From the Stacks Challenge Wrap-Up

The From the Stacks Challenge was a great first challenge for me, perfect for forcing myself to pick up those books that I otherwise would not have read. This challenge ran from November 1st 2008 to January 31st of this year. So I finished with a week or two to spare. The goal was to read five books that we have on our shelves at home, that we've been meaning to read but haven't managed to get to, for whatever reason. I have a lot more than five books that qualify, but I the books I chose were mostly gifts that I was given, some more than two years ago. I think it is very necessary to read the books that are given to you as gifts, because somebody obviously went out of their way to choose that book for you.
The first book that I read for this challenge was actually not a gift, but one that I picked up because I had heard so much about it. It was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. This one became one of my favorite reads of 2008 - I just loved it! And I'm so glad that I forced myself to read my copy of it. What a great way to begin this challenge!
The next book I read was also not a gift, but a signed first-edition that I had picked up for myself when I saw it on sale at the book store. It was Dragons of the Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I have to say that I do consider myself a Dragonlance fan, although not a huge one. I have enjoyed their books, but there are other series that I have loved more (The Deathgate Cycle is incredible, all fantasy fans should pick that one up at some point). This book was fun, very Dragonlance-y, but not great. Adding it to my collection of signed first editions meant more to me than reading the book itself, even after reading it.
I read Under the Net by Iris Murdoch for this challenge in December. This was a gift, one I received from my brother-in-law and his girlfriend for Christmas last year. They always choose thoughtful and interesting books, so I felt terrible for never getting around to reading their gifts. This was a fun read, very enjoyable both for the writing style and for the story.
I began the new year with another gift from J and A - Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This book is definitely on my list of favorite books now, and is probably the best book I've read so far this year. They actually got this book for me at least two Christmases ago! I can't believe I let it sit on my shelves for so long!
The final book I read for this challenge was a gift from my dad last Christmas - Crimes Against Nature by Robert F Kennedy Jr. I really enjoyed this one, and now when my dad asks me about it, I can actually discuss it with him, rather than making excuses for why I haven't read it yet!
I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for challenges in the future that are like this one. Anything that encourages me to read books that I own, rather than books from the library, is good. I still get tons from the library (just check out my Library Loot posts!) but at least my own bookshelf is not as neglected. Now I just have to figure out a way to encourage myself to read those books that I borrow from friends . . .

Crimes Against Nature by Robert F Kennedy Jr

The subtitle to this book is "How George W Bush and His Corporate Pals are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy." There's not really much more that needs to be said about what this book is about. Kennedy has a tremendous amount of data to back up this statement, and his writing lets you know that he feels pretty strongly about it. I would say he's pissed, as we should all be. I already knew vaguely of some instances where Bush's appointments for various government positions allowed corporate interests to basically take over, but Kennedy brings to light many many more perversions of power. This is an incredibly well-researched book, Kennedy obviously went to great lengths to make sure that he had the facts to back up what he knows was happening in our government.
It would be really interesting to see what has changed in the four years since this book was written. Parts of it have an almost mournful tone: Kennedy is telling us about what the Bush administration has done so far, and he is concerned about what is going to be affected in the future. It will also be interesting to see what will change with the new administration - most of Obama's environmental and scientific appointments seem to be people who can make the necessary changes. But there is still a big connection with the corporations, and in today's politics, that seems hard to change. This is an interesting factual read, although much has probably changed since the book first was published.
I read this book to finish up the From the Stack Challenge, and it also qualifies for the RYOB Challenge, since they're pretty much the same thing. I am also using this book for the Read Your Name Challenge. For reading my name, I am doing my full first name - Jessica. So this is my "C".

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

First book of the New Year! This is a wonderful book that I finished in three days. I was honestly not expecting it to affect me as much as it did, although when it was given to me, or course I knew that it had been very well received in general. I was a little bit put-off by the premise of it: sixteen-year-old Pi Patel is trapped in a lifeboat crossing the Pacific Ocean with a 450-pound Bengal tiger. But this book is about so much more than that.
The fact that the first third of the book has nothing to do with being stranded out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger is something that I think needs to be mentioned. Everything I've read about this book gives you the idea that that is the only important part of the plot. But the whole first part of Life of Pi is about Pi's life and family before the accident that strands him on the lifeboat. Pi's full name is Piscine Molitor Patel, Piscine Molitor being the name of a pool in Paris. Pi's family has never been to Paris. The fact of Pi's full name is just one of the ways that Martel does an incredible job characterizing Pi and his family. Pi himself chooses his nickname, in full awareness of the fact that it is a Greek letter that is used in mathematics. With this nickname he takes control over his life by taking control of the use of his name. Pi's father runs the zoo in their formerly French town, Pondicherry, in India. It is the 1970's, and Pi's father is increasingly concerned with the way his country is going. So he decides to pack up and move his family to Canada. Along with his family, he has made arrangements for the sale of most of the animals in the zoo, who will be coming along on the trip with them, at least as they cross the ocean.
I really can't say enough about what a wonderful story this is. Martel is an amazing storyteller, one who can make the simplest details profound, and who can make you feel like you are a part of his story. When reading this book, it is important to pay attention to how he is telling the story, as well as what he is saying. The chapter breakdown alone is something that leads you to think more about what it means to tell a story. This truly is a beautiful book that I expect is only more enjoyable the more times you read it.
This is the fourth book I've read for the From the Stacks Challenge. I got it as a gift at least two Christmases ago. So far this is my favorite read from this challenge. I am also using it for the RYOB (read-your-own-books) challenge, which is obviously very similar. I need help when it comes to reading the books that are on my shelves, as opposed to library books, so these challenges are excellent for me.
This book also qualifies for two other challenges that I signed up for. One of those is the A-Z Challenge, where I signed up to read books by authors a to z. So this is my "M" book.
The final challenge that I read this book for is the only challenge that I picked books out for ahead of time. Generally I dislike making specific booklists for challenges, but in this case, I decided to do it. The challenge is the 999 Challenge, a Librarything group challenge. The idea is to pick nine categories, and then read nine books in each category. I picked prizewinners as my categories. So one category is the Man Booker Prize, which Life of Pi won in 2002.
Here's hoping that more of my books will fulfill so many challenges.

