Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Major Pettigrew is a retired military man living in a quiet village in England. He plays golf at the local club, tends to his garden, keeps up appearances, and covets the Churchill rifle his brother inherited from their father, one gun of a pair that the Major felt should never have been split up. But when his brother passes away, the Major is not only faced with the dilemma of how to get the gun back from his sister-in-law and niece, but also with the changing world around him. Suddenly the Major is trying to find reasons to see the local shop owner, a Pakistani widow facing her own family drama, and realizing the village is full of delicately balanced loyalties.

I have to admit that I loved the Major for so many reasons! Not only because he is the main character, but I also think he and I would get along so well. His old English manners are wonderful! So many times during the book I found myself feeling exactly what he was as people spoke or acted. I felt for him as he tried in vain to understand and relate to his own son who seemed completely clueless as to how badly he was behaving! And the other members of the golf club! Oh my goodness, this book was filled with some of the worst personalities a person could be stuck among, and yet there was the Major, trying to figure things out!

I loved following him as his own flaws began to change as, even though he was an elderly man, he began to learn and mature. Watching him navigate all the relationships that he was in with such a delicate touch was fascinating! And it was amazing to see all the outcomes.

Have you figured it out that I really enjoyed this book? It was very well written by an author who did a wonderful job at making all the characters believable and fitting. The story was not rushed, taking its time to show the reader exactly how everything should fold out in its own time. All in all it was a great book through and through! I highly encourage everyone to pick up this book and read it! It was amazing on so many levels, that I am sure everyone will love it!

The Almost Moon

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold is the story of Helen Knightly who has just reached the end of her rope. Years spent taking care of her elderly, agoraphobic, and slightly senile mother have pushed her to the end of the line and slightly over it. The entire book takes place over the course of twenty-four hours as Helen comes to terms with her past, her horrible present, and her elusive future. Sebold once more makes an astonishing story come to life for readers who may or may not be ready for the harsh realities this family has faced.

When I first picked up this book I was not entirely sure what its plot would contain, only that it was written by a spectacular writer who had captured the world with her previous book The Lovely Bones. I was not disappointed by her amazing writing style that kept me entranced in the book even as I was slightly appalled at the subject matter. Once more Sebold takes a close look at a situation not many of us think about, a family disturbed just enough by mental illness to ruin the lives of those immediately touched by it. For those looking for a book unlike any other, this would be an excellent choice, but I warn that it is not for the faint of heart.

The Braintree Mission

While it took me a fair amount of time to get through this book, 11 days actually, it was only because the subject matter was not something I am used to. It is a very well written account of a proposal to the Boston Colony to make one of their own an Earl in the House of Lords in England just after the bloody Boston "massacre" in 1770, the hope being that it would give the colonies representation in England and improve relations. While this proposal never in fact took place, the author tells the events of how it may have gone down and to what affect it would have on the relationship, which I took to understand as none.
As I said, this is not my usual read, even though it can be technically classified as "alternate history" the outcome was no different from true history. That being said I still found myself enjoying the tale. The characters of John and Abigail Adams, whom the author himself titles the hero and heroine of the tale, were wonderful people indeed! And I was also attracted by the writing style, which I found to be beautiful.
That being said, I am sure this book is not for everyone. But I say history lovers should try and give it a read!

Birth of the Chess Queen

Marilyn Yalom was giving a lecture on the history of the breast when she was presented with a very unusual statue of Mary suckling the baby Jesus. She was told it was a chess piece, and this one event sparked her curiosity forcing her to take a close look not only at past chess queens but also the history behind the queen from when she first took up her place on the board to the changes in her movements on it.

This book was a fascinating read for me. I not only enjoy the game of chess but am also fascinated by the outside appearances that changed as women grew in power in the world. This book was an insightful look into the women who were powerful enough to change this game piece that people the world over played with, at a time when women seemed to have little to no power in the real world. As Yalom goes back to the beginning of chess to describe the original piece, the vsir, who stood in the place we now associate with the queen, the carefully picks her way through the history of several countries looking for the first appearances of the queen in each. She then looks at the women in power as the piece appears, trying to figure out who may have had a hand in bringing forth this now-powerful figure.

