Building a Bridge to the 18th Century by Neil Postman

Title: Building a Bridge to the 18th Century : How the Past Can Improve Our Future

Author: Neil Postman

Copyright Date: 1999

Pages: 224

Challenges:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I was first introduced to Neil Postman in college; a friend suggested Conscientious Objections: Stirring Up Trouble About Language, Technology, and Education. Although I don't remember as much as I would like about the book, I remember digging Postman's commentary and found him very readable. A week or two ago, I thought about him again and decided to look up other books that he's written.

Building a Bridge to the 18th Century's thesis is pretty self-explanatory. Postman believes that we don't need a new future, but rather, revisit what we learned from the Enlightenment period. He suggests that "the idea of progress is one of the greatest gifts of Enlightenment" (34) and that we no longer believe that the future is moving to a golden age, as many in the past might have. Rather, we know that we are in control of our future and that scares the crap out of us.

It's interesting because this book was published ten-years ago, so some of its discourse is outdated, but others are insightful enough that I found myself saying, "yup, you're right. That time is here." For example, Postman brings up a book by Nicholas Negroponte called Being Digital where Negroponte states: "we will find that we are talking as much or more with machines than we are to humans." I think about my every day-to-day interactions and how technology has allowed me to interact with more humans, but, in a less human way. (And what I mean by this isn't so much that my moments aren't authentic when technology is used, but that there are specific aspects of what is 'human' that is lost through mediums such as e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging.) I'm not a fan of talking on the phone and admit that I would much rather text message someone for an hour to catch up than to call them. I also like how I can keep track of people using websites such as Facebook or even blogs, even though I realize that in many ways this form is rather impersonal and superficial. Alternatively, because I (as many) always have the good intentions to keep track of friends who move away and end up not, technology has allowed for the network to stay closer. I'm more or less just dumping my thoughts, because I think that, providing there is balance, it's okay to have these technologies assisting me in my interactions. It's so hard for me to remember what it was like to not have the internet to look up a quick movie quote because I can't think of it rather than in "the olden days" where I would have to call or remember to ask peers and friends when I saw them next.

I have somewhat digressed on the review of Building a Bridge, but what can I say other than there are bits and pieces of social commentary intermingled with quotes from 18th century philosophers. There are moments when I full-heartedly agree with Postman (who even in 99 as a NYU professor boasted that he didn't use e-mail) and other times when I shrug in disagreement. He's an easy read, and not filled with pretentious jargon.

Neil Postman Online (for further reading).

Finally, one last quote from the book that I really liked.

"Any fool can have an opinion; to know what one needs to know to have an opinion is wisdom; which is another way of saying that wisdom means knowing what questions to ask about knowledge." (96)

Historical Era (WG)

This week's Weekly Geeks post asks:

Is there a particular era that you love reading about? Tell us about it [...] Do you have a favorite book that really pulled you back in time, or perhaps gave you a special interest in that period? [...]

This is really a tough WG question for me.  I rarely read historical fiction.  It's not that I have a rule against it, but it never seems to find its way home to me.  This hasn't always been the case.

When I was much younger - middle school age - I used to devour those trashy Harlequin Historical Romances.  I mean, I'd go through dozens of them in a month.  During those reading years, I remembered being fond of the Civil War.  I found an author who wrote from both perspectives (I know that you'll be shocked, but in one of the books, a Confederate fell in love with the enemy). Those were some interesting times in my reading life. I passed a History test because it just so happened that the book prior to the test was about the Spanish/American War, and although I forgot to study for the exam, I had a good memory of the historical backdrop of the love story.  Hmmmm...novel researched and written that well, or the teacher's test that easy?  

I quickly outgrew the historical romance scene and haven't really revisited it.  

Here recently I've read a couple of World War II books for a book challenge, but I think that's about it.  So, what time period would I be most interested in reading?  (*And I'm going to assume that the question includes present or near-present authors writing in historical times rather than historic writers writing in contemporary times) 

- oh gosh, this is a lot harder.  I'm struggling here.  Perhaps the 50's & 60's because the escape from the restraints of what is the norm to finding your own voice is appealing...I might have to reexamine at some point why I'm naturally disinclined to works not set it contemporary times.  

