Book Review: The Thief at the End of the World

So I've been reading quite a bit and I vowed to start writing about it again. It's good practice and it makes it easier to remember what I did and did not enjoy, and why!

Joe Jackson's book The Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of Empire caught my eye in a huge pile of Advance Reader Copies (seriously, 200) that I picked up a few months ago. I set it aside because I thought it was something my uncle would appreciate, but right before I went to give it to him I decided to take a look at it myself, thinking I wouldn't be interested. Turns out I devoured it in four days.

I could not have anticipated enjoying this book as much as I did. It's history, and it's the history of rubber for goodness sake. How exciting could that be? As it turns out, the history of rubber is totally fascinating, and the gentleman (Henry Wickham) responsible for one of the most globally influential acts of piracy was a big dreamer with a habit of failing at everything he tried. Somehow this makes him both lovable and loathsome as the history of rubber growth and consumption unravels amidst tales his many trials (and few tribulations.) Jackson offers up an interesting mix of economics, politics, science and travelogue in order to give the reader a sense of the whole picture of rubber and the people and places that were consumed by their want for it.

Honesty Policy

On Paleo Eating and Tightwadery

I'm not sure how I end up getting myself into these situations, but sometimes I think I'm out to make my life difficult.

The problem is, I'm reading these two books simultaneously, and the result is somewhat confusing. You see, I am reading this book called The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet which has presented some convincing and intriguing science about why I should stop eating dairy, legumes and gluten, and instead revert to a paleolithic diet of animal protein and fresh fruits and veggies. Now, believe you me, growing up on a dairy farm, religiously eating whole wheat and lentils, this isn't what I wanted to be convinced of. In fact, I fought quite hard and still find myself twitching at times throughout the day. Never the less, Robb Wolf is one convincing (and funny) dude, so JusPup and I are slowly weening ourselves off these foods in preparation for a full on 30 day trial run in November (all bets are off for Thanksgiving day, though). I know, I know, it's counter to everything I've been taught, but JusPup is down 15 pounds, I'm down 3, and we aren't even totally on the diet yet!

Now, animal protein and fresh plants. Delicious! Healthy! NOT a good paring when in the back of your mind is all the tried and true budget advice from one Amy Dacyczyn (she swears it's pronounced like "decision", who's gonna argue?) of The Complete Tightwad Gazette which happens to be the other book I'm reading. "At every meal include at least one pantry staple" "Bake your own bread at least once a week" and on and on (there really are a lot of good tips in this book)! I love bread! In fact, I just inherited a bread machine! I love pantry staples! Give me rice and lentils any day! Of course, what I've realized is that I also get a tummy full of gas and pain. I sort of thought this was normal...

So, pair my tightwadish tendencies with a fresh-based diet (and a pension for locally, ethically grown) and what do you get? A headache. A budgeting nightmare. OK, that's what I get. (Also, some delicious roast chicken which became roasted acorn squash stuffed with chicken and then became some delicious chicken soup!) What you get is to read about my new adventures in the kitchen, trying to stock a pantry with everything except pantry food, while on a budget, in the soon-to-be-dead of winter.

Do you have a favorite cheap, grain-free, legume-free, dairy-free meal? Please tell me about it! (Also, if you know anyone with a lot of venison on their hands, I want it!)

Yes, these are affiliate links. I realized that a lot of what I write about is books, and thought that I might as well give this a shot. If it skeeves you out, just go to Amazon and search them yourself! I promise I will never speak well of a book that I think sucks. I don't have time for that. I hardly even have time to tell you about the books that I like!!

WIP: 'arry Potter!

Work in Progress, originally uploaded by Soasa Designs.

Aha! And you thought all I did anymore was knit! (That's sort of true, actually.) My latest challenge is reading Harry Potter! "A challenge?" you may ask. "Yes!" I will say, because it is in Spanish! Depending on my level of concentration, it can be really slow going. I have to be in just the right mindset, or I'll either obsess over looking up every single word, or I'll look at every word as if I'm reading, but not take any of it in. Last week I had a great read, for a whole hour I just sat outside my Uni building and read. I think I made it through about 20 pages! Currently Ron and Harry are meeting Professor Trelawney, which is funny in any language. It's helpful that I already know the story pretty well, but I like to think I'm doing alright! One thing I didn't consider is the fact that most of the book is written in the past tense (woe is me!) Also, the Spanish don't use quotation marks, they often use "em dashes" (as in this book) which takes a helluva long time to get used to!