Not only does Yalom seem to cover all her bases, answer most of the questions she began with and then some, she makes it all clear to the reader in such a way that I was not once bored by what I was reading. Instead, like any work of fiction, I was drawn into the book wanting to know what detail she would present next, what historical Queen she would give me to consider next, and what other pieces have survived from the time that so differ from the one I have in my home. She is a skilled lecturer that is able to convey all she wants to onto the page with a beautiful outcome.

Finally Yalom presents in the last chapter a look at women players today. She shows that chess has once more become a men's game with women still being spoken down on when showing interest in it. While the chess queen remains supreme on the board, the players are still very misogynistic about the playing. A sad fact indeed.

I picked this book up off a whim at a discount store because of my enjoyment of the game, and I was pleased to discover something more. I look forward to picking up more of Yalom's books in an effort to get a look into her perspective of women. Consider it furthering my Women's Studies class from college! I recommend that lovers of the game take a chance and read this one. You could be surprised at what you learn!

Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Jane Yolen has pulled together 12 short stories and put them into this random little book to give the reader 12 new things to think about! Most of them are retellings of stories we have grown to love (i.e. "Lost Girls" is Peter Pan and "The Bridge's Complaint" is The Billy Goats Gruff) alongside some new stories (i.e. "The Babysitter" and "Wilding") all of them unique and incredible reads.

Yolen is one of those writers that I see in a store and pick it up without even looking at the description, knowing that she will tell an amazing tale. This book did not let me down! My only regret is taking so long to finally read it.

Each of these stories is unique, never thought before tales told by a master writer who loves making the readers look at things differently. And she does such a wonderful job making the stories come to life, making me a little afraid after reading one of the horror stories just before bed one late night!

I encourage everyone to give Yolen a chance, and this is a good place to start! I look forward to reading these shorts stories to my kids very soon!

Mutant Message Down Under

Marlo Morgan claims to have gone on a walkabout (a journey with no set destination or duration) with a small tribe of Aboriginals of Australia. This book is a retelling of her journey into knowledge given to her by these people that ave chosen to die out rather than remain on a planet that is being killed by the inhabitants, what the tribe calls Mutants.

I must say that by taking this book as a work of fiction it seems that I have a better view of it than most of the other readers. I don't know much about the Aboriginal culture or peoples, but I have always been fascinated with older, native tribes of any continent, hence why I picked this book up in the first place. I was a little hesitant to read it once I had discovered others' views of it, but I wanted to form my own opinion.

This book was not horrible, in my opinion. No, it was not a classic work of art, but it was not the trash many claimed. Yes, some of the notions, such as the selecting of the author to pass on the ancient ideas of this race, seemed far-fetched, but some of it made sense. Many of the views and ideas are not new ones, simply pure ones that I believe any culture would hold if they had been around long enough to truly gain wisdom.

My only big issue with this book was the writer's poor writing. As a memoir, maybe this book is done as best as it can be. But taken as a novel, she is clearly not a writer, or should have considered editing it once more before publication.

All in all the book was an interesting read, if not an entirely pleasant one.

2014 Challenge

A new year, a new reading challenge to help me tackle the growing list of To Read! Mostly my goal is simply to read as many books as I can, since in the past few years my numbers have been dwindling, leaving me with a huge pile of books in my possession that I have yet to even open! Suddenly I find myself with a lot more free time and I have decided to tackle all of those books on my book shelf, Nook, and Goodreads ToRead list!

Helping me on this project is the calender I got for Christmas from Half Price Books. This year they have a new list on each month with the first ten books from a select list. January is books you simply can't put down, February is classic love stories, and so on and so forth. I went through and highlighted books on each list that I had already read in the past, and found a lot of titles NOT highlighted! So I have decided to read at least two new books on each list during that selected month.

Then of course I have my Book Club that is always throwing new and interesting books my way that I may never have picked up on my own!

With these two main sources, plus my own supply, I have decided to really try and over take my Goodreads.com challenge number! I am going for just 64 to begin with, but maybe if I see myself overtaking that number I can raise it higher, something I have not been able to do in past years.

Join me in the challenge! And let me know how many books you have committed to reading this year, as well as any select theme!