Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Penguin Books sent me a copy of Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants back in the summer. It’s taken this long to finally get it read. But you shouldn’t let that scare you. I’m not really a fan of historical fiction so it sat for a while before I picked it up. What might scare you is the size of the book. At 985 pages it’s a big book. I think that might end up being a detriment to some people as you literally have to sit with the book in your lap as it’s too heavy to hold up.

But he does need that many pages and more to tell the story. This is book one of the Century Trilogy so there is a hundred years of storytelling to be done between this and the next two books. This book covers 1911-1924. The story spans 2 continents, a world war, 5 families and politics at every level. He follows the families as they are impacted by the war and the politicking that accompanies the war. The families represent both the poor and the aristocracy. Several real historical characters are featured such as Lenin and Woodrow Wilson but these aren’t the main characters.

I enjoyed this book even though it took me awhile to get into it. If you like historical fiction and aren’t intimidated by the size of the book I think you will really like this book. His characters are engaging and even though it’s fiction it reads like these events could have happened. He stays true to the feel of the time and place.

When I started the book I wasn’t that interested in finishing it. However, now that I’m done I am interested enough to want to read the sequel, on my kindle. And that I think is the true test of a good novel, it leaves you wanting more.

Reading Challenge for 2012

February 7, 2012 is the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens. In celebration and as a challenge to myself I've decided to read and review all his major works in publication order. Since English was my major in University I have already read a number of his books. But I thought it would be fun to start at the beginning. Along the way I will insert some of his life and times as it relates to the book I'm currently reading and reviewing.

Here's the list

The Pickwick Papers - 1836
Oliver Twist - 1837
Nicholas Nickleby - 1838
The Old Curiosity Shop - 1840
Barnaby Rudge - 1841
Martin Chuzzlewit - 1843
Dombey and Son - 1846
David Copperfield - 1849
Bleak House - 1852
Hard Times - 1854
Little Dorrit - 1855
A Tale of Two Cities - 1859
Great Expectations - 1860
Our Mutual Friend - 1864
The Mystery of Edwin Drood - 1870

He also wrote some short stories and 5 Christmas stories, including a Christmas Carol. I'll reserve the right to leave these out of the list for now and decide later if I'm going to include them.

I'm looking for a good biography of Charles Dickens that I can use as a reference so I'll include a review of that as well. Should any of you readers of my blog (I know you're there even though you are very quiet) would like to join me in this reading adventure I'd be happy to have you come along. First up, The Pickwick Papers.

Reading Slump

I've been in a bit of a reading slump this past month. I’m bored with the books I’m reading. My favourite authors all have new books coming out in the next month but there’s nothing I’m really interested in reading right now; which is too bad because we’ve hit the season of reruns on TV and Christmas movies. I’m not a big fan of Christmas movies so I’ve actually got the time to read. As I’ve been writing this the thought occurred to me that I should maybe try re-reading some of the books I’ve enjoyed. I tend not to do that but I think the cure for any slump is to just keep on doing it until the enjoyment comes back. This works for exercise so maybe it would work for hobbies as well. Or maybe I could start my 2012 reading challenge early.

So how do you overcome slumps in your life? Are you reading anything right now that you would recommend?

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I don’t know how other reviewers operate but I have to finish a book before I can review it. This makes it much slower for me to produce reviews, especially since I tend to like big books. So I've been reading this book for a while and have only just finished it.

A Game of Thrones is the first novel in a fantasy series published in the mid 1990’s. This year an HBO series was launched based on the book so I guess that’s why they’ve become popular again.

I found this book a bit complicated at first but enjoyed the story very much. There are 3 plot lines and within each storyline a particular character is featured. It’s not a first person novel though but is told in a third person point of view. The story continues on with each change in point of view but it does mean you have to pay attention when advancing to the next chapter to understand which plot is being featured. The stories of three families are told, the Starks, the Lannisters and the Targaryens.

Although it’s a fantasy novel I didn’t find it overly so. I think people who aren’t necessarily fans of fantasy would enjoy the story telling and action through this novel. A Clash of Kings is next in the series.

The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck

The Snow Angel is a heart-warming story punctuated by heart wrenching scenes of family violence, unhappy children and forgotten seniors. Glenn Beck touches all the emotions in this story of a family that’s lost its way.

It’s told from the perspective of the father and the daughter. The story begins on Christmas Eve and ends on the same day. In between the tale is told of a family that struggled with alcoholism, abuse and how that pattern continued through the daughter’s marriage. It’s also a tale of friendship, love and the importance of community. It’s a story of hope and ultimately forgiveness.

This is well-written with endearing characters. I can enthusiastically recommend this book for your Christmas reading or gift giving.

I read more than one book in October!

If you go by my posting of reviews it looks like I hardly read at all anymore. That's certainly not true. But I have been bogged down in a couple of books that are taking some time to get through. And I read some books just for fun and decided not to review them all.

The books with reviews coming are Ken Follet's Fall of Giants and George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones.

So keep checking back and I'm working on a fun challenge for 2012 that I will tell you about soon.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I don’t like books about racism. I’ve avoided reading this one because I thought I didn’t need to hear again about the racial conflict in the 1960’s. It makes me angry and sad to read about how white people have treated other people of different races and colours. And so, I have ignored all the hype about this book and steadfastly refused to read it.

Until I went on my vacation and my sister insisted that I would love this book. I broke down and bought it and was mesmerized by the first words. This book made me laugh and cry. It’s the type of book that people who see you reading it want to talk to you about. I talked to a guy in the elevator whose girlfriend was reading the book and loved it. It’s the kind of book that you can talk to about with a black hotel receptionist who grew up in Alabama and hadn’t read the book but had seen the movie. I encouraged her to read the book; I wish I could talk to her once she’s read it.

The story is told in the voice of the black women who work as servants and in the voice of the white woman who is writing the story. It was a bit difficult for me to adjust to each chapter being told in a different voice as the story was so mesmerizing that I was sometimes slow to realize that now someone else was talking. But that is really the only criticism I have of an other- wise flawlessly written novel.

This is a debut novel for Kathryn Stockett and I surely hope that she has a sequel in the works. If you’re like me and have avoided this book, please go out and buy it. It’s worth the read and worthy of the discussions you will have about it.