Lynda's Book Blog

Sunday Sonnet XXIII

2008-10-05T11:02:00.000+01:00

XXIII

As an unperfect actor on the stage,
Who with his fear is put beside his part,
Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,
Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart;
So I, for fear of trust, forget to say
The perfect ceremony of love's rite,
And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,
O'ercharg'd with burthen of mine own love's might.
O! let my looks be then the eloquence
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,
Who plead for love, and look for recompense,
More than that tongue that more hath more express'd.
O! learn to read what silent love hath writ:
To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.

Friday's Poem

2008-10-03T10:55:00.003+01:00

POEM IN OCTOBER

It was my thirtieth year to heaven
Woke to my hearing from harbour and neighbour wood
And the mussel pooled and the heron
Priested shore
The morning beckon
With water praying and call of seagull and rook
And the knock of sailing boats on the webbed wall
Myself to set foot
That second
In the still sleeping town and set forth.

My birthday began with the water-
Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my name
Above the farms and the white horses
And I rose
In a rainy autumn
And walked abroad in shower of all my days
High tide and the heron dived when I took the road
Over the border
And the gates
Of the town closed as the town awoke.

A springful of larks in a rolling
Cloud and the roadside bushes brimming with whistling
Blackbirds and the sun of October
Summery
On the hill's shoulder,
Here were fond climates and sweet singers suddenly
Come in the morning where I wandered and listened
To the rain wringing
Wind blow cold
In the wood faraway under me.

Pale rain over the dwindling harbour
And over the sea wet church the size of a snail
With its horns through mist and the castle
Brown as owls
But all the gardens
Of spring and summer were blooming in the tall tales
Beyond the border and under the lark full cloud.
There could I marvel
My birthday
Away but the weather turned around.

It turned away from the blithe country
And down the other air and the blue altered sky
Streamed again a wonder of summer
With apples
Pears and red currants
And I saw in the turning so clearly a child's
Forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother
Through the parables
Of sunlight
And the legends of the green chapels

And the twice told fields of infancy
That his tears burned my cheeks and his heart moved in mine.
These were the woods the river and the sea
Where a boy
In the listening
Summertime of the dead whispered the truth of his joy
To the trees and the stones and the fish in the tide.
And the mystery
Sang alive
Still in the water and singing birds.

And there could I marvel my birthday
Away but the weather turned around. And the true
Joy of the long dead child sang burning
In the sun.
It was my thirtieth
Year to heaven stood there then in the summer noon
Though the town below lay leaved with October blood.
O may my heart's truth
Still be sung
On this high hill in a year's turning.

Dylan Thomas

The Devil's Playground by Stav Sherez

2008-10-02T13:29:00.003+01:00

The Devil's Playground by Stav Sherez

Amazon Book Description:
'When the body of a tramp, Jake Colby, is found in a secluded Amsterdam park, Dutch police detective Ronald Van Hijn believes that this is the ninth victim of the serial killer stalking the city. Yet, all previous victims were young, female and beautiful. What could have made the killer change his MO?
On the corpse Van Hijn finds contact details for Jon Reed, an Englishman who befriended Jake in London shortly before the murder. Van Hijn summons Jon to Amsterdam to identify the body and so sets him on his own journey of discovery.
Was Jake really a tramp? What revelation about his identity led him to a life on the streets? And did his fate lie not in the hands of a serial killer but in the horror of the Holocaust death camps some 60 years before?'

Good thriller ... well written ... lots of twists....uncomfortable at times to read.
Worth reading ... hope his 2nd book will be as good.

Read 1st October 2008

Banned Books

2008-10-02T10:01:00.013+01:00

In response to a comment left on my previous post I thought I'd write some thoughts about my feelings regarding banning books.

There is a list on the American Library Association site of 100 Banned books.
Included in this list are classic of literature such as: The Great Gatsby, Catcher in The Rye, Lord of the Flies, The Colour Purple, 1984, etc.
Imagine if these books had been banned, removed or censored. Imagine the loss to literature, the loss to readers, the loss of imagination and self-expression, the loss to art and creativity.

Today schools and libraries (especially in the USA) try to censor books which they deem inappropriate.
Why?

I can understand if a book has been written which is blatantly racist, homophobic, misogynist that it would be inappropriate to have these books in schools / libraries, just as it would be inappropriate for the BNP or other white supremacists (LOL) to give a racist hate talk in our class rooms.

However, from what I can see, most of the books that are being challenge and removed are those in which the sexual content is deemed inappropriate. Often same sex relationships are challenge, or books challenge because they are too sexually explicit.

