Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Hawaii by James A. Michener




Wonderful Saga About Hawaii and it’s People!



I have never read a Michener book before this. I love historical fiction, but I somehow avoided this great author. Maybe because my father was such a fan, it turned me off for some reason, even unknown to myself.

Last year I mentioned to my father that I planned to read Hawaii. He told me that I would like it, but also advised me to skip the first chapter. He said it was so boring that he almost didn't read the book. It turned out that my mother had read it first and when he complained she told him to skip the first chapter. He also told me that he looked forward to hearing what I thought. Unfortunately my dad passed away in September, but who knows, maybe he's reading my review.

I didn't follow my mom and dad's advice; I started with the first chapter. I can see why they would have thought it was boring, but I really enjoyed it. You see Michener chose to start at the very beginning, with the formation of the land of Hawaii. I found both breath taking and informative.

Hawaii is a sprawling beautiful saga, both about it's land and it's people. The first inhabitants came over from Bora, Bora. Michener tells about their customs and their gods. From there, following a genealogical chart, the story grows and the years go by. Next the missionaries from America show up to bring their religion to Hawaiians that they see as heathens. Then the immigrants arrive. First the Chinese, then that Japanese and then the Filipinos. We learn about the harsh immigrant experience and how these cultures ultimately gained respect and intermingle to become the new race, Hawaiians.

I recently read an article about him, explaining that he normally moved to the places that he intended to write about. He immersed himself in the atmosphere and did his detailed research. It is apparent Michener really did his research on Hawaii.

There is not a boring moment in this long novel. Michener's characters walk right off the page and absorb the reader into their world. I loved this novel and didn't want it to end. Indeed, I was sad when it did. I highly recommend it, especially to historical fiction lovers.

5/5

I can hardly wait to read more James A. Michener. Hmm, which should I read next?
You decide (Disclaimer: I am not making any promises as to when I will read it):

Also reviewed at:

Book-a-rama




Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:21 AM 21 comments  

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Saturday, April 26, 2008

Weekly Geeks #1

This week is Discover New Blogs Week!

Here are 5 blogs that I discovered through Weekly Geeks this week (not in any particular order):

1. In Spring it is the Dawn by Tanabata was an awesome find! Tanabata is a Canadian currently living in Japan. She has very well organized and fun, fun. fun blog, with a great sense of humor! This blog was a fantastic find and I am now subscribing to it through Google Reader. Stop by and see for yourself!

2. Everyday Reads by Lightheaded is a beautiful blog with gold fish. I just read one book review and had to add it to my TBR. I can tell Lightheaded is another book enabler! I'm adding this to Google Reader as well.

3. The Armenian Odar Reads by Myrthe. Myrthe introduced herself by saying, "I am a bookeater. These are the books that nurture my mind". I love that! She's a Dutch woman who moved to Armenia. I was quite suprised to see my blog on her blog roll, because I had never seen her lovely blog before today. I am adding her to Google reader and my blog roll.

4. Table Talk by Ann seems like a tranquil peace of heaven to visit lots. I added it to my subscriptions on Google Reader as well. I can't wait to visit again!

5. Kay's Bookshelf is another really nice blog. She wrote an excellent review for 'Out of Africa' by Isak Dinesen, which has been on my TBR. Another one added to my subscriptions on Google Reader.

Honourable Mention:

A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore by Katherine

This was a great exercise that introduced me to some more awesome blogs! Thanks Dewey, Weekly Geeks is great so far!

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:05 PM 8 comments  

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123 Meme, Round Two

I've been tagged by Marg at ReadingAdventures

The rules remain the same as last time:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

The nearest book is Hawaii by James Michner:

"So the return trip was authorized, and the community began assembling it's pitiful stores of spare food. This time there was no dried taro, no coconut, no breadfruit, no bamboo lengths to carry water. There were, fortunately, some bananas, but they did not dry and carry well.

Since this one has been going around for awhile I'm not going to tag specific people, but if you would like to do this fun meme, consider yourself tagged! Your it!


Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:12 PM 0 comments  

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Weekly Geeks

Dewey from The Hidden Side of a Leaf has come up with a great idea called Weekly Geeks.

Here’s how it works:

1. Every week there’ll be a different theme. One week might be “catch up on your library books” week and the next might be “redecorate your blog week” or “organize your challenges” week or “catch up on your reviews” week. It’ll be fairly bookblogcentric, but not exclusively.

2. Everyone who joins agrees that they will try to check each week to see what the theme is, although they DO NOT have to participate each week, only when they feel like it.

3. Everyone who joins is welcome (encouraged, begged!) to send ideas for weekly themes via email, comments, whatever. The more ideas, the better.