Under the Net by Iris Murdoch

Here is my third entry for the From the Stacks Challenge. (Previous entries can be found with the label below.) This is one that I've had for about a year - it was a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law and his girlfriend last year, and it took signing up for a challenge to get me to read it. Not because I wasn't interested, it's just very difficult to get me to read my own books. That's specifically why I sign up for these sorts of challenges.
I knew nothing about this book, beyond the information anyone can glean from the cover print. The book was written in 1954 by Iris Murdoch, who wrote more than 20 books. This one takes place in London, presumably during the time that it was written. I found Under the Net to be more entertaining than I expected. The main character, Jake Donaghue, is a man who is afraid of hard work, who never has a job or a place to live, but manages to live well off the generosity of this friends. The only job he seems to do is as a translator for a french author. Jake wants to be a writer in his own right, but as mentioned before, he's not very good at actually working on something.
Jake's life changes when he is once again without a place to live, and gets in contact with his old girlfriend and her movie-star sister. This brings him back into contact with Hugo, the man who he broke off contact with years before. Jake has to come to terms with a variety of opinions he holds about these friends from his past before he can face his future.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is hard to explain how funny the book is - there are parts that seem like some kind of movie caper or heist. Jake's character is very well drawn - you root for him even when he's behaving like an idiot. His friends are interesting and varied, and not like anyone I know. And once Mister Mars, the movie dog, joins him (in a very funny kidnap-the-dog scene), I was loving it. Written by someone less talented, this book could have been terrible, but Murdoch does a wonderful job telling the story with both humor and drama.

Dragons of the Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

This book has been sitting on my to-be-read shelf for at least a year. I picked it up when I saw a signed copy at the book store, otherwise, I probably wouldn't have bothered.
I enjoy the Dragonlance books, but I would not call myself a huge fan. This title is the first in a new series, the Lost Chronicles. The Lost Chronicles series documents some of the events that take place in between the original Chronicles series. This first book covers the events between the first and second books. I read those ages ago, so trying to remember it for this one was a little bit difficult.
Dragons of the Dwarven Depths begins right where Dragons of Autumn Twilight leaves off. Lord Verminaard has just been killed, and the companions have helped his slaves escape. Now they are all trying to figure out what to do next. None of the various factions within this group of refugees can agree, causing problems for Tanis and his friends, who are just trying to help. They end up splitting up - Tanis and Flint head out to find the fabled dwarf kingdom of Thorbardin; Caramon, Raistlin, and Sturm (later followed by Tika and Tas) head to the haunted keep of Skullcap, where Raistlin is drawn by some strange power; and Riverwind, Goldmoon, Laurana, and Gilthanis stay to help the refugees. The story switches back and forth as it follows these various groups, bringing them all together again in Thorbardin.
I did find this book an entertaining read, but I can't say whether or not I'll bother picking up the other two books in the Lost Chronicles series. I am sure that for diehard fans of the Dragonlance books, getting to read more stories by the original authors is a treat. But to me, the whole book felt like an inside joke - it really should only be read by people who have read the other books, as so much of your understanding of the strange things that happen relies on that. And it is simply not as well written as many of this team's other books. The editing is terrible, which is always frustrating, and in parts it really felt like they phoned it in. All-in-all, this is one edition to the Dragonlance series that is fun to read, especially for big fans, but otherwise should not be bothered with.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Here is the first entry for the From the Stacks Reading Challenge that I am participating in. I have chosen my list of books which include this one, as well as Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman), Crimes Against Nature (Robert F Kennedy), Under the Net (Iris Murdoch), and Life of Pi (Yann Martel). Kind of a random selection, but I have so many to choose from, I went with books that were gifts. I always feel bad when I get books as gifts, and then next time I see the person who gave it to me, they ask about it and I have yet to read it. This will take care of a couple of those.
I have heard so much about this book, but it took this challenge to get me to read it. After the first ten pages or so, I knew that I was going to love it. I actually had no idea what it was even about, so I had no preconceived notions whatsoever. The main character is Christopher, a fifteen-year-old autistic boy who is also a genius when it comes to math and logical thinking. He has developed ways of understanding his world that allow him to adequately function on his own, but new situations are still terrifying for him. He has no real concept of human emotions, and he lacks understanding when it comes to many types of communication. Everything is very literal for him, making most people difficult for him to comprehend. He lives with his father, who knows him very well, and he goes to a school with other special needs children, where his main teacher understands exactly how he needs to be taught. Even with his difficulties, his life works very well, until the night he finds his neighbor's dog dead in its yard. Christopher decides to become a detective like one of his heroes, Sherlock Holmes, and find out who killed Wellington (the dog did not simply die of natural causes). This investigation exposes more truths than Christopher is capable of handling, and the choices he makes to try to set his world right change his life forever.
The story is told in first-person narrative, in Christopher's voice. It is brilliant, Mark Haddon does an amazing job of putting the reader into Christopher's mind. Within the first couple of pages, I loved him, and learning about the way he thinks and perceives the world was fascinating. Christopher has worked very hard to develop ways of interacting with the world that will help him to feel safe, and when those controls fall away, seeing how he acts is frightening, because you come to fear for him and his well-being. This is a tremendous book, and shows that no matter what problems we face in our own lives, if we do our best and face the problems head on, we can do anything.