As it turns out, I was wrong about the 50 Book Challenge serving it's purpose and getting me back in the reading habit. This is only the second book I've read for pleasure ALL YEAR. NOT OKAY. Anywho, since I really can't be bothered to do anything that isn't on Ravelry (okay, all I do is knit) and Ravelry has a 52 book challenge group I figured, why not? I'll jump back on the horse. I started May 17th. So far I've read 1 and a half. I have until April 1st, 2010. Here goes!

Looking for other WIP Wednesday posts? Click it!

#32 The Reader

Book: The Reader (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Vintage International) by Bernhard Schlink
Pages: 218
Entertainment Rating: 4/5
Snooty Rating: 4/5
Total Rating: 8/10
Books Read Total: 32/50
Pages Read Total: 7066/15,000

A solid story of love, loss, secrets, discovery, horror, and some sort of forgiveness. I found this book very readable and I read it straight through (it even prompted me to spend an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill this morning) but I never quite felt like I got what I was looking for. The plot is great, but I got lost in the execution. I didn't feel particularly sympathetic or angry or really any sort of emotion, despite the emotionally driven plot, and it seems to me that that's a fairly significant shortcoming. I wouldn't say don't read it, because it is an interesting book, but I can't quite agree with the LA times when they say that it "ensnares both heart and mind". Unless maybe my heart is made of stone (which we know is not the case from the emotional gushing that sometimes appears on this blog).

Book Sale Booty!

The Warren Fall Fest was a blast as expected, and the best (read: most dangerous) part was that my booth was directly facing the library book sale tent!

I got:
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon
Malinche and
Swift as Desire both by Laura Esquivel
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Day of the Bees by Thomas Sanchez

And the one I've just started reading, The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. I'm really enjoying it, and will let you know what it's about when I get a bit further into it!

#30 + 31: Narcissus in Chains + Cerulean Sins

Shameless vacation reads!



Book: Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton
Pages: 630
Entertainment Rating: 4.5/5
Snooty Rating: 1/5
Total Rating: 5.5/10
Books Read Total: 30/50
Pages Read Total: 6301/15,000

I don't think the actual plot began until a solid 250 pages in, but it was certainly an amusing read. These books are really more like watching chick flicks than reading.




Book: Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton
Pages: 547
Entertainment Rating: 5/5
Snooty Rating: 1.5/5
Total Rating: 6.5/10
Books Read Total: 31/50
Pages Read Total: 6848/15,000

More plot than the last, and SO MUCH witty dialog I thought I'd never stop chuckling. Why any of those men put up with that chick is beyond me.

At the moment I'm reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell which is proving to be quite interesting, and I'm listening to Children of Dune on my trusty Mp3 player.

And just because it's been a long time since I included these little gadgets, here they are:

31 / 50 books. 62% done!

6848 / 15000 pages. 46% done!

#29: Matters of Choice

Book: Matters of Choice by Noah Gordon
Pages: 448
Entertainment Rating: 3.5/5
Snooty Rating: 2/5
Total Rating: 5.5/10
Books Read Total: 29/50
Pages Read Total: 5671/15,000

--Insert summary here--(sorry)

Before anyone starts judging me, I read this book at the beach. I've been on vacation for the past few days (still am, as a matter of fact!) and at my mom's suggestion I'm reading some more entertaining, beachy reads this week. I've got Western lit, art history, anthropology, Spanish and contemporary Buddhism courses starting in almost a week, so it's safe to say this is some of the last breezy reading I'll be doing.

All that said, this wasn't laborious to read. I didn't realize that it was the third part of a trilogy until just now when I went searching for a cover shot. Apparently the first two novels are of a much higher caliber, so don't tell any Gordon fans that I picked it up thinking it would be some cheesy romance (which it is, a bit, in parts.) Anyhow, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but I wouldn't scream "Don't do it!" if someone took it out of the Library or found it left behind at their grandmother's house.

Now, I'm going to admit that the book I'm reading now is one of Hamilton's Anita Blake vampire books. You have every right to ridicule me but I'm telling you her books are hard to ignore. I can never decide if I'm weirded out enough to put the book down. On a similar note, I was in the bookstore the other day and since when is V.C. Andrews considered kid lit! I wouldn't touch another one of her books with a ten foot pole, let alone give it to a kid!!