4. If you post about your progress with that week’s theme in your blog (whether you were wildly successful or didn’t get around to any of it) then you can come back and leave a link to that post in the comments for that theme.

AND there is a chocolate monkey give-a-way for those participants who post about this idea before the end of April. Since I'm a vegan and the chocolate monkey looks like milk chocolate, I'm passing on the give-a-way, but posting it here for any of my readers who are interested. I think this sounds like a great idea for us bloggers.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 5:13 PM 2 comments  

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Friday, April 25, 2008

342,745 Ways To Herd Cats May 1st - November 30th

Bottle of Shine is hosting 342,745 Ways To Herd Cats Challenge. (Truth be told, I am joining this challenge because the cat is so darn cute!

The challenge goes like this:

1) Make a list of ten books you love.

2) Share the list by posting it on your blog and then give Bottle of Shine the link so she can add it to the master list.

2) Choose 3 books to read from the master list.

3) Write reviews of the books you read!

4) Share the links to your reviews for the challenge.

List of 10 books I love (Click books in green to see my review):

1. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
5. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
6. Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb
7. Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors
8. The Secret River By Kate Grenville
9. Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvik
10. The Time In Between by David Bergen

The 3 books I will read from the master list:

1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
2. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hoesseini

Posted by Teddy Rose at 4:42 PM 4 comments  

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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I've Heard it Through the Grapevine Challenge May 1- Nov. 30/08

Lynne at Lynne's Little Corner of the World is hosting this challenge.

Here's how Lynne described this challenge:

You need to read 3 books recommended by others, and you can read more if you like. Cross-challenges are OK and you can change your books at any time.


I promised myself that I wouldn't sign up for anymore challenge's this year, but this is an easy one for me. The majority of the books on my TBR were recommended by others!

Here's the three book I intend to read for the challenge (though I may change it at some point):

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hoesseini

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:57 PM 1 comments  

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Friday, April 18, 2008

The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue



Victorian Divorce- a National Scandal














In 1864 a scandal of huge proportions shook Great Britain. That scandal was due to a divorce case, which was quite new at the time. The Sealed Letter is based on this true scandal.

Miss Emily "Fido" Faithful was a businesswoman and feminist active in the British women’s movement. She was also a spinster (how I hate that word.) She ran into her friend, Helen Codrington by chance, or so we believe. She used to live with Helen and her husband Harry before they moved away to Malta. Fido got caught up in the details of Helen’s failing marriage and tries to help her as a loyal friend would. With mud slinging from both sides in court and the tabloids, can Fido keep her reputation in tact?

I don’t normally enjoy tabloid dramas, however this is an exception. I love Victorian era stories and Emma Donoghue weaves a good story. It appears well researched and her characters are vivid and come to life. Emma helps the reader see each character's side of the story rather then just slanting it in the favor of one side. This makes for a balanced, well-written, and entertaining story.


Thanks to Harper Collins Canada for the advanced readers copy.
4/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:13 PM 4 comments  

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland


Touching Journey of a Well Known Woman in the 17th Century




As the book opens, we find Artemisia, Italian Painter, at age 18 in court. At first it appears that she is the accused, however she is the witness being put through a painful form of torture to make sure she is telling the truth. The truth is that she was raped by the painting instructor hired by her father. Her father is more interested in getting his painting back than objecting to the torture his daughter goes through. He gets the painting back before the trail is over and drops the rape charges.


We follow Artemisia through all of her ups and downs, her marriage, child, and her extraordinary painting. She was a woman before her time and holds her head high. She ends up supporting herself and her daughter though her painting.

This touching story is written in beautiful prose, like the paintings of Artemisia herself. I felt as if I was there in the 17th century, experiencing Artemisia up’s and down’s with her.

The only complaint I have is that Vreeland chose to close the book at the end of Artemisia’s father’s death, rather than give closure to how Artemisia lived out the rest of her life. She however does give show important closure between Artemisia and her father.

I listened to the audio CD version of this book. The narrator, Bermingham Gigi was quite amazing She has a beautiful voice that enhanced the characters and story, rather than detracting from, as sometimes happens with audio books.

I highly recommend this lovely and engaging story of a strong woman in Italian history.
4.0

Posted by Teddy Rose at 5:12 PM 4 comments  

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

I'm Away

Hi dear loyal readers, I am in sunny Flordia visiting my mom and taking care of some stuff for her. Boo hoo, I am typing this from a library computer as my mother does not have a computer.

I have new reviews that I will post when I get home. So, stay tuned until later next week.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 12:44 PM 3 comments  

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