Reading, but Not Really Listening

Reading . . .

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas. I loved this book! It took a long time to read--I started it while I was in London in August, but it was well worth it. A suspenseful tale of revenge and transformation, as Edmond Dantes, wronged early in the book, learns that no matter how much wealth or intelligence, man is ill-equipped to mete out justice the way only God can. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. As a human, there was a sense of satisfaction as the different characters saw their worlds collapse around them. But for me, there was also a sense of profound sadness as the cost Edmond's plan's inflicted on him became abudantly clear and the cost he inflicted on the bratty Edward starkly made the point of man's imperfection. The action story was good, but the moral lessons blew me away.

The book A Prisoner of Birth inspired me to read this book. I wasn't too terribly impressed with Prisoner, and as it turns out, it truly was a very pale imitation of TCOMC. The best thing I can now say about Prisoner is that I might never have read TCOMC, but for Prisoner.

How to Read the Bible and Enjoy It, by Skip Heitzig. This book is my evidence of my role as a narrator. I read this book to help someone who needed an audio copy of the book. Reading a "book on tape" is hard work! I didn't have characters to create or voices to do, but to read clearly and try to convey my understanding of what the author meant was a bit of a challenge. I learned a little along the way as well, such as that it would take less than 100 hours to read the whole Bible, actually about 70 according to the author. He also suggested an alternative to reading it straight through: using a weekly schedule where one would read the first 5 books each Monday; the Gospels each Tuesday, the prophets each Wed., etc. This would provide some variety to reading it straight through. Heitzig also suggested how to read a passage, including observing the text, interpreting the text, and applying the text. He suggested a series of questions that one should ask in engaging in these three aspects of reading the Bible.

This is not a book that I would have picked up on my own, but it was a relatively quick read and it inspired me to spend more time reading the Bible.

. . . But Not Really Listening

I've been listening to The Brothers K forever! I started this book when I was in London, and still have listened to only about 17 hours of the book. I just can't get into it; I'm missing the story line, such that it is. There are lots of philosophical points made in this rather dysfunctional family, but I have yet to find a character that I really care about. I'm determined to finish slogging through this book. It may be awhile.

Busy, busy

Travel is good for the reading person. As a result of my recent trip to England, and for that matter, before, I have finished a number of books.

Listened to:
The Art of Racing in the Rain. An okay book, written in first person, by a dog. I chose this book because it was described as touching, funny, and capable of taking the steam out of death. There were a few laugh out loud lines, but not many. I suppose it was touching because there is a death. But the word that most describes this book is predictable. It was clear that Denny, the protagonist, would face a child custody challenge and what grounds there would be for the custody fight. It was clear that there would be a happy ending. So it wasn't a waste of time, but the book was like a snack. Good at the time, but not fulfilling in the end.

Read:

Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugham. Good from start to finish, and so well written, that I found myself shouting out loud to Philip, the main character, and wanting to tell him to run from that skank, Mildred. I rejoiced when Philip found the Altheny family, who provided him a model of a realistically functional family. Life is tough, and maybe we are limited by our human-ness, but doing what we can to live a rich, full, and good life seems to be an elegant statement of the meaning of life.

It was particularly fun to read this book while I was in London, since the book is set there and Maugham makes reference to many London landmarks, including Picadilly Circus, Green Park, Hyde Park Corner, the Victoria station, etc., many of which I happened to visit.

Driving with Dead People, by Monica Holloway. The best description of this book: self-indulgent. I can appreciate the painful childhood that Monica recounts in this memoir, including the abusive father and the molestation. I can admire Holloway from having come through the fire and survived mostly intact. And if writing down her story was therapeutic, than all the better. But why this story was published and marketed is beyond me. If there was something more than the message described above, I missed it. Holloway has a compelling story, but nothing that merited sharing with the general public. The publisher's description was nothing short of deceptive.

Book heard; book read

Listened to: A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffery Archer. Think fast: name one person whose life you could seamlessly assume without relatives or friends discovering the switch. That's part of the premise of this book. Amazingly, no one discovered that Danny, the protagonist, hadn't really died or that Sir Nick's life had been taken over by Danny until pretty late in the story.

The reviews on Audible were very good, and it was a decent story as long as you could suspend all belief. Danny, who entered prison basically illilterate, in a matter of months is reading Shakespeare. Yeah, right. A lawyer who fails to raise a critical piece of evidence or to do basic investigation, notwithstanding the assistance of his father, a supposed great jurist. Yeah right. I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo, which inspired this book, but I suspect the TCOMC was a bit more believable.

I suppose, however, the prison scenes were accurate--after all, Lord Archer did spend a few years living that life. Would I recommend it? I suppose so, for light reading.

