattress, cooking a well-rounded meal over our gas campstove, and brushing my teeth at the nearby bathroom facilities. The thought of heading into unknown territory for an indefinite amount of time with nothing more than what I could carry on my back seems impossible. This glimpse into what “living off the land” really means is intriguing. Could I make it in the wild? Probably (and by probably, I mean definitely) not. Looks like I’ll continue to satisfy my nature-cravings with Sunday strolls in the park…
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June 15th, 2008 kellyschnell
Brave New World was another stab at reading something from the Modern Library’s List of the 100 Greatest English-Language Novels of the 20th Century, and though it was more enjoyable than James Joyce, I was still a little relieved to wrap this one up and be able to move on to something else. Huxley’s take on the future is certainly intriguing (babies conceived in jars rather than wombs, the dissolution of the family structure as we know it, emotional engineering through the use of drugs and subliminal messaging), but I’m the kind of reader than needs even the tiniest glimmer of optimism in a novel, and he just wasn’t giving it. I’m sure I could appreciate his perspective if I better understood the political climate he lived in when he wrote Brave New World, but as I feared, much of his underlying social/political commentary was lost on me. This is one of those books that I’m happy to have read, but probably won’t ever feel compelled to read again.
And now, here comes the fun part: choosing what I will read next. I love to stand in front of my shelves full of read and unread books (the product of numerous gifts and my brother’s employee discount from the days when he used to work at Powell’s), feeling a sense of accomplishment over the books I’ve read and a sense of anticipation for the ones I have yet to read. I’ve narrowed the selection for my next undertaking down to Into the Wild, Summerland, or The Glass Castle (I’m now in the mood for a quick, fun read).
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May 15th, 2008 kellyschnell
I had pretty high hopes for this novel, as it came highly recommended to me by more than one person. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but I certainly wasn’t overly impressed, either. The Feast of Love tells the stories of several different intertwined characters and their experiences with falling in and out of love. It was cleverly written, but I never really felt involved in this book – I found myself not particularly caring about who ended up with who. A lack of connection. But that said, it was a quick, fun read. I’m ready for a challenge now and have started Brave New World. Hopefully the socio-political commentary won’t be too far over my head.
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