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Title: Persepolis: The Story of Childhood

Author: Marjane Satrapi

Pub Date: 2003

Pages:153

Genre: graphic novel, memoir

Challenges: World Citizen Challenge; Nymeth's Mini Challenge

Rating: 5/5

Title: Persepolis: The Story of a Return

Author: Marjane Satrapri

Pub Date: 204

Pages: 187

Genre: graphic novel, memoir

Challenges: World Citizen; Nymeth's Try Something New Challenge

Rating: 5/5

A couple of weeks ago, I signed up for a mini-challenge hosted by Nymeth.  The premise was, with a partner, share the experience of reading something new.  That's how I met Madeline (make sure you check out her blog - she posts great reviews and her pup Oliver is absolutely adorable).  

Madeline & I corresponded via e-mail, introduced ourselves, and shared where we were at in the reading world.  I was pretty open about what I wanted to read next, so when Madeline mentioned that she had Persepolis on her way from Amazon, I checked it out and thought, "why not".  

So the thing is, I have never been interested in reading a graphic novel.  I couldn't get the image of Sunday morning comic strips out of my head.  This was why I jumped at the opportunity to do so here.  I mean, the whole point was to try something new, right?  And I'm glad that I did. My biggest lesson?  Just because there are pictures, doesn't mean there's not substance!

Persepolis (named after the ancient capital of Persia) is a memoir of Marjane Satrapi and her experiences growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution (she was about 10 when it began). This is going to be very embarrassing to admit, but I knew very little about the history of Iran.  And the little that I did know was not from my education, but from a dear friend of mine. I felt as though Satrapi gave a brief enough history in the introduction for ignorant folks like me, and through incredible graphics and dialogue recreated a three-dimensional account that piqued my curiosity and at the same time didn't really overwhelm me because I was lacking in education.

I was captivated from the moment I opened Book I.  (I'm really glad that I ordered them both from the library together rather than have to wait). 

Somethings that stood from both books:

• Marjane maintains a childlike vice for her twelve year experiences. In particular, when the kids in the school yard play 'execution' "in the name of freedom".
• There is no G-rating here: Marjane does not coat the horrific executions or bombings. 
•  As Marjane's Self character ages, her discoveries of who she is and the turmoil of "growing up" is equally paid attention to.
• She doesn't self-censor, even those moments that she is not proud of.

Finally, the dialogue is incredible.  While in Austria for school, she finds herself reading as many books as possible to fit in.  Right after reading The Second Sex by De Beauvoir: 

"Simone explained that if women peed standing up, their perception of life would change. So I tried it. It an lightly down my left leg. It was a little disgusting. Seated, it was much more simpler. And, as an Iranian woman, before learning to urinate like a man, I needed to learn to become a liberated, emancipated woman." 

I would highly recommend these books to anyone.  I'm so glad that I read them; I feel as if a whole new genre has been opened up for me.

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Title: Pride & Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

Pub Date: 1813

Pages: 334

Genre: Literature; Classics

Challenges: 

Rating: 4.5

I finally finished!  I finally finished!  As I mentioned in a couple of posts, I could not figure out why I was having such trouble finishing the novel.  I think that I spent almost two weeks with Elizabeth.  It troubled me only because I couldn't really put my finger on why there was a delay.  I enjoyed reading it, and while nose in book, I was with Elizabeth and society.  But when I put the book aside, I could easily let it rest for a full day without picking it up again.  I never had the drive to spend the night staying up to find out what was going to happen to Jane, Elizabeth, or bratty Lydia.   Instead, reading Pride & Prejudice was like taking a break from the day and walking through the park on a breezy spring day.  I wasn't rushed, or pushed, or pulled; rather I was relaxed, meditative, warm.  I understand why Austen's books are referred to as 'comfort books'.

