fairywhispers's "2009 Bookshelf"

I picked up this book because I enjoyed reading The Copper Beech. Unfortunately, I just cannot seem to get into Echoes. I tried three times to read this book and failed to be engaged each time, so it is time to give up on it and pass it along to someone who will enjoy it more.

This book is a little repetitive in places and, considering there are only 202 pages, it did seem to drag a bit. Having said that, the content itself is absolutely fascinating. Before reading this book, I rarely thought about Finland except to note that they had a good education system – I didn’t even know where they are located on the map. Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf has opened my eyes to the unique and admirable nature of this people.

Finland ranks among the top few countries for global competitiveness, environmental sustainability, water resource management, minimal bureaucracy and least corruption. They lead the world in health, technology, education and gender equality, are known in the United Nations as the ‘Super Peacekeeper’ and are proportionally the biggest library users in the world – six million visits per annum.

This book is an interesting study of one of the world’s least lauded nations, and it has left me with an immense respect for the Finnish people.

We have all thought about what we would do differently if we had our life to live over again, but have we really thought through the implications? We think about what we could gain but have we truly thought about what we could lose? And what if we had to live our life over, and over, and over? Could we handle it? Replay is a brilliant book about time wasted and time gained and how we manage what very little time we have. The style is fresh and easy to read and the characters inspire empathy. I found this book hard to put down. Even those who are not fans of the fantasy genre ought to enjoy this book.

This is an incredibly boring book. I laboured all the way to part three in the hopes it would improve, but I was sorely disappointed. The language is too dense and the style is condescending – I feel as though I’m being talked down to. The blurb states that this book is supposed to be a metaphor for the German occupation of France – I simply cannot see it. anyhow, this is not a book I would recommend.

I loved this book and found it almost impossible to put down. The tale is told in an elegant, graceful style that brings to mind some of the great nineteenth century classics, and the characters are very real and believable. The Historian is set against the background of contemporary communist politics, yet it is filled with the rich details of Eastern European history. I love how we are invited to share the exciting, frustrating, and sometimes mundane life of historians – trying to piece together clues, some incomplete, others so tiny as to be almost missed, and come up with a plausible theory of how things once were. Despite this plodding journey, there is not a page of this book that is dull. Rather it is filled with a lingering feeling of menace, as though something sinister is peering over our shoulder this very minute.

The Dracula legend is old, tired, jaded. Many modern authors have tried to freshen it up by remaking the genre – portraying vampires as mis-understood creatures. Kostova returns to the image of vampires as evil, damned, terrifyingly seductive, yet she has done so in such a way that we are reminded of the bone-chilling fear these creatures can inspire.

I find it hard to believe that this is Kostova’s first novel. With a talent this large, we can expect great things from her in future. My only fault with this book is that, after our slow piecing together of the facts, the ending seems a little fast and squashed together. No doubt this will improve as she gains experience.

All in all, I feel The Historian, like Bram Stoker’s Dracula, will live on as a classic of the vampire genre.

Lockie Leonard: Human Torpedo delves into the mind of an adolescent boy in the throes of his first relationship, while trying to cope with a new town, a new home and a new school. It is well-written and the characters, while a bit cliche, are still convincing enough to hold our interest. This is a decent example of Australian Young Adult fiction, but it does not persuade me to continue with the series.

The concept behind Christianity: An Ancient Egyptian Religion is very interesting. Most people accept that there has been some tampering with scripture and orthodox teachings through the ages, as well as natural evolution of acceptable behaviours. However, the basic tenets – the flood, the Exodus, Moses, Abraham, the Virgin Birth, the Holy Trinity, the Resurrection – are rarely questioned.

This book argues that even these most basic beliefs are mistaken, either corrupted through centuries of oral traditions or deliberately altered to suit the politics of the day. The author not only states that the roots of Christianity lie in Ancient Egypt, but that the biggest player in the bible – Jesus himself – was actually a contemporary of Moses, living centuries before the bible places him.

While there are some areas where Osmon seems to be stretching things a bit, this book presents some pretty convincing arguments to support his view. Evidence cited includes modern archaeological findings, contemporary writings and the scriptures themselves – the Bible, the Qu’Ran and Hebrew Scriptures.

This book will likely offend strict Christians, and probably Muslims and Jews as well. However, I found it convincing enough to warrant further investigation.

An Obedient Father is a superbly written, enthralling and deeply disturbing story. Sharma’s characters alternately inspire pity and disgust. As in real life, they are neither purely good or purely evil, but beautifully human in their fragility. Thus, while we feel disgust for the abuser, we also feel empathy. And, while we feel empathy for the abused, we also feel disgust.

I feel I should warn readers that there are a few descriptions of sexual abuse in this book that are disturbingly realistic and this book is an emotional roller-coaster. Having said that, I believe this is the best-written book I have read in a while and I will definitely watching for more books by this author.

Splinter was a very odd book. If you expected an exciting story of survival, you will be disappointed. Much of this novel is spent inside Hector’s head. The author probably intended some obscure message about the relationship between father and son, the sociology of survival groups, the formation of new religions, or the behaviour of humans in the face of the unknown. If so, I could not find it – perhaps because the book was so boring, I struggled to pay attention. Unless you are a real sci-fi fanatic, I wouldn’t bother reading this book.

This is, in essence, a biography of a cat. Not just any cat, of course, but the most famous library cat in the world. Anyone who has ever befriended or enslaved themselves to a cat will relate to the antics of Dewey. The author tells us that he was charismatic and caring, and one only has to look into his eyes (pictured on the cover) to know that this is no mere exaggeration. The love Vicki feels for this amazing cat (dare I call him a hero?) is evident in every word, and by the end of the book you will love him too. You’ll laugh, you’ll groan and you’ll weep, but one thing you will not do is forget this book, or it’s subject – and what more can author hope for?