According to the ALA these are the 10 most challenged books of 2007:
* And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
* The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence
*Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language
* The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
Reasons: Religious Viewpoint
*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Reasons: Racism
*The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,
*TTYL, by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
* I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Reasons: Sexually Explicit
*It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit
*The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

Look at most of the reasons; homosexuality, sexually explicit, sex education ....
Challenged by homophobic, sexually repressed people?

How do children / adults learn? How do we grow and make choices? Very often by reading and analysing the world from different view points.
Through reading we learn that the world is a wonderful place populated by people of different ethnic, religious and sexual backgrounds?
Whose 'morality' are these censors protecting?

We cannot ban books. If we are concerned about the content of a book we should think about it, get different view points, make our own mind.
If we are concerned about things in children's books, for example that they are too sexually explicit, rather than censoring / banning these books we should discuss them with our children in a positive manner.
We need to remember that some parents will not / cannot discuss sexual maters with their children. Books provide a safe place for children to learn about issues that concern them. By having a variety of books children can read and make up their own minds, explore issues that concern them, etc.
As a former English teacher I think children should have access to all books.

With reference to books such as Huckleberry Finn, while acknowledging that aspects of the book are racist, you have to place the book in context of the time when it was written. these books can be read ... and should, not only because they are great works of literature, but because we learn from them

I'm currently reading a non-fiction book The Rape of Nanking, about the Japanese atrocities in China during the Chinese / Japanese war. While the subject matter is uncomfortable I feel it is important to read it as to know what happened and why, so that these things don't happen again. Reading this book does not make me hate the Chinese (victims here) or Japanese (aggressors here). It was a time in history when bad things happened. We have moved on. We must learn from the past.
Classic books which were written when racist / sexist etc. views existed should not be banned because they reflect the times. Instead they should be read in that context and learned from.
One of my favourite novelists is the classic Gothic writer Ann Radcliffe whose books are very anti-Catholic. That doesn't make me one! They are read with the knowledge of the climate at the time.

These are just some rambling thoughts for this morning. Perhaps I'll do some serious writing on the subject soon.
Meanwhile - please note:

American Library Banned Books Week

2008-09-30T17:05:00.006+01:00

The American Library Association Banned Books Week runs this week from 24th September - October 4th.

As the week's nearly over and I don't have time to order anything from the library, I thought I'd read Richard II which was censored by Elizabeth I.

'The best-known case of political censorship is that of Richard II. The play's first edition had a scene that showed the deposition of Richard II, which "so infuriated Queen Elizabeth that she ordered it eliminated from all copies" (Haight and Grannis 18). Then, in 1601, the Earl of Essex used Richard II, including the excised scene, to arouse resentment against the Queen. The excised scene was restored in 1608, under the reign of King James, who had "an affectionate remembrance of Essex." (Chambers 1: 355)' - Quote from article here

I've also got Zola's Nana waiting to be read on my shelves ...hopefully I'll get around to that sometime - maybe for next years Banned Book Week!

You can get a list of banned books from the American Library Association Site here , or there's a list here which I used for the Banned Books Challenge earlier in the year.

24 Hour Read-a-thon

2008-09-30T16:45:00.009+01:00

Found this Site about the 24 hour Read-a-thon

'What is the 24 Hour Read-a-thon?
It’s sort of a reading challenge, only everyone participates at the same time. For 24 hours, we read books, post in our blogs about our reading, and visit other readers’ blogs. We also participate in mini-challenges throughout the day.

What is the date of the next Read-a-thon?
October 18, 2008, starting at noon GMT.

What is the role of a Reader?
People who sign up to be readers are committing to reading books, posting updates in their blogs, participating in mini-challenges when they choose to, and, if they need breaks, visiting the blogs of other readers and encouraging them. The most hardcore among us will stay up the entire 24 hours and do nothing but read and update, even going so far as to skip showering and eat meals while reading. However, not all of us are that hardcore, and it’s ok for you to customize this read-a-thon to meet your needs. All I ask is that you be honest in your updates, and that’s about the only rule for readers.'

This looks SO MUCH FUN.
24 hours of just reading ...yes yes yes!!!!!!!!!!