Overall thoughts

I'm skipping the synopsis since I'm going to assume that almost everyone else in the world has read this.  Instead, I'm just going to share some thoughts:

• It took me a while to keep up with all of the characters.  Even now, there are some people that I just kind of went with the flow and kept reading because it was tiresome trying to hunt down when they were introduced, whether they were friends, family, or random others in society.
• I loved Elizabeth.  She was so witty and bright.  I adored the underhanded comments and the dignified insults.  How I wish I had such command of the English language.  Not that I would go around insulting people left and right.  But still, it would come in handy.  Usually I'm a fluster-er and have 'that perfect comment' hours later.
• Lydia is so frustrating. I wanted to slap her.  I couldn't help it.  Why couldn't she have as much decorum as Elizabeth?  
• I felt for Mr. Bennet when Elizabeth moved away, even though Austen didn't spend countless conversations to show the father/daughter relationship, you could really tell that Mr. Bennet felt the closest to Lizzy.
• Okay, I was a bit frustrated when (let's say...)Jane is speaking to Eliza and she goes "my mom" or "my aunt" when it's Eliza's mom and aunt too.  Why not use "our"???
• And Darcy, what's left to be said.  I mean, there are fan groups based solely on this character?!  He's frustrating and adoring all rolled into one.  When he detours Bingley I wanted to chastise him for being so overprotective, and yet I could appreciate where he was coming from and thinking him such a good friend! 

Favorite quote:

"There are few people whom I really love and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense." ~ Elizabeth Bennet 

Question - I would really like to watch a film adaptation.  But which one?  Colin Firth or Keira Knightley? 

Awful Book-to-Movie Adaptation (WG)

This week's Weekly Geek question asks:

Worst movie adaptations: The recent release of Watchmen based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore got me thinking about what I thought were the worst movie adaptations of books. What book or books did a director or directors completely ruin in the adaptation(s) that you wish you could "unsee," and why in your opinion, what made it or them so bad in contrast to the book or books?

Immediately Starship Troopers came to mind.  In college I took a Science Fiction class because it's never been a genre that I've been terribly fond of.  For my outside readings I focused on the works of Heinlein. (I chose him because of Friday - very few SF authors of the time wrote female protagonists; Heinlein was an exception). So, here I was maybe a junior in college, I just finished reading Starship Troopers and decided to rent the DVD. 

 I might have even been working on a paper where I was going to compare the two (?).  

Dear god, I cringe thinking about that movie again.  And the thing is, I know that S. Troopers has somewhat of a cult-like following for those B flick movie fanatics and that's great.  Good for them.  I'm in favor of the random B-flick movies (Troma! for one)...but I had different expectations for Starship Troopers.  I didn't expect to have the desire to turn it into a MST3K experience.  

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Author: John Boyne

Country: Great Britain (2006)

Pages: 218

Genre: Young Adult; Historical Fiction

Challenges: War Through the Ages; Young Adult, Library Challenge

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

(As I mentioned in last week's Sunday Salon) I first saw The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as a movie trailer. I didn't realize that it was a book until I began googling to find out how long it had been at the theatre and when it would be coming to DVD.  It was through this search that I found out it was a book, so I immediately put it on my list and waited impatiently for it to arrive. 

Now what's interesting is there is no summary to be found on the inside of the book jacket.

Instead, Boyne explains that "[they] thought [the summary] would spoil the reading of the book. We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about."

I admit, I was a little disappointed that I already knew with such an introduction.  

Summary 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a tale about the Holocaust, told differently.  The point of view is a 9 year old German boy named Bruno who has been been transplanted with his family from Berlin to Poland.  Bruno knows that his dad is a very important man, he wear a uniform and all the soldiers that come visit his dad always seem in awe. Still, he is quite mad at his father for moving them to this wretched place out in the middle of nowhere.  There's nothing around, and even odder, on the horizon, there's a whole bunch of people in striped pajamas that mill around these grey buildings.  Gretal, Bruno's know-it-all 12 year old sister, finally concludes that they are Jews. Around this time Bruno does what any 9 y.o. would, he begins to explore. Along the fence he goes for hours.  He's about to give up until:

"Bruno slowed down when he saw the dot that became a speck that became a blob that became a figure that became a boy."

 We soon find out that the boy is Shmuel and he quickly becomes Bruno's friend. The rest is a journey of friendship through the ugliness of war, cruelty, and death. 

