faulker012

I've been reading quite alot lately, mostly post-apocalyptic thrillers and the like (for some WEIRD reason! lol) but I've finally the need to switch gears. Having no idea where to go next, I picked up these books at the library this weekend and, because they all sounded fascinating, I deliberated on which book to read first for a day or two! I read reviews and Amazon pages and looked through each book; it was a tough call! I finally chose the winner: Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979). The reviews on Amazon are extremely high, the time travel/historical fiction idea is interesting and unique, and the subject matter is compelling. Dana, a 1976 feminist woman, is, several times, transported through time and space to Maryland in 1815, at the height of slavery times. As a black woman, she is treated with disrespect, disdain, and, eventually, fear as she can both read and write, she is obviously educated beyond what most white people were from that time, she is wearing pants, and ...

I have to admit that I am not a true lover of classical music, a term usually used in reference to music composed mostly in Europe during the Classical period, or the years 1750 to 1820, from Bach to Beethoven, but not limited to those years. I enjoy Vivaldi's Four Seasons , Pachebel's Canon in D , Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 , Rachmaninoff's Rhapsondy on a Theme of Paganini , and a few other well-known pieces. Overall, though, my knowledge is bush-leaguer when it comes to sophisticated music. I understand there are better films on Chopin's life and legacy, but I'm starting here. The film is a gorgeous representation of the 1830s and 1840s and I'm a huge fan of the beauty of film. Filmed in 1945 in glorious technicolor, a color process used in the US from 1922 to 1952, celebrated for it's highly-saturated color, think The Wizard of Oz , the stunning costumes and sets are a delight for a lover of film. Several times, I have paused the film (I'...

I don't always know what moves me to pick up one book over another. It's a mystery that most readers can relate to. In this case, I was at the local library, recently renovated, just walking down aisles and letting words and color guide me. The smells, the shushes, the search: I love the library. The other day I had used the handy dandy card catalog to find some post-apocalyptic fiction to read...and I found this one, Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. After finding a book that I am interested in, and don't tease me about this, I then go to Amazon and read about the book, read the reviews, look at similar titles. Amazon or some other book review site. I do this same type of reading for a movie I'm about to watch! lol My husband tells me that I'm wrong to do this! lol I tell him he's wrong for not doing it. 😄 Time is too precious to read crap novels...unless I choose them. Lately I've been reading books by female authors. I'm sure this has a...

I'm currently reading a book by Lily Brooks-Dalton called Good Morning, Midnight , a book that I KNOW I will have to give massive stars simply for the gorgeous language used by the author. I am well into the book and I have not stopped being moved by Brooks-Dalton's stunning prose of this sophisticated, compelling exploration of the likelihood of an unknown apocalypse on Earth. I can't say why, but lately I've been reading tons of apocalyptic novels, post-apocalyptic. I don't find myself feeling particularly despondent or pessimistic in a general sense, but this type of genre often moves me, surprises me, emboldens me, even entertains me. It's kind of a philosophical place than I am rather than an emotional place, so it's possible that I may offer other sci-fi posts in the future. As for this book, Good Morning, Midnight , I must talk about it here because of its unique voice. The primary points of view in the book come from two humans in varied self-imposed...

It all started when a friend was visiting and we were having a conversation about his passion, history. I had no knowledge or recollection of learning about the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference and Ron was explaining the reason the Cairo Peace Conference had everything to do with the current conflict in the Middle East. That made no sense to me until Ron explained it. I mean, Paris and Syria? What possible connection could there be? Embarrassingly, I have a rather poor grasp of important moments in history. I'm trying to repair that. My conversations with Ron and this book   helped immensely. Thank you, Ron. So, the day following Ron's teachable moment with me, I picked up a book that I had had on my side table, a book that was simply next . I can't adequately express my surprise to discover that Mary Doria Russell's book Dreamers of the Day: A Novel was actually set during and around the freaking 1921 Cairo Peace Conference! Life is freaky and serendipitous and I just abo...

AW, the heck with it. I'm doing it! 😊 As a heavy reader, I'm not always sure what makes me run to this blog to post about books sometimes and what makes me just read other times. I'm sure it has something to do with being moved by a read, but there is more to it than that because I read some really enjoyable books. After finishing Mary Doria Russell's book Dreamers of the Day: A Novel , I knew I had to write about it here. This author wrote one of my favorite books of all time The Sparrow . A book that has kept me awake many a night, both reading and reflecting. The depth and moving language and anthropology and philosophical discussion and character development and settings and before/after and revelations simply overwhelmed me. I read the book several times and it kept revealing and moving me. Listen, I don't gush about books much, but The Sparrow deserves all of it! So go and read it!   lol I began researching some of Russell's other titles and ch...