War! What is it good for?

I was born in 1959. My father served in the US Navy from 1948 to 1958, missing World War 2. My father-in-law just barely caught the end of WW2, serving in the Navy on the west coast, mostly, to hear him tell it, in the function of processing discharges at the end of the war. My grandfather was born in 1902 and so was a bit too young for WWI and then too old for WW2 (although that certainly would not have been true in any other major combatant country, which goes to illustrate just how fortunate the United States has been during these world wars).

My point being that I have no direct experience, nor do I have any close family that has had any direct experience of war as described by Rulka Langer in her book The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt. Ms. Langer was a Polish citizen, wealthy and talented enough to have been educated in the US at Vassar, that lived in Warsaw during the German invasion in 1939. Her husband was on assignment at the time in the US, so she was raising her two school age children, and living with her mother. She was very fortunate (and wise) to take the opportunity that having a husband working in the US gave her and escaped the city about 6 months after the Germans took over. Her story describes the events leading up to and during the seige and subsequent takeover. Bravery, determination, courage and a good measure of luck, were the determining factors on who survived those 6 months (the winter following the invasion was one of the harshest on record) and who didn't.

Being twice removed (through time and distance) it is hard to imagine an ordeal like that. Yet many places in the world are currently embroiled in similar circumstances. Afghanistan comes to mind. I sometimes wonder that we, as a people and a culture, perhaps have lost something important by NOT having had to face and overcome such horrific events. That we've perhaps lost some of our resilience and certainly some appreciation for the good things we have.

The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt

What a great title! Just received an advanced reading copy of the 2nd edition and can't wait to dive right in (no pun intended). Pictured on the left is the modern cover, and on the right is the original cover, published in 1942, which I love.

The story itself centers on a young Polish career woman and mother in Warsaw during the first two years of the war. It has been acclaimed by many as a marvelous memoir from a civilian who was there.

I'll say more after I've read it.

And Away We Go...

After six months or so of messing about with re-reading old favorites and slowly reading a few new books by favorite authors, I think I'm back in the groove. Of course it's just in time for back-to-school preparation (teaching TWO new classes... AP Biology which requires a ton of prep work, and Zoology). None-the-less, I hope to get my blog up and going again and start racking up some reviews and new material.

Also, it's just in time for the 2009 Gateway nominee pre-reader reviews, which I will be bringing you in early August. All in all I'm a bit pumped about some of the stuff I'm reading and getting ready to read.

So to start off: you all know I love apocalyptic stuff and I came across this sweet gem mentioned or reviewed somewhere... Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse by Victor Gischler. I picked it up B&N earlier this week and received a strange look from the lady who helped me find it on the shelf... but I'm unapologetic when it comes to AF. I also grabbed Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse ed. by John Joseph Adams (website here).

Working my way through The Coyote Road ed. by Terri Windling & Ellen Datlow, and really liking it. Some of the stories are exceptional, and even the ones I don't like I have no trouble finishing. More when I finish.

Completed books in the last 4 weeks or so:

Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling; reread

Relic by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Skeleton Canyon by J.A. Jance

Divine Justice by David Baldacci

Pride Runs Deep & Sink the Shigure by R. Cameron Cooke

AP Biology

I get to teach a new class (new to me and to Poplar Bluff High School at least) called Advanced Placement Biology. Students taking this class have an option to take a test in May 2010. If they pass the test they will receive 3 hours of college credit for biology accepted nearly every college in the country.

Scout Camp Take 1

I attended Camp Geiger (north of St. Joseph, Missouri) as a boy scout from 1970-1973. My son crossed from cub scouts to boy scouts this last March. Soooo, even though we now live in SE Missouri, the boy and I went to Camp Geiger with his troop. And had a great time.

Wrapping up 2008

Nothing like a 5 month delay in wrapping up a year :-). I finished up 2008 having read 104 books, so I achieved my goal of 100 books in a year. I then took about a 3 month break, just doing some light reading (magazines and short stuff) and re-reading some favorites. Some of the highlights from the last quarter of '08 were:

The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Montserrat; a classic WWII sea story, I enjoyed this book very much, having an interest in both WWII and naval fiction.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks, soon to be made into a movie (and here). This may be a modern classic (whatever that means). Max Brooks has written a gem here, that I've reread once already, had several high school students read with positive reviews, and generally seen nothing but praise anywhere about it. I eagerly await the movie.

Finally!

After 3 months with only a broken-down 10 year old computer (the pictured pc is a 1980's vintage PC-XT... which I recall paying around 3 grand for) we are finally back and up and running with new machines . Well sort of... I am still learning to deal with Vista, but that's a small price to pay. I have kept apace with reading and so I will be bringing updates, hopefully on a daily basis. I have lots to report and discuss (i.e. I've read lots of good books lately!). Not to mention that I've discovered a whole subculture of internet blogging about books and reading. Lots of ideas...