#28: The Winter of Our Discontent

Book: The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
Pages: 281
Entertainment Rating: 4.5/5
Snooty Rating: 4/5
Total Rating: 8.5/10
Books Read Total: 28/50
Pages Read Total: 5223/15,000

I feel that since it has been such a long time since my last book I owe it to myself to really dig deep into this one. Somehow I can't do that, despite my adoration of Steinbeck and Ethan, his lovable protagonist. Perhaps the reason I find myself refusing to delve into this story more is because I understand that what Ethan ends up doing is bad, and yet I love him nonetheless. His quick wit and charming banter held my attention far longer than the underlying commentary, though that is what originally drew me to the book (besides my obvious love of Steinbeck, of course.)
Regardless of how much I examine this book I feel there is no denying that this is Steinbeck through and through. Rich descriptions and straightforward storytelling.

What to do...

I have a dilemma. I'm reading Terror and Liberalism by Paul Berman and it's a wonderfully intelligent book, but it's a bit heavy. I've suddenly been struck by the urge to read the book on Waldorf Ed. that my mom gave me for Christmas (that'd be Waldorf Education: A family Guide, for those who are interested) but I do want to read this Berman book. I'm afraid if I stop now I won't pick it back up, but by refusing to start reading another book without finishing it I find I'm simply not reading anything. What to do?

Also! Old Songs went wonderfully this past weekend. It's a fabulous little festival, a really comfortable size, very family friendly and mellow. I felt safe and welcome the entire weekend! It rained a bit but we were ready for it and it was no problem! Up next is Grassroots in Trumansburg, NY, followed promptly (read: two days later) by Falcon Ridge in my hometown Hillsdale, NY. I hear fabulous things about Grassroots, and I know from experience that Falcon Ridge is the highlight of many people's year, including my own! Y'all should come on by!

#27 Knitting with Balls by Michael del Vecchio

Book: Knitting with Balls by Michael del Vecchio
Pages: 150
Entertainment Rating: 3/5
Snooty Rating: 4/5
Total Rating: 7/10
Books Read Total: 27/50
Pages Read Total: 4942/15,000

I got this book from the library in hopes of finding something to knit for my brother for Christmas (how forward thinking of me, right?) This book is wonderfully thorough! Much like the Stitch 'n Bitch books this one has all the information you need from start to finish, but written in "man" language. Occasionally the wording is a little bit cheesy and over-the-top but it's mostly endearing. I especially enjoyed the breakdown of different yarn weights, the tips and tricks (I never thought to use a card or post-it to mark my place in a chart!), the how to knit continental or english, and the bit in the back about altering patterns. The actual projects didn't do much for me, but I did check them out, and they offer a great range from basic onward and cover a variety of techniques. This book would make a great gift to anyone (male or female) who's looking to start knitting more. It's also a good source for quick guy-gifts (unless that guy is my brother!)

#26 Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce

Book: Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce
Pages: Audiobook
Entertainment Rating: 4.5/5
Snooty Rating: 3/5
Total Rating: 7.5/10
Books Read Total: 26/50
Pages Read Total: 4792/15,000

I actually finished this book a couple weeks ago, but somehow never got around to writing about it. A part of a series called The Circle Opens, I found this book as enjoyable as I found the preceding books so many years ago. Interestingly, this book was released in audio before it was printed. The actors did a lovely job, and the story is quite entertaining, if a bit over the top at times. I enjoyed this book, but I think much of my enjoyment was nostalgic. These are great YA books, but do not quite take that step beyond. Fun and quirky!

#24 + 25 The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

Book: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
Pages: Audiobook
Entertainment Rating: 5/5
Snooty Rating: 5/5
Total Rating: 10/10
Books Read Total: 24/50
Pages Read Total: 4220/15,000


Book: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Pages: 572
Entertainment Rating: 5/5
Snooty Rating: 2.5/5
Total Rating: 7.5/10
Books Read Total: 25/50
Pages Read Total: 4792/15,000

Pullman is fabulous. Each time I experience his storytelling I think about it for days afterwards. While listening to this audiobook (narrated by Pullman himself) I was also reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and couldn't help but draw parallels between the two. While I recognize that Brown and Pullman play in two different arenas I think that in terms of depth of character and thought-provoking plots Pullman definitely has the upper hand. While he does have the advantage of a trilogy's worth of pages to build his story I feel he has been true to those pages and made use of each of them. He's neat. He cleans up after himself, if you know what I mean. While Brown (miserably, albeit with some witty bits) shoves a weak love subplot in to attempt to add some depth to his action packed adventure, Pullman captures the anguish and complexity of what love really is, but without disrupting the story in any way. As I said, he's neat.