Book read: Final Exam by Dr. Pauline Chen. Ironically, I found this book on Audible, but chose to read it. What a well-written book by a transplant surgeon and Northwestern Med alum (I'm sure the NU connection did not influence my views of this book.) Her book is more a review of her experiences coming to terms with death as she progressed from a first year med student, working on her cadaver, through her residency, and the year she spent doing organ procurements, ending with her as an a fully-trained attending physician. She recounts many anecdotes of people in their dying days, including an aunt, with whom she was close. The anecdotes are interspersed with observations about herself, the patients, their families, and the other doctors who are involved. While in some ways, it's a bit macabre, it provides a fascinating look at life in the hospital and the true "final exam."

The only minor criticism: like all doctors, her ego shows at times.

Another to add to the list

Eats, Shoots and Leaves, by Lynn Truss. I've had this book for years. I think I bought it when Alex was still in high school. Well, everything in due time.

It was okay. Quick. I recall the reviews describing this book as entertaining for a book on punctuation. I did learn some things about apostrophes; confirmed my basic knowledge on commas; and laughed a bit at some of the cute-isms in the book. I'm fully prepared to speak the King's English should I ever need to discuss the proper use of a period--oops, I mean a full stop, and it was a good refresher course on "inverted commas" bkn quotation marks on this side of the pond.

And I'm ready should "?!" ever be the clue on Jeopardy! (What is an interobang?)

Now to finish The Brain That Changes Itself (reading) and Prisoner of Birth (listening to on iPod).

Another one bites the dust

Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, by Katrina Firlik. The book recounts the residency of a neurosurgeon, incorporating the stories of various patients with the things she discovered beyond simply the medical knowledge. Best part about the book, she explained the hierarchy of interns, jr. resident, sr. resident, and chief. She describes neurosurgeons as being particuarly competive, and she certainly seems to fit the bill--having made a snarky comment about Dr. Ben Carter, without identifying him specifically, who has accomplished significantly more in his career, thank you very much.

The anecdotes were interesting, the insight into all of the things neurosurgeons do (spine surgery, too) was appreciated. Towards the end, it got a little long, and she lost a little bit of cred as she described herself working essentially for the wealthiest of people. Wow. That's courageous.

It wasn't a waste of time, but when it was all said and done, I'm not sure I'd care to know the author beyond this book.

Oops! Another one remembered

I forgot that I did a buddy-read with BoilerBaby 3. She chose the book The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, by Julie Andrews Edwards bka Mary Poppins. What a wonderful book. I wish that I had been aware of it when my first two were younger.

Edwards tells a wonderfully fantastic story about three children and one old professor who set out to find the last Whangdoodle, a mystical creature that changes color, depending on his mood, and grows new houseslippers periodically. The story is filled with fantastic creatures like an Oinck, a Whifflebird, a High Behind Splintercat, and of course, the Flutterbyes. I wish I could travel by way of a Jolly Boat, powered by jokes, with a machine that magically creates any kind of ice cream treat one could imagine. In between the lush descriptions, Edwards weaves lessons about the virtues all children should strive to develop: friendship, trust, compassion, perseverence, and most of all imagination. Plus there are bits of science and general knowledge thrown in for good measure.

I will have to remember to read this book with BoilerBaby 4 when he's of the right age.

Another one read (yayy!)

Death Be Not Proud, by John Gunther. Something reminded me of this book not too long ago, and it just so happened that the Book Rack had a copy in good condition. I started this book when I was in high school. I was drawn to it then b/c it recounts the final months of a 17 year old boy, diagnosed with a brain tumor. While I identified with the Johnny Gunther because of his age, I simply was not ready, i.e. mature enough to read the book, so I didn't finish it.

Some 30 years later, I finished it. Now I identify with it as a parent. The horror, the tragedy of a life prematurely ended was heart-wrenching.

Reading about the medical aspects was a reminder of how far medical science has come. Johnny died in 1947. There were no CT scans or MRIs. Locating the tumor prior to an attempt to remove it was done solely with the use of x-ray. Non-experimental treatment consisted of removal of what could be removed and radiation. There was no chemotherapy. Mustard (as in mustard gas) seems to have been an early form of chemotherapy, but was still very much in the experimental stage. Various other treatments were tried in an attempt to save Johnny's life--a very severed diet that limited the fats and proteins a patient could eat may have played some role in staving off deaath for a time, but ultmately, there was so little knowledge.

Yet, in the past 60 years, despite all of the technological and scientific advances, glioblastoma multiformae is still an almost certain death sentence. Senator Kennedy was diagnosed with a glioma about a month ago, and although no one will say it explicitly, his obituary has essentially already been written. My former student Marina died of this affliction less than a year after she was diagnosed. Gliomas are still essentially incurable.

So, Johnny's father describes the grace and courage with which Johnnny faced his illness. I can't say death, because Johnny's parent never told him explicitly that he was dying--it was never clear if he knew. And that highlights another difference between now and then. Now, the conventional wisdom is to tell adults that they are dying and to not hide it from children. Johnny was close enough to legal adulthood that no doubt today, he would have been told of his impending death so that he could prepare in his own way.

Nonetheless, it is powerful book. Life is precious, and one should seek to live a life well, even if the alloted time is short. I understand why it has never been taken out of publication since its publication in 1949.