1001 Books Update - The Colour

I decided to join another reading challenge called the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge hosted by blogger Annie at Reading, Writing and Ranting. The idea is to read six historical novels in six months. I figured this would be an easy challenge since my favorite genre is historical fiction. While perusing the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list I came across an interesting historical fiction book called The Colour by Rose Tremain. The brief synopsis sounded interesting enough:

Joseph and Harriet Blackstone, recently married, move from England to New Zealand in the 1800s for new opportunities and gets swept away in the gold rush. They take Joseph's widowed mother with them as well. All three characters are running away from something: Joseph from a secret, Harriet from a life of being a governess, and the mother from her husband's memory. Joseph finds a gleam of gold in a nearby creek and decides to abandon the homestead and head out for the gold fields in search of the colour (gold).

It took me a while to figure out how I would write this review. The writing is very good. The author definitely did her homework on the gold rush period and the New Zealand setting. Actually I love how she depicted New Zealand. However, my problem with the book was with the relationships. At first I was totally upset with how the author depicted this tangled family. I didn't like Joseph, Harriet was too good, and the mother was totally useless. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for a book about a failing marriage being so new at marriage myself. While reading the book I kept saying how I was totally disappointed with the story but somehow I kept reading it.

Well, the good thing is that many of the characters do evolve and I was drawn into their stories. I kept thinking Joseph would change though and he was truly a sickening character...maybe that was on purpose...you're supposed to love to hate Joseph. I ended up wanting Harriet to find her own dreams and the mother-in-law's transformation was truly remarkable.

In the end, I'm not sure how I'd rate this book. I think you'd just have to read it yourself and figure out if you love or hate it.

Also reviewed by:
CaribousMom

Book Update - The Madonnas of Leningrad

I read Debra Dean's book, The Madonnas of Leningrad online through the New York Public Library's Ebook section. I thought it sounded like an amazing story. It was one of those stories that I felt it's 256 pages was just too short.

The story revolves around Marina Buriakov who immigrated to the United States with her husband from Russia. They are in their eighties and Marina is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. When her memories of the present are fading fast, her memories of her life in Leningrad during World War II are rich and vivid. In Leningrad she was employed at the Hermitage Museum as a docent and is helping to pack and transport the collection out of Leningrad to safety as the Germans are starting to bomb the city.

I thought this was a beautiful and touching story of one woman's survival during World War II. The depiction of Leningrad, especially through the winter, is harrowing. I loved her knowledge of the works of art in the Hermitage and since I was reading the book online I kept looking up all the works of art she was describing. If you read this book, make sure you check out the Hermitage Museum's website. The only problem I had with this book was that it was far too short.

Oh...and here's some of the Madonna's mentioned in the book:

Raphaello Santi - Madonna & Child (The Madonna Conestabile)
Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna and the Child (The Benois Madonna)
Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna and the Child (The Litta Madonna)
And here's a painting mentioned in the book as well. It's Rembrandt's Danae:
Also read here on the Hermitage's website about what happened to the painting which is pretty interesting in of itself.

Also Reviewed by:

Age 30 - A Year of Books

Booking Mama

S. Krishna's Books

A Fondness for Reading

Amazon in NYC

Last week, my pick of something do do in NYC was going to see an Amazonia Brasil exhibit on Pier 17 near Fulton and South Streets. It was an indoor exhibit and since the air conditioning wasn't working correctly, it was discounted. It wasn't too bad since it just made us feel like we really were in the humid tropics. While it was catered more for children it was still a fun thing for us to do. It got us out do an area of town we usually don't get around to going to and it also ended up dumping rain so we had to duck inside for a bit. I love rain storms. And I also got some nice photos:
I loved the different colors and textures of the beans and wood:

I this was cool with the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges in the background:

Right now they are building a waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge which will open sometime this summer. How cool!
Here's a view of the city from Pier 17. There's some pretty cool ships you can tour too.

Here's another view of Pier 17. There's tons of restaurants and bars outside and inside it's a mall.
And finally the rain came and here's where we huddled before making a mad dash to Grand Central Station for the ride home.

