"Sophie's World"

Sophie's World, A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder

This book left ten thousand thoughts banging and clanging in my head. The characters are refusing to evaporate as is required of them after the last page is turned and they insist on trying to stay real. That is, if they ever were real. In this story inside of a story the line between what is real and what isn't gets blurry.

 I've never read anything quite like this. It's fiction, but as the subtitle says, it's also a history of philosophy. That may sound a bit daunting but really it isn't because it's so well done. Sophie, the main character, is almost 15 years old when she receives a letter asking "Who are you?". This is soon followed by others from a man who has taken it upon himself to be Sophie's philosophy teacher, beginning with the ancient thinkers and working through history right up to modern day. It was fascinating.

It's written clearly and in language the average reader can grasp so it never comes off sounding like a textbook. The instruction in philosophy is contained in dialogue that I did find a bit of a stretch sometimes. It seemed like some of Sophie's responses were a tad sophisticated for a 15 year old girl but maybe the Norwegian education system is better than ours. It has been over 20 years since this book came out so maybe things have gone downhill since then. Or maybe things just went a little off in translation.  Whatever; it really didn't matter. It's one of the most interesting things I've ever read.

I can't see how Gaarder held it all straight in his head; the guy must be a genius. I did find a tiny glitch in the story and was feeling rather proud of myself for noticing it, then it slowly dawned on me that there has to be a hundred glitches in a story with this much going on and I only managed to stumble onto one. Sigh.

As Sophie and her teacher progress through their lessons, strange things begin to happen. Other people's lives break through into theirs as if from some other dimension. Early in the book, before any of this happened, I wondered if it was going to get boring. Boy was I wrong. There was so much to think about. By the end it was like trying to play chess, yodel and juggle china at the same time. When I finished it last night, it was hours before I was able to fall asleep.

Don't let that stop you. It was a fun, exciting read, a little Alice In Wonderland crazy toward the end but overall an incredible work of fiction. Do not miss this one. 

"The Wind In The Willows"

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

This is another children's book I somehow missed as a child and am just getting around to reading now. It's also the first book I've ever read on an e-reader.

I enjoyed both the book and the e-reader. I found myself trying to turn the non-existent pages about a million times but I'm sure I'll get used to it. It's perfect in the middle of the night when I can't sleep, and the highlighting, bookmarking and searching abilities are great. In fact I was reading a "real" book yesterday and found myself wishing it had a search feature so I could find a line I'd forgotten to mark. I'm still a loyal book lover though and will always prefer the feel of a real book in my hand. Enough about the reader....back to the book.

The story of Mole, Water Rat, Badger, Toad and their lives on the river is endearing as well as entertaining. They are lovable  characters with good hearts and plenty of idiosyncrasies that land them in one predicament after another. Themes include loyalty to friends, honesty, the importance of a work ethic and accepting responsibility for your actions.

A few times one of the characters uses the word "ass" in reference to another character, as in: "Stop it, you silly ass!" and "Indeed, I have been a complete ass and I know it." It only happens 3 or 4 times but it might be something you want to be prepared for if you decide to read it to your children. I was surprised to see the word there at all, but maybe when the book was written in 1908 it wasn't considered a "bad" word. On the other hand I've also read that it never was meant for children anyway. Peter Hunt, Professor Emeritus in children's literature at Cardiff University, said in his introduction to one edition that it could be "the greatest case of mistaken identity in literature". As I was reading I did at times feel it might be more appealing to adults than children, but whoever it was intended for, I loved it.

The writing is beautiful. I love the way Grahame puts words together: "They recalled the languorous siesta of hot mid-day deep in green undergrowth, the sun striking through in tiny golden shafts and spots; the boating and bathing of the afternoon; the rambles along dusty lanes and through yellow cornfields; and the long cool evening at last, when so many threads were gathered up, so many friendships rounded, and so many adventures planned for the morrow." I'm hoping he has other books to discover. It's such a pleasure to read his writing.

This one gets a "thumbs up" from me. If you don't have kids to read it to, get it for yourself. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. 

"Crazy Love"

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Francis Chan is a pastor in California, a founder of Eternity Bible College and a speaker to students around the Unites States. The information on the back cover says he is "committed to teaching directly from the Bible" and "his passion is to see the church display a much deeper love for Jesus".