For more information see the site here

Shakespeare's Sonnet # XXII

2008-09-28T22:06:00.002+01:00

XXII

My glass shall not persuade me I am old,
So long as youth and thou are of one date;
But when in thee time's furrows I behold,
Then look I death my days should expiate.
For all that beauty that doth cover thee,
Is but the seemly raiment of my heart,
Which in thy breast doth live, as thine in me:
How can I then be elder than thou art?
O! therefore love, be of thyself so wary
As I, not for myself, but for thee will;
Bearing thy heart, which I will keep so chary
As tender nurse her babe from faring ill.
Presume not on thy heart when mine is slain,
Thou gav'st me thine not to give back again

The Laws of Evening by Mary Yukari Waters

2008-09-27T10:44:00.003+01:00

The Laws of Evening by Mary Yukari Waters

'In the wake of World War Two, a generation of Japanese women found itself frozen, as if in amber - the last representatives of an exquisite, ancient culture slowly being crushed between the realisation of its own brutality and the coming American Century'

This is a lovely collection of tales, exploring different generations of women during and after WW2. In an ever changing society their hopes, dreams and recollections are explored in this extraordinary collection of stories.

Read 25/9/08

Going for Refuge by Sangharakshita

2008-09-27T10:25:00.002+01:00

Going for Refuge by Sangharakshita

'Going for refuge to the Three Jewels is what makes one a Buddhist'

This book explores the act and meaning of going for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma & Sangha.
Clearly written, based on a public speach given by Sangharakshita, this book guides us through what it means to take refuge.

Read 26/9/08

Friday poem # 19

2008-09-27T10:15:00.003+01:00

To Autumn

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain'd
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof; there thou may'st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

The narrow bud opens her beauties to
The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;
Blossoms hang round the browsof Morning, and
Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,
Till clust'ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
And feather'd clouds strew flowers round her head.

The spirits of the air live in the smells
Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,
Then rose, girded himself, and o'er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.

William Blake

Timebomb by Gerald Seymour

2008-09-24T18:16:00.005+01:00

Timebomb by Gerald Seymour

Amazon Synopsis:
'In 1992, after being fired from a top secret nuclear facility, a top KGB man buried a nuclear suitcase. Sixteen years later he has found a buyer for it. An exchange point in Eastern Europe is agreed upon. Travelling with the buyer is an undercover policeman, working for MI6. But as their shadowy journey across Europe begins, it becomes clear to a top psychiatrist at MI6, that their man may be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and the whole operation is very likely to be thrown into jeopardy ...'

A good thriller...once you get into it.
The main character Carrick is drawn into a complex situation, one which he begins to have a lot of sympathy for (as does the reader).
As usual Seymour writes a good novel.

Read 22/9/08

Japanese Women Poets: An Anthology by Hiroaki Sato

2008-09-22T11:09:00.009+01:00

Japanese Women Poets: An Anthology by Hiroaki Sato

I want this book! I've had it out of the library for a few weeks now, enjoying the poems in it.

It's a great anthology covering early songs and poems to present day.

I particularly like the early poems in the sections 'Poems from the Man'yoshu' and 'The Age of Tanka'.

Here are a few of my favourite poems from the anthology.

As I wait for you, longing,

moving the blinds of my house

an autumn wind blows

Princess Naukata
(born 638?)

Being of this world, unable to be near a deity,
I live apart, aggrieved over you in the morning,

I live away, longing for you, my lord.

If you were jewels, I'd carry you tied to my wrist,

if you were a robe, I'd never take you off.
I long for you, my lord; last night
I saw you in my dreams.

Anonymous Lady
(7th Century)

~

Late Autumn Reflection

The season in desolation, the year past its prime,
near my chamber entrance it's hushed, autumn sun cold.
In the clouds are distant geese, their voices familiar;

in the eaves-trees late cicadas, thier tunes about to die.
chrysanthemums by the water laden with dew, flowers left chilly,

lotuses in the inlet frosty, their old cups out of shape.
In stillness, alone, this hurt, driven by the four seasons,
I cannot bear to look at the falling leaves that flutter, flutter.

Princess from the Otomo family.

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

2008-09-22T10:47:00.005+01:00

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

I loved this book ... I'm a huge fan of traditional epic tales, and Crichtons reworking of Beowulf didn't fail to impress.

'Written' by Ibn Fadlan, emissary of a Caliph, it tells the tale of his journey with a group of Northmen / Norsemen who return home when summoned by Rothgar to help defeat the Wendol who keep terrorising villages. The leader Buliwyf (Beowulf) and his men faced the fierce hairy savage wendol (Grendel), their snake haired mother who lives in a cave, and the fire serpent (the wendols with torches snaking down the hillside). Fierce battles, Viking lifestyle, an Arab emissary and monsters galore, make for a brilliant tale. It even has footnotes, commentary and an appendix...all fictional though.

Crichton cleverly weaves the actual tales of Ahmed ibn Fadhlan and the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, into this brilliantly constructed story.
At the end Crichton explains why he wrote the tale, his love of Beowulf and his reading of some of Ahmed ibn Fadhlan tales in college.