I am by no means "hating on" Brown's book. I read all 572 pages in a matter of days (a feat for someone as busy as me) and I hated putting it down each time I forced myself to sleep. Brown can tell a suspenseful story, to be certain. There are no good places to stop, and when it comes to plot twists he has a field day. Still I find that when I'm on the hunt for content the most surefire place to find it is in a Young Adult or even a children's book. Somehow these authors have taken responsibility for the power they have to captivate young and old alike, and they have put it to good, thought-provoking use.

#23 The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Book: The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Pages: 345
Entertainment Rating: 4/5
Snooty Rating: 3/5
Total Rating: 7/10
Books Read Total: 23/50
Pages Read Total: 4220/15,000

Funke tells the captivating story of two orphan boys on the run from their evil aunt who make their way to Venice, their mother's fairytale. The characters were quite commanding, and it was very easy to take sides. Almost too easy, I think. Unlike Nancy Farmer, Philip Pullman, or Madeleine L'Engle to name a few, Funke tells a good story, but doesn't present much else. It was a fun, quick read, but did not have the subtly (or not so subtly) challenging subplots that many successful children's authors manage. It is, as one Amazon review puts it, "a solid adventure story". I'd put it with Harry Potter. Some coming of age, some teen angst, some wonderful friendship, and lots of bad guys and adventures.

#22: Morality for Beautiful Girls

Book: Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
Pages: Audiobook
Entertainment Rating: 5/5
Snooty Rating: 4/5
Total Rating: 9/10
Books Read Total: 22/50
Pages Read Total: 3875/15,000

Like all of the No. 1 Detective Agency books, this one is good, clean fun. Like their main character Mma Ramotswe, Lady Detective, there is no BS or fluff here. Smith tells good, interesting and entertaining stories, and Lisette Lecat does a wonderful job reading them. I don't have a whole lot to say about this book except that Smith never fails to entertain. The fact that I've been listening to them all out of order and still enjoy them immensely should tell you something.

For the record, the reason I've been listening to so many audiobooks is because I listen to them at work, and when you spend all morning in a field it's nice to have company. I'm currently listening to The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman, which is much longer than the Smith books, so it will last a bit longer, I hope!

#21: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Book: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Pages: Audiobook
Entertainment Rating: 5/5
Snooty Rating: 4/5
Total Rating: 9/10
Books Read Total: 21/50
Pages Read Total: 3875/15,000

Sara Gruen has a vivid set of characters, to be sure. Jacob Jankowski recalls the most influential year of his life, one that began his career as a circus veterinarian, from his confines in a nursing home at the age of "90, or 93". He alternates between venting his frustration at being trapped in an old man's body, and vividly remembering his past experiences. I am 100% in love with this old man. Gruen did an exceptional job of wrenching my heart in every direction, aided no doubt by the fabulous voices of David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones. A moving, informative story not only about the circus but also about the Great Depression, growing old, and elephants. This book opened up an entirely unfamiliar topic for me, and I've enjoyed reading about it since I finished the book last week.

#20 Sugarcane Academy

Book: Sugarcane Academy: How a New Orleans Teacher and His Storm-Struck Students Created a School to Remember by Michael Tisserand
Pages: 192
Entertainment Rating: 4.5/5
Snooty Rating: 5/5
Total Rating: 9.5/10
Books Read Total: 20/50
Pages Read Total: 3875/15,000

This book may be small, but it packs a punch. Riding on the wave of emotions from my recent trip down to NOLA this book could not have come at a time when I was more vulnerable. Frequently I found myself in tears over the hugeness of it all. The hugeness of the hurricane and the aftershocks, the hugeness of the indignities forced upon so many citizens, and the immeasurable outpouring of awareness on the part of those capable of giving something to the people who had nothing. In a society where education is so bound by rules and regulations, this small section of a community banded together to give families what they needed. This is education as it should be: active, responsive, aware. What these children needed was not a standardized test or even a normal classroom. They needed time and space to express their experiences, to learn about their relations to the world around them, and to make sense of all that they experienced in such a short time. Much was lost during Hurricane Katrina, but the disaster laid bare the strength, courage, determination and love that human beings are capable of giving.