August Reading

A lot has happened in August. I've started a new job with a new school district. My kids have started school in a new district (different than mine). We're still in the process of unpacking and settling into our new house. I've agonized over the destruction of habitat down the street...still fighting depression on that. I've received the reading list for volunteer reader selector for the MASL Gateway Awards 2009-10... and read 8 of the books on the list so far. So, all in all a very busy month. AND I've read a total of 14 books bringing my yearly total to 70. My goal of 100 books in 2008 is well within reach (in fact, due to the fact that the MASL books are all YA and pretty quick reads, I've upped my goal to 110 and would like to get to 120).

This month's list includes:

1) Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. Reviewed here... after some further reflection I've changed my original enthusiastically positive review. It all wrapped up just a little too "lived happily ever after" I think. It didn't help that it was panned by so many fans...
2) Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear. Maisie Dobbs is still one of my favorite female characters. Set in post WW I England, the stories are both historically interesting and emotionally moving.
3) The Gunslinger by Stephen King. Having been a King fan for as long as he's been writing, I've somehow avoided this series. I'm not sure why... it just never really seemed to call me to read it. I enjoyed this first installment well enough to plan on picking up the second book in the series... just don't know when.
4) In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Elsworth. The first Gateway nominee I picked up. I enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird well enough to reread it several years after I graduated from school. This is a cute little story using the love of Harper Lee's book to propel a teenager onto a journey of self discovery. I enjoyed it well enough...but found it lacking in several ways.
5) Peak by Roland Smith. The best Gateway nominee so far (out of 8 read in August). Tells the story of a troubled boy transported to Tibet by family events, and used as a political and publicity pawn in an effort to place the youngest climber on the summitt of Everest. Great ending.
6) The Off Season by Catherine Murdock. Sequel to Dairy Queen. Football and basketball playing farm girl deals with a family tragedy... learns about boys and economic class distinctions.
7) Blackbird, Farewell by Robert Greer. Received this as an ARC from Librarything. My complete review can be found here... suffice it to say that I didn't care for it.
8) Something Rotten by Alan Gratz.
9) Dorsai! by Gordon R. Dickson.
10) Boot Camp by Todd Strasser. See review above.

Gateway List

Here's the list of potential nominees for the MASL Gateway award for 2009-10. Books I've read so far are in red.

Twisted by Anderson, Laurie Halse
Thirteen Reasons Why by Asher, Jay
Tasting the Sky: a Palestinian Childhood by Barakat, Ibtisam
Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Beah, Ishmael
Beauty Shop for Rent -- : Fully Equipped, Inquire Within by Bowers, Laura
Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature by Brande, Robin
Dragon's Keep by Carey, Janet Lee
Billie Standish Was Here by Crocker, Nancy
Deadline by Crutcher, Chris
Tallgrass by Dallas, Sandra
Gym Candy by Deuker, Carl
November Blues by Draper, Sharon
In Search of Mockingbird by Ellsworth, Loretta
Beastly by Flinn, Alex
Right Behind You by Giles, Gail
Something Rotten: a Horatio Wilkes Mystery by Gratz, Alan
Blood Brothers by Harazin, S.A.
Wicked Lovely by Marr, Melissa
The Off Season by Murdock, Catherine
Unwind by Shusterman, Neal
Peak by Smith, Roland
First Shot by Sorrells, Walter
Boot Camp by Strasser, Todd
Defect by Weaver, Will
Such a Pretty Girl by Wiess, Laura
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Zevin, Gabrielle

Distractions

My wife says I am brooding.

I had no idea that the mere removal of trees would ever affect me this much.

So in an effort to distract myself, and inspired by this blog entry, I've decided to create my own Deserted Island Reading List.

In no particular order:
1) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

2) The Structure of Evolutionary Thought by Stephen Jay Gould
3) The Herbal Medicine Makers Handbook by James Green
4) Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian; if booklady gets to claim a 20+ series of books as one entry... why then so do I!
5) Traveller's Library compiled by W. Somerset Maugam
6) Battle Cry of Freedom by James MacPherson
7) Chess For Zebras by Jonathon Rowson
8) The Complete Walker IV by Colin Fletcher
9) The Hugo Winners (Vol. I & II) edited by Isaac Asimov
10) Robert Heinlein: A Readers Companion by James Gifford along with The Best of Robert Heinlein by RAH himself.

A nice mix of history, literature, fiction, science (I am after all a physics and biology teacher), and general knowledge books.