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Book report
Jul. 2nd, 2010 08:38 pmAh, the Friday of a holiday weekend! What do I have going on this evening? Well, I took a nap and now it’s time for a - book report!
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier – Remarkable novel. Taking place in 19th century England and inspired by a true story, this novel shares the story of two “spinsters” who are fossil hunters. One of them, Elizabeth, is educated and upper-class; the other, Mary, is impoverished and uneducated – always a few shillings away from losing everything. I listened to this book on CD, and both voice actresses were gifted. I don’t know how to convey how much I loved this book. Striking characters who were totally realistic, a plot that moved at a nice clip, many levels of intricacy and many themes raised and explored (friendship, class, what it means to be a “spinster”, the role of women). The two main characters are perfect foils to each other. I was transported to the magical yet harsh setting and could not wait to see how the story resolved itself. Grade: A
Committed by Dan Mathews – This is Mathews’ memoir. He has spent his life fighting for animal rights and doing so in very creative and unusual ways. This was on my “to read” list for literally a few years but I kept dodging it, for a lot of reasons. I don’t always agree with PETA’s methods or style, and – yet simultaneously - reading about cruelty to animals horrifies me. Reading about it makes me wish I did more besides sending money to the Humane Society and not eating meat . (And oh yeah, my employer? The one I’ve been employed by for 14 years which runs restaurants? Main ingredient on our menu? Meat!) So I was prepared to be majorly depressed, reading about stomach-turning treatment of animals on fur farms, in labs, and in factory farms. I was very, very pleasantly surprised by this book. While Mathews does include enough detail that you know why he does what he does, it’s not a diatribe. It’s actually fun. He has a light-hearted way of describing both his activism and his approach to life that make you want to go out and join him. He says that seeing videos of horrible treatment of animals doesn’t bother him as long as he can actively work to end and prevent such treatment. He’s got a great style in terms of being able to connect with people and get his point across. And the book was so engaging and action-packed that I read it in like two days. Grade: A-
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Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier – Remarkable novel. Taking place in 19th century England and inspired by a true story, this novel shares the story of two “spinsters” who are fossil hunters. One of them, Elizabeth, is educated and upper-class; the other, Mary, is impoverished and uneducated – always a few shillings away from losing everything. I listened to this book on CD, and both voice actresses were gifted. I don’t know how to convey how much I loved this book. Striking characters who were totally realistic, a plot that moved at a nice clip, many levels of intricacy and many themes raised and explored (friendship, class, what it means to be a “spinster”, the role of women). The two main characters are perfect foils to each other. I was transported to the magical yet harsh setting and could not wait to see how the story resolved itself. Grade: A
Committed by Dan Mathews – This is Mathews’ memoir. He has spent his life fighting for animal rights and doing so in very creative and unusual ways. This was on my “to read” list for literally a few years but I kept dodging it, for a lot of reasons. I don’t always agree with PETA’s methods or style, and – yet simultaneously - reading about cruelty to animals horrifies me. Reading about it makes me wish I did more besides sending money to the Humane Society and not eating meat . (And oh yeah, my employer? The one I’ve been employed by for 14 years which runs restaurants? Main ingredient on our menu? Meat!) So I was prepared to be majorly depressed, reading about stomach-turning treatment of animals on fur farms, in labs, and in factory farms. I was very, very pleasantly surprised by this book. While Mathews does include enough detail that you know why he does what he does, it’s not a diatribe. It’s actually fun. He has a light-hearted way of describing both his activism and his approach to life that make you want to go out and join him. He says that seeing videos of horrible treatment of animals doesn’t bother him as long as he can actively work to end and prevent such treatment. He’s got a great style in terms of being able to connect with people and get his point across. And the book was so engaging and action-packed that I read it in like two days. Grade: A-
More behind the cut.
( Read more... )