I was struck by the first line of the Preface: "We all know something's wrong." When a friend gave me this book to read I figured it would be one more authour telling me to do more, give more, live better, be better. The market is flooded with those kinds of books from writers who mean well, are sincerely trying to help and have good things to say. But nothing changes. We try harder, keep it up for awhile then end up frustrated, still knowing that "something's wrong." There's more to life, but we don't know what.

In "Crazy Love" Francis Chan helps us see what the real problem is: we aren't in love with God. Of course there are many, many Christians all over the world who love God and serve Him faithfully out of that love, but I also think it's true that there are many, many more who are unsatisfied, unhappy and even bored with their Christian lives. The Bible calls us "lukewarm" and Chan shows us how to get out of that comfortable but unsatisfying spot and move into a more exciting life. He's honest and straightforward but kind, with the result that you feel encouraged rather than condemned.

I think this is an important book, not because what he has to say is new, but because it's true. And the truth really does set us free. He asks hard questions like "What are you doing right now that requires faith?" and "Are you ready and willing to make yourself nothing?". His goal is to help us see ourselves realistically so that we can face our dissatisfaction and do something about it. When we understand - really know - God's crazy, limitless love for us, we will respond by falling in love with Him, and only then will we be able to live the abundant life He died to give us.

Favourite Christmas Stories from Fireside Al by Alan Maitland

Alan Maitland was a Canadian radio broadcaster, starting as an announcer with CBC in 1947. He frequently read short stories on air and became known as "Fireside Al" for his winter readings and "Frontporch Al" for his summer readings. His reading of Frederick Forsyth's "The Shepherd" on the radio became a Christmas Eve tradition for many Canadians; he read it himself for over 15 years and though he's no longer with us, the recording of his voice reading the story is still greatly anticipated and enjoyed on Dec 24th. Some of the stories have been collected and published in several Christmas collections and I've just discovered there is also a CD of Maitland's Christmas readings that's going on my wishlist for next Christmas. Maitland passed away in 1999 leaving his voice and his stories as a legacy, a national treasure for Canadians.

There are thirty-five stories, poems and even a couple of recipes in this collection. There are selections from Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Oscar Wilde, W.O. Mitchell, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dylan Thomas, Stephen Leacock, Robert Louis Stevenson, O. Henry and many others. Some of my favourites are here: A Child's Christmas In Wales, The Gift of the Magi, The True Meaning of Crumbfest, Christmas at Fezziwig's Warehouse, and Hardy's poem, The Oxen, but there's something for every taste. There is comedy from Thomas Hardy (a bit of a Christmas miracle in itself), stories and memories of Christmas long ago, and the hauntingly beautiful story from Frederick Forsythe, The Shepherd. 

This is one of my favourite Christmas books. I don't read it every year now because the list of "every December" books is getting too long but when I do, I love seeing it sitting on a side table knowing there's something lovely waiting for me next time I take a break. I think any reader will find something to love here and hopefully a new tale or two that will come as a nice surprise. If you haven't ever read The True Meaning of Crumbfest or The Shepherd, do yourself a kindness and get your hands on them before next Christmas. I'll bet you, like many others, find yourself drawn to them again and again as the holidays roll around.

2013....What shall I do with you?

I have no review to post because I'm reading "A Trip To The Beach" by Robert and Melinda Blanchard for book club and I posted on that almost a year ago. Then I'll be reading "Sophie's World" which is going to take a while. I will say that if you haven't read the Blanchard book, this is the perfect time for it to transport you from the frozen white world of January to warm sand, turquoise waters and palm trees. It's the cheapest vacation you'll ever take.

It seems a bit slack to let the new year pass without a post of some kind so I'll just ramble a bit. I saw Les Miserables yesterday and loved it...mostly. The story and music are wonderful of course and I thought Ann Hathaway and Hugh Jackson were very good. Hathaway's scene where she sings "I Dreamed A Dream" is Oscar worthy. I found Russel Crowe as Javert awkward at times. He's a good actor and a good singer but I'm not sure he can do them both at the same time. There were moments when he seemed to be concentrating so hard on singing "right" that Javert disappeared. I thought the choral music was spectacular and the closing scene absolutely epic. Can't wait to see it again.