My thoughts

I thought this book was incredible. From the moment that I began reading, I was pulled into Bruno's perspective on what was going on in Germany during World War II.  I've read complaints from other reviewers expressing disbelief in Bruno's ignorance and naivety.  It was questioned whether it was believable that a 9 year old would be as clueless to the war and even more oblivious of the concentration camp his home neighbors.  I can understand those doubts especially when we think about how much our children are exposed to now from the media, their peers, music, etc.  I don't believe that the people were as aware as we would expect, whether this unawareness is specific to the censorship going on or the inclination to not see what you should be seeing. My grandmother lived in Germany during World War II and I grew up listening to stories from my grandmother about what East Germany was like. She was a tween when Hitler came to reign and their impression of this man was so further than the reality of him.  These personal stories that she shared of war-time Germany shadowed my reading of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.  Shmuel and Bruno became real to me. 

I also thought the authenticity of voice was an incredible asset.  Bruno refers to the Furor as "The Fury", his sister as the "Hopeless Case", and Auschwitz as "Out With".  The father is very much the patriarch, his is the breadwinner, the foundation, and the ultimate decision-maker in the family.  He is of a serious demeanor and it's easy to see Bruno both respects and fears his father. 

Finally, the ending...oh wow!  The ending was one o those endings where, a few pages before the end you know how it's going to end and you keep thinking to yourself "No! No! No!" as if shouting inside your head could stop the characters from playing out their role. I closed the book and was at a loss.

[side note: evidently Boyne said that he wrote the rough draft in two and a half days, barely sleeping.]

//sunday salon - first one!//

When I began this blog a month ago, I intended to participate in as many book-blogging communities and challenges that I found possible.  

Not surprising to me, the Sunday Salon has been at the top of my list prior to my own blogging days.  I would cruise through all of the cool book blogs that the SS pointed me to.  You can only imagine how extremely giddy I was to find that bookblogging communities were so huge on t

he 'net.  In fact, it was part the SS's doing that led me to start my own blog.

Weekends, and particularly Sundays, went by so quickly that within what seemed like only a slight blink of the eye, it was already Tuesday and I missed my opportunity. (I'm still trying to balance my blogging time in my already hectic schedule!)

O.K. O.K. What a long-winded introduction!  *sheepish grin*

This week I started and hope to finish (by tonight?) The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. I had never heard of this book when it first came out, rather, I remember seeing the preview of the movie right before it left the theaters.  I thought to myself, "I really need to check that out.  What a unique concept!".  So I began fiddling with google and doing random searches when I stumbled upon the actual book.  I immediately put it on my request list at the library, but guess a lot of people had the same intentions, because I had to wait for-EVER for it.  I'm really enjoying it.   I like that the narrative is in the voice of a young child caught up in the adult world in the middle of Berlin, Germany during World War II.  Bruno, the young nine year old boy, has only recently moved to the home guarding Auschwitz (or OutWith which is how Bruno and his 12 year-old sister "hear" it).  He has spied the people in the camp and thinks it's rather odd that they would all be wearing Striped Pajamas.  I know from the movie trailer that he meets and befriends a young boy in the camp, with only a fence separating their friendship.  This hasn't happened in the novel yet.  

I've also still been listening to The Thirteenth Tale, which I am loving.  I think that I might have to read it at some point in the future as well, rather than just relying on the audio version.  The story is mesmerizing, but there have been so many times when I have wished to be able to underline a passage or "re-read" an excerpt.

Finally, I just found out that the novel Never Let Me Go is going to become a movie.  I'm thrilled about this.  It seems as though many of the books I've read recently have either already been adapted to film, or will be.  I quite like that.  I always enjoy seeing someone else's vision for the story.

Hope everyone has had a relaxing weekend.  

Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Title: The Friday Night Knitting Club

Author: Kate Jacobs

Country: US (2007)

Pages: 343

Genre: Fiction

Challenges:

Rating: ***1/2

So here's the thing about The Friday Night Knitting Club - the book was given to me and I essentially had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just knew, when I picked it up from my stack, that I was looking for a fun chick-lit kind of book. In other words, the book version of a sitcom. After reading a couple of chapters in, I realized that I had not turned on a sitcom, but rather a dramedy. So, before I decided to pursue it any further, I hopped online to check out other people's reviews.

