Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James. I finally finished it. It was good, but hard b/c of long paragraphs and complex sentences. Disappointing in that Isabel decided to stay in a mistake of a marriage after passing on several that truly loved her.
Candide, Voltaire. I felt like such a philsophy-type person. I need to go back and read it and rethink some of the points made about human nature and the world, but I enjoyed it.
Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe. Sin and then repentance. That's the story in a nutshell of a woman who sleeps with one brother, marries another, passively tricks another man into marrying her, only to find out he's her half-brother, carries on with a married man, tricks another man into marrying her, engages in a life of thievery, earning the infamy of being one of the best in town, and eventually is caught and threatened with hanging. She repents, so that's good. But ultimately, after living a depraved life and facing hanging, repentance becomes easy. Plus, old age is sobering. She was 60 when she was finally caught. How voluntary is it when your starting to hear St. Pete beckoning.
My Stroke of Insight, by some brain specialist. She writes of her stroke, which she could understand as it was happening (she's a brain specialist), and of her recovery, and what she learned from it all. The first part, that described the operation of the brain, and the second part that described the stroke and the 8 year recovery were intriguing, particularly her descriptions of how she perceived the world (the lack of understanding color or boundaries) when limited to only her right brain. Towards the end, it got a little New Age-ish, and that was kind of a turn-off. The message is good: you can choose which part of your brain will dominate. She chose not be as sarcastic or to get as angry, but it was the presentation of the material that detracted from the quality of the end materials.
Books listened to:
The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin. Insight to the workings of the court, the personalities of the justices, and the influences on them. Who knew that Thomas is still bitter after all these years, but that yet one of his favorite clerks (not his own) is a lesbian. The insider's view of Casey v. Planned Parenthood was fascinating. Well worth the time.
Summer by Edith Wharton. It's Edith Wharton--I knew this couldn't end well. I didn't expect it to be disturbing. Llike a million other stories, young innocent girl is seduced by the worldly new guy in town, only to discover that he's become engaged to someone else. You know the drill: wine, dine, screw, knock up, leave. So what's disturbing? Upon finding that she's pregnant, Summer first returns to the mountains where she was born, but quickly learns that she can't really return to that home. Back to her caretaker, whom she ultimately marries. Yep, as in her adoptive father. A little incestuous? Not clear. He never consummates the marriage (at least not before the book ends), so maybe he just wanted to give her child a name and save her from the fate she would have suffered otherwise. Hmmm.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I was reluctant to select this book. A book about cathedral building? Come on. What a pleasant surprise! One part architecture, five parts soap opera. I could have done without the rape scenes, but it held my attention through all 40-some hours of audio.
World Without End by Ken Follett. Pillars was so good, I had to go with this sequel. There were some similarities, but enough differences that it was worth the time as well. The Black Death; life in the nunnery, star-crossed lovers, and so on.
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. An allegory about the life of Christian and his struggle to stay on the straight and narrow to make it to the Celestial City. After Christian abandons his wife, he suffers many trials and tribulations, but eventually makes it, inspiring her to set on one her own pilgrimage with her sons. In addition to the story, it's like a book-long Bible drill, challenging the reader or listener to remember the Bible verses from which Bunyan drew the story.
Current reads/listens:
Reading: Better, by Atul Gwande. He wrote Complications, which I read last year about this time, chronicling his surgical residency and his thoughts about the medical system. This book addresses three themes so it seems. I've finished the section on diligence the looked at the effort to totally eradicate polio from the world and the response of WHO and UNICEF when there're reports of polio as well as the efforts that have reduced the combat deaths in the Iraq war. I'm now in the section that addresses "doing right". It started with a discussion of what is appropriate when doctors physically examine patients--to chaperone or not. I'm currently in the chapter that looks at med malpractice.
Listening: The Life of Pi, by Yan Martel. Some interesting concepts about the life of animals, the moral issues of zoos, and the different religions, from the perspective of a 16 year old boy. All bilding up to the ship in which he and his family and a few zoo animals are traveling sinking. Pi, the protagonist, and a Bengal tiger, Richard Parker, appear to be the only survivors, having made their way to a life boat. I'll see what happens.
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