#19 The Land of the Silver Apples

Book: The Land of the Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer
Pages: 495
Entertainment Rating: 4.5/5
Snooty Rating: 4/5
Total Rating: 8.5/10
Books Read Total: 19/50
Pages Read Total: 3683/15,000

This book is the sequel to The Sea of Trolls. I can't remember the last time I had such a hard time putting down a book as I do with Farmer's. Even Harry Potter doesn't hold the control over me that she does. Her stories are excellent, witty, vivid and fun.

In Silver Apples Jack's little sister Lucy disapears, and saving her is up to him and his new "friends", a recently freed slave with a "froggy" face by the name of Pega, a wishy washy guy named Brutus, a monk named Aiden and some newly acquired skills. Together they experience the beauty and danger of the magical world of the silver apples, where time never passes. Their quest is filled with surprises, both good and bad, and the end results may not be what you think!

As a sequel this book was excellent, just enough plot overlap to be related, but a totally new adventure and many new characters. Also, way less of the bratty Lucy dialog! The religion humor is excellent, as always. I really admire Farmer's even keel in that regard. She makes fun of everyone's gods equally, while never actually putting any of them down, and giving all opinions without seeming contrived. Another great book!

#18 A Long Way Gone

Book: A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Pages: Audiobook
Entertainment Rating: N/A
Snooty Rating: 5/5
Total Rating: 10/10
Books Read Total: 18/50
Pages Read Total: 3188/15,000

This book will blow your mind. It will probably give you nightmares, and if you have any soul at all it will make you cry. It will make your stomach turn, your heart ache, and your palms sweat. There will be times when you absolutely must put the book down and walk away, but I promise you it is worth it. I cannot describe this book to you in any way that will do it justice, but I beg you to read it.

From the website:
A gripping story of a child’s journey through hell and back.

There may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s, in more than fifty conflicts around the world. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. He is one of the first to tell his story in his own words.

In A LONG WAY GONE, Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a riveting story. At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, he struggled to regain his humanity and to reenter the world of civilians, who viewed him with fear and suspicion. This is, at last, a story of redemption and hope.

#17 Slaughterhouse-Five

Book: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Pages: Audiobook
Entertainment Rating: 4/5
Snooty Rating: 4/5
Total Rating: 8/10
Books Read Total: 17/50
Pages Read Total: 3188/15,000

Let me preface by saying that I listened to this book more than a month ago. A lot has happened since then, including a week in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity, some emotional meltdowns and a lot of work. Anyhow, I do remember enjoying this book quite a bit. I was pleasantly surprised, in fact, thinking from my past attempt at the book that I wouldn't particularly enjoy Vonnegut's style. Only my brother's devotion to him made me give him another try (my brother hates to read, but he'll read Vonnegut).

I'm sorry I don't have a whole lot more to say about this book but it feels like it was years ago. So much happens in a month of my life, it feels like ages.

For sure a good book, interesting, emotional, weird. Read it.

#16 The House of the Scorpion

Book: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Pages: 380
Entertainment Rating: 5/5
Snooty Rating: 5/5
Total Rating: 10/10
Books Read Total: 16/50
Pages Read Total: 3188/15,000

From Amazon.com:
"Fields of white opium poppies stretch away over the hills, and uniformed workers bend over the rows, harvesting the juice. This is the empire of Matteo Alacran, a feudal drug lord in the country of Opium, which lies between the United States and Aztlan, formerly Mexico. Field work, or any menial tasks, are done by "eejits," humans in whose brains computer chips have been installed to insure docility. Alacran, or El Patron, has lived 140 years with the help of transplants from a series of clones, a common practice among rich men in this world. The intelligence of clones is usually destroyed at birth, but Matt, the latest of Alacran's doubles, has been spared because he belongs to El Patron...[Spoilers]"

Goodness this woman is great! It's extremely rare that I keep reading books from the same author unless they're in a series. (Tom Robbins and John Steinbeck are exceptions) Nancy Farmer has my undivided attention! While her books are technically "Young Adult" I'm finding that I don't feel the least bit guilty reading them instead of the work required for my various GE courses. I took this book out of the library on Tuesday, and I finished it last night, despite attending all my classes and spending a great deal of time in the studio. I couldn't put it down! I carried it (hardcover) around in my bag all week, catching bits here and there when I had a free moment. The characters and the plot are captivating and exquisitely crafted, though the ending leaves room for another book. I just discovered that there's a sequel to Sea of Trolls called Land of the Silver Apples that must have just been released, so maybe that's where she's headed with this one!

LOVED IT!