A lovely book.
Read it or at least see the film the 13th Warrior which is based on this. It is the only film to weave in all three monsters which Beowulf faces in the poem ... Grendel (the wendol), the mother and the dragon (fire serpent).

Read 22/9/08

Sunday Sonnet

2008-09-21T13:21:00.001+01:00

XXI

So is it not with me as with that Muse,
Stirred by a painted beauty to his verse,
Who heaven itself for ornament doth use
And every fair with his fair doth rehearse,
Making a couplement of proud compare
With sun and moon, with earth and sea's rich gems,
With April's first-born flowers, and all things rare,
That heaven's air in this huge rondure hems.
O! let me, true in love, but truly write,
And then believe me, my love is as fair
As any mother's child, though not so bright
As those gold candles fixed in heaven's air:
Let them say more that like of hearsay well;
I will not praise that purpose not to sell.

The Moon and Flowers: Woman's Path to Enlightenment by Kalyanavaca

2008-09-21T13:15:00.003+01:00

The Moon and Flowers: Woman's Path to Enlightenment by Kalyanavaca

This is a lovely book with chapters written by women from different walks of life about their experiences of becoming a Buddhist.

Accessible and well written.

The Jacaranda Tree by H.E. Bates

2008-09-21T13:05:00.005+01:00

The Jacaranda Tree by H.E. Bates

Once again I've read something I've been meaning to read for years thanks to blogging and reading challenges.

Amazon Synopsis:
'...Bates's acclaimed novel of Burma. During World War II, a small English community are forced to flee when Japanese forces invade Burma. Paterson, the manager of a rice-mill, organises the evacuation and takes with him his Burmese mistress and her young brother. The rest of the party take along their prejudices, their pettiness and their squabbles, and a small enclave of English insularity moves north through Burma. Inevitably, as the journey continues, bitterness, tension and insoluble conflict unfold...Inspired by Bates' period of service in the Eastern theatre of war, "The Jacaranda Tree" skillfully evokes the atmosphere of Burma during the chaos of invasion.'

This is a wonderful book. It exposes prejudices and English snobbery alongside real human feeling and courage.

A classic novel ... a must read.

Read as part of the Initial Reading Challenge & Bang Bang Challenge
Read 20th September 2008

New Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English by Margaret Atwood and Robert Weaver

2008-09-21T12:57:00.008+01:00

New Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English by Margaret Atwood and Robert Weaver

Enjoyed reading many of these short stories.

Particularly liked:

The Lamp At Noon by Sinclair Ross

The story of a man, woman & child trying to farm in desert conditions. The woman tires to persuade her husband to leave , but he assures her all will be well and the land will get better and crops will grow. when he returns that evening he finds her and the child missing ...

I enjoyed his Painted Door story in From Ink Lake too so will be searching for more of his works

Red Plaid Shirt by Diane Schoomperlen

A woman tells her life and relationships through items of clothing she has worn.

A very poetic and poignant..

Japanese Fiction

2008-09-21T12:48:00.007+01:00

I have to say I'm addicted to Japanese fiction now.

I'm dying to read Natsuo Kirino's Real World now, after reading Out and Grotesque.
I'm busy surfing Amazon & my local library system for more books, as well as looking at reviews on the Japanese Reading Challenge site.

I particularly like Japanese women authors.

If you love good books ... try out some of the Japanese titles here on my blog or on the Challenge Site...

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino

2008-09-21T12:35:00.004+01:00

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino

I loved Kirino's 'Out' and enjoyed this one to.

Amazon synopsis:
'Two prostitutes have been murdered in Tokyo. Yuriko had been working as a prostitute all her adult life, starting while still at school, where her stunning beauty compensated for what she lacked in intellect and commanded attention from older men. Kazue worked for a blue-chip company and had good career prospects, but was unpopular with colleagues and felt isolated. She chose to walk the streets at night where she hoped to get noticed. Twenty years previously both women were educated at an elite school for young ladies, and both exhibited exceptional promise prior to their brutal, unnecessary deaths. How and why did this tragedy occur?'

The story is told by Yuriko's estranged sister and the girl's diaries.
How they turn to prostitution after attending the elite Q school system is fascinating and horrifying.
At times callous, embittered and 'grotesque', the novel envelopes you in these modern Japanese women's lives.
Thoughtful, insightful and uncomfortable.
A good read.
Recommended

Read 19th September
Extra for the Japanese Reading Challenge.