Hope you enjoyed the bit of Amazon in NYC :)

14th Street Subway

Almost every subway stop in New York City has its charms. The 14th street stop always cracks me up. There are little statues depicting life underground or something like that. If you are waiting for a train here, wonder around and take a look:

I love their little faces:

This one cracks me up. The myth of alligators living in the subway:

This one is a little weird:

And I think the elephant's shoes are pretty funny:

Classics Challenge

Well since I love a challenge, I signed up for the Classics Reading Challenge which is to read five classics between July and December. For more information, check out the blog here. I'll keep a link on my side bar for my updated list of which classics I've read. Enjoy!

Check out everyone's reviews here.

1. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (Finished July 24th, 2008)

2. Summer - Edith Wharton (Finished July 31st, 2008)

3. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen (Finished September 19, 2008)

4. The Turn of the Screw - Henry James (Finished October 06, 2008)

5. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (Finished October 21, 2008)

EXTRA BONUS (New Classic):

6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon (Finished August 5, 2008)

Book Review - Galileo's Daughter

My sister and one of my friends are in a little book club together. We are trying to get more members to join but it's all online since my sister is in Alaska, my friend is in Tennessee, and I am in New York. But so far it's been pretty fun. I've read books I would have never have thought of reading on my own. So far we've all taken turns picking the book and this time it was my sister's pick. So this month's pick was Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel.

I have to say that this was such an interesting read. Galileo had three children whom the eldest daughter he was very close to. His eldest daughter, Victoria, and her younger sister both became nuns. Many of the letters Victoria wrote to Galileo survive and are included in the book. Also included are snippets of Galileo's publication and letters to others. While Galileo Galilei lived from 1564 to 1642, the time frame of the book is roughly a bit before Victoria's birth in 1600 until Galileo's death.

If you don't know much about Galileo, he was a prominent scientist during his time. He improved upon the telescope and could see plants and phenomenon that no one had ever seen before. He made discoveries in astronomy, physics, and geometry. He was also a devout Catholic and a thoughtful father. What is commonly known is that he was a proponent of the Copernican system of our solar system....that the earth and other planets revolved around the sun. During his time it was believed that the earth, according to what was interpreted in the Bible, stood still and the sun and planets revolved around the earth. Galileo's discoveries led him to believe otherwise. This made him highly unpopular with some Catholics including the Pope.

It is such a great book interspersed with pictures and translated letters from Victoria to Galileo. Unfortunately because of Galileo's unpopularity with the Pope, the letters Victoria (or Sister Maria Celeste....I love that she took on a "celestial" name) kept from Galileo were probably destroyed. And if you read it, make sure you read up to the last chapter because that last chapter is a must-read.

The only drawbacks to the book is that during the beginning I thought it was a little jumpy from paragraph to paragraph sometimes. This could also just be that memoirs are sometimes hard to write when there is a lack of filler information. I'm also not really familiar with the geography of Italy even though I have visited the country before. It would have been handy if a map was included in the book. Also, the plethora of character involved made me wish there was a little dictionary of people in the back of the book so I wouldn't get confused on who is who. Other than that, what a great read.

While the book does a great job describing the accomplishments and discoveries of Galileo, it is also a wonderful tribute to the relationship between a father and daughter.

Oh, and don't you think Galileo's daughter looks a bit like Barbara Streisand? Or is it just me?
















Also Reviewed by Heather at Age 30 - A Year of Books

Book Bloggers

Since I've been reading a lot this summer, I've become addicted to reading other people's book blogs. I love reading other people's views on books. Sometimes I have thought I was the only one to dislike Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist or Mitch Albom's books. But I'm not alone! I also get a ton of ideas for books to read by reading reviews. And here's an extra bonus...sometimes bloggers give away free books! How cool is that! So check out these two contests and enter if you want and stick around and read some reviews.

The Written Word - Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Maw Books Blog - Stephanie Meyers Books (Twilight Series and The Host)