It was during this search that I read somewhere that FNKC was referred to as the Steel Magnolias of our time. Having completed the novel, I can see the similarities, but cannot do a fair comparison since I only watched Steel Magnolias (ed. note - is there a Steel Magnolias book?). I will say that the dialogue in FNKC cannot compare to the wit of SM, and lord knows Ouiser is one of a kind (ed. note - I initially spelled it Weaser, and then Weezer like the band. Did you know this was the correct spelling?) Oh, and evidently there will be a Friday Night Knitting Club movie starring, ayup, Julia Roberts.

But back to the book. The story centers around Georgia Walker, a middle-aged woman with a preteen daughter named Dakota. Georgia is also the owner of Walker & Daughter, a quaint little knit shop in NY which hosts itself as the main setting. It is at this shop that the Friday Night Knitting Group is formed. Anita, established Walker advocate and mentor, is the voice of wisdom to Georgia throughout the twists and turns of her life. Then there's KC, a longtime friend/acquaintance who visits the shop while making a drastic career change as well as Lucie and Darwin, who end up befriending one and another due to a run-in where they would both have rather remained anonymous. So where's the drama? Why it's when Georgia gets haunted by her devastating past. In walks Cat, Georgia's long ago best friend who betrayed her right after high school and James, father of Dakota, who walked out of her life as soon as she became pregnant.

The book is pretty believable and as a bonus, some useful "real life" words of wisdom is interspersed within the pages. One of my favorites came from Gran, Georgia's Scottish grandmother, who says:

"Stress is not about the situation, my dear, it's about the person. There's some who can handle it and there's some who can't."

FNKC is definitely about friendship and perseverance. It's about hope for the future and forgiveness of the past. The characters didn't always seem three-dimensional, but the issues made up for it.

At this point I'm not quite sure if I'll read Knit Two. I'm partly curious to see how Dakota has come along (evidently she's 18 in the sequel). Has anyone read either?

The Freedom Writers Diary

Title: The Freedom Writers Diary

Author: The Freedom Writers & Erin Gruwell

Country: US (1999)

Genre: Nonfiction; Social Science; Diaries and Journals

Challenges: Dangerously Read Challenge

Pages: 280

Rating: ***

The Freedom Writers Diary is a collaborative effort from high school dubbed "The Freedom Writers" at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. The collection of journal entries are published anonymously. Within these entries are the experiences of Mrs. Gruwell's 150 students, each who began their freshman year believing that they were worthless, and ended their senior year with a diploma and a vision for the future.

Erin Gruwell, a young teacher at Wilson High School, found herself teaching students who were considered unreachable. They were loud, bitter, hardened, and ultimately those that the school wished would disappear. In fact, these students had a lot in common with the educational system - they had given up on themselves as well.

"I hate my neighborhood. It's surrounded by gangsters and drug dealers. There are too many opportunities that seem out of my reach. What goals do I aim for? I don't aim, because I don't have any goals; instead, I deal with what comes." (Diary 9).

And then comes this teacher who is "always trying to give meaning to everything" (Diary 15). Erin Gruwell has these kids study Ann Frank and Zlata Fillipovic - young people who had to find inner strength in times where they were being persecuted. She taught them reading comprehension and writing skills, but she also taught them how to survive and what it means to be tolerant of those that are different from you.

Overall, it sounds like a pretty touching book doesn't it? And I suppose I should have been touched more than what I was. But something was missing. Something was missing in the journal entries. I just didn't feel the emotion that should have gone along with some of the stories that these kids were writing about. They were pouring out their daily struggles - the gangs, going to court, watching friends get killed, parents using drugs; and yet, it all seemed contrived. Over-edited. Forced to be grammatically correct before it was published. Sterile and void of any real emotion. I compare the entries to the retelling of a nightmare later in the day. The heart pounding moment upon first waken is long gone and now that you've existed in 'reality' for a few hours, the nightmare seems so far away that you are completely desensitized. When you share the nightmare with a friend it seems so far away from the truth that your retelling is almost bland and you might throw in a shrug after almost as if to say, "so yeah, I know it sounds far-fetched but I really was scared."