Six Keys to Buddhist Living: Simple Rules for Joy and Peace of Mind by Madonna Gauding

2008-09-21T12:31:00.004+01:00

Six Keys to Buddhist Living: Simple Rules for Joy and Peace of Mind by Madonna Gauding

Based on the 'Six Perfections' this book guides you through ways to lead a more thoughtful and caring life.
With medications and simple tips and exercises throughout, you don't have to be a Buddhist to benefit from it's wisdom.
Simplify your life ... lead a more mindful one .. help others .. etc.
Recommended.

Read 19th September

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

2008-09-19T15:11:00.006+01:00

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

This is a short but powerful book.

Amazon synopsis:
'Julie Otsuka's commanding and passionate debut novel explores unfamiliar history - that of Japanese Americans in World War II. With crystalline intensity and precision, Otsuka uses a single family to evoke the deracination of a generation who find themselves interned in their own country. With each chapter flawlessly executed from a different point of view - the mother; the daughter; the son; the family's return to their home; and the bitter release of their father - she has created a novel of unrelenting economy and suppressed emotion. "When The Emperor Was Divine" is a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and an unmistakably resonant lesson for our times.'

The novel is insightful and moving.
As a former English teacher, I recommend this book be placed on all school and college reading lists.
Highly recommended .. read it.

Read as part of the Bang, Bang Book Challenge & extra for the Japanese Reading Challenge
Read 18/9/08

Tokyo by Mo Hayder

2008-09-19T15:07:00.002+01:00

Tokyo by Mo Hayder

Amazon synopsis:
'Her troubled female protagonist in Tokyo is Grey, haunting the thronging streets of Tokyo in search of an elusive piece of film recording the infamous Nanking massacre of 1937. But did the film ever exist? The past is a touchy subject for Grey, with incidents in her own life that she has not yet come to terms with. She ill-advisedly becomes a hostess in a nightclub where the clientele is a tad unsavoury (another example of Hayder utilising real-life crime for her plots, with the echoes of a recent murder case). And Grey finds a lead to her quest: a taciturn survivor of the massacre who is now an academic, with no time for the woman pestering him. But Grey makes progress with him--until she encounters a powerful Godfather figure and his violent associates, with a clandestine source for his well-being a much sought-after elixir. Soon, Grey's life becomes two things: very complicated and a place of considerable danger.'

The topic of this book is obviously disturbing as it is based around a real life incident.
Grey's character is equally disturbing.
However, this is an excellent novel, hard to read at times, but powerful never the less.
Recommended.

Friday Poems # 17 & 18

2008-09-19T14:56:00.005+01:00

A couple more on the Autumn theme.

Autumn Birds

The wild duck startles like a sudden thought,
And heron slow as if it might be caught.
The flopping crows on weary wings go by
And grey beard jackdaws noising as they fly.
The crowds of starnels whizz and hurry by,
And darken like a clod the evening sky.
The larks like thunder rise and suthy round,
Then drop and nestle in the stubble ground.
The wild swan hurries hight and noises loud
With white neck peering to the evening clowd.
The weary rooks to distant woods are gone.
With lengths of tail the magpie winnows on
To neighbouring tree, and leaves the distant crow
While small birds nestle in the edge below.

John Clare

Autumn

A touch of cold in the Autumn night—
I walked abroad,
And saw the ruddy moon lean over a hedge
Like a red-faced farmer.
I did not stop to speak, but nodded,
And round about were the wistful stars
With white faces like town children

T. E. Hulme (Thomas Ernest Hulme)

Booking through Thursday 18/9/08

2008-09-18T11:07:00.027+01:00

Autumn Reading

'Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer?'

I guess I tend to read more in the Autumn / Winter months - as the evenings draw in I curl up on the sofa with a book.
The type of books I read don't change though. I don't have 'season' reads.
I have been looking for poems about Autumn recently though..ripening apples, falling leaves, harvesting etc...will post more of them here on my blog when I find ones I like. Keat's Ode To Autumn is here.

Here's a poem by John Updike:

September

The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze.

Dying to Sin by Stephen Booth

2008-09-18T11:07:00.019+01:00

Dying to Sin by Stephen Booth

Amazon synopsis:
'Detectives Fry and Cooper return in another supremely atmospheric Peak District thriller, perfect for fans of Peter Robinson and Reginald Hill Building work at an isolated farm has unearthed more than just the usual remains! two human are discovered, seemingly buried years apart. With little forensic evidence to go on, Detectives Diane Fry and Ben Cooper have to look back into the farm's history, where they uncover decades of abuse of migrant workers. Is the truth to be found somewhere in this piteous history? Or does the answer lie elsewhere, hidden in the ground, and still waiting to be discovered?'

Another solid crime novel from Stephen Booth..
Set in the Peak District, you get a real sense of rural community life and policing.

Read 17/9/08