I took my granddaughter to see The Hobbit just before Christmas and we both loved it. I didn't think it was quite as good as the first movie in The Lord Of The Rings series but I'm so hooked on those that nothing will ever compare. This was her first experience with hobbits, dwarves and elves and her reaction was exactly what I hoped it would be. She adored Bilbo. And Fili and Kili. We will both be waiting impatiently for the next installment which seems an eternity away at this point.

Well it's a new year and that means resolutions for a lot of people. I like to think of it more as a re-evaluating and setting new goals. Resolutions are easy to forget in a few weeks, and I say that from a lot of experience, whereas goals have steps and set points for evaluating how you're progressing. This seems to work better for me.

One of my goals for this year is to read more of what I want to read and not what I have to just because I committed to something, so I didn't sign up for the Canadian Book Challenge this year and I'm going to stop looking at others challenges that I've been thinking about.

I'm also going to get back to walking a few times a week as soon as I've recovered from Christmas and the pain level is back to workable again. That should be within another week or so hopefully.

Another thing I plan to do is reconnect with some people that I've lost touch with. Because I wasn't able to do a lot of socializing I gave up and didn't do any, but I know there's a happy medium in there somewhere. For now I'm going to put one visit per month in my schedule and see how that goes.

A big and rather reluctant goal I've set myself for this year is to decide if I can continue with photography. I sell a few photos on stock sites and it's something I love to do but it's getting harder and harder physically to get into the positions a good shot requires. I'm starting a course soon and by the time I'm done I think I should know if it's even reasonable to attempt it anymore. If it isn't, I'm going to have to concentrate more on finding a new way to create art.

And last, I've got to find an easier way to do Christmas. My memories of Christmas 2012 are going to be of exhaustion, frustration and pain. I have to look at each aspect - shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, cards - and see how to do it smarter than I'm doing it now. There are simple changes I can make, like using gift bags instead of wrapping presents. Like baking in September and October and freezing it instead of rushing though it in the few weeks before Christmas. Like taking advantage of the times I am in the stores and making the choice to pick up at least one Christmas present while I'm there. All of this will require me being satisfied with less than perfection - that will be the biggest hurdle - but I think I may be ready. I already have my 2013 Christmas organizing plan set up and I've ordered my cards and have one stocking stuffer for next year, so I hope that I may really change things this year. I'll see how I'm doing with that by the end of January. I know none of us can see the future and we can't know what 2013 will bring, but as much as it is up to me, I want to do better.

Guess I'd better stop rambling and wish you all a healthy and contented 2013. A wise woman once told me that life is not filled with wonderful days or weeks, but wonderful moments. Let's not miss any of them this year, even the ones that come on bad days. Let's enjoy the wonderful moments, big and small, and tell each other about them in these blogs. God bless us every one! 

"Friends, Lovers and Chocolate"

Friends, Lovers, and Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith

In this second installment of "The Sunday Philosophy Club" series, Isabel Dalhousie finds herself running her niece Cat's deli while Cat is traveling in Italy. Isabel meets a man who has been the recipient of a transplanted heart and believes he is having flashbacks of the donor's memory.  Interested in the philosophical implications, she agrees to help him find out something about the donor. Her very practical housekeeper, Grace, and her friend Jamie lend what assistance they can while making their disapproval of Isabel's involvement clear.

Then there is Tomasso. Cat met him in Italy and he followed her back to Scotland to do some sightseeing...and to become a potential romantic interest for Isabel.

I liked this book as well as I did the fist one in the series. They are nice light reads, not great but enjoyable. What I particularly love is their Scottish-ness, the setting of Edinburgh and the language, that British manner of expression that is so appealing to me. Also I'm still waiting to find out what the "Sunday Philosophy Club" actually is. In the first book we were told that a group of people meets on Sundays for discussion but I have yet to hear any more about them. Surely the authour must plan on introducing them to us at some point. That's enough to keep me reading the series but not for a while because I've got a stack of other titles to get through first. It's time to tackle all those books I set aside in favour of Christmas reading. Alas, Christmas is over for another year. I wish you all a safe, happy and healthy new year.