Kevin's Watch

Let's see: Touching Spirit Bear for 1st period
The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry and The Outsiders for 2nd
poetry and Holes 3rd

Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray.

A great book. Enjoy.

--A

It is great. Lord Wotton (I think that's right and cant be bothered to grab the book of the shelf next to me) is a very good character.

Man, I just read a book about the war in the Pacific, called Flyboys by James Bradley, the son of one of the Iwo Jima flag-raisers. His second book, I highly recommend it.

He really puts things into persepctive, and what I especially appreciated was that he pulled no punches. For an American, he was as honest and forthright about the atrocities committed by America as the actions of the Japanese.

Learned a lot I hadn't known, such as the fact that during the insurrection in the Philippines, American military policy was to kill everybody, man women and child, over the age of 10.

His writing isn't incredible, but it pulls no punches, and uncovers military actions only recently declassified. He talks about wars of American aggression against Mexico for control of California, New Mexico and Texas, genocide carried out against American Indians, all sorts of stuff that was glossed over. I highly recommend it, if you can stomach it.

--A

Sounds like he has a bias of his own, Avatar. Remember that book about Africa that Duchess found?

I did at first think that he did. But he's no more condemnatory about those than about other atrocities.

The best way of describing it is that he keeps things in perspective.

His exploration of the war starts all the way back before Perry even arrived in Japan, examines the existing society and culture, then goes on to explore the impact of contact with the west.

One of the passages that really sticks is near the end, when he's talking to a navy pilot, giving him the finally uncovered details of the death of his friend. The pilot had earlier admitted to him that he'd strafed plenty of civilians. When the author described his friends death, the book reads as follows:

Pilot: That's a hell of a thing.
<pause>
Author: What is?
P: It wasn't right that they cut his head off.
<pause>
A: Maybe the civilians you strafed thought that was a hell of a thing.
<pause>
P: I guess it all depends which side you're on.

He's not trying to make either the Americans or the Japanese look bad/evil/inhuman/whatever. He's trying to put peoples actions into societal, governmental, cultural and historical perspective.

It certainly wasn't an apology for either sides atrocities. I'll definitely be looking for his other book, Flags of our Fathers.

--A

Clint Eastwood is making Flags of our Fathers his next film. I daresay it will be another Academy Award nominee.

Really? Wow, all the more reason to keep an eye out for it. If it's as engrossing as this one, it'll be worth it. Thanks for the info.

--A

Isaac's Storm : I forget the author.
about the 1900 hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas. reading it for our book club.

the library is holding Stephen King's Cell for me!

Finished rereading GOD EMPEROR OF DUNE. I have to read Yarbro's HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA next -- it's due back at the library soon.

Dragonlily wrote:Finished rereading GOD EMPEROR OF DUNE.

My favorite of the series. GEOD brings the Dune back to Dune ... in more ways than one.

The Aeneid

Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Thoroughly enjoying it. LoreMaster, if you haven't read this, do.

--A

Hi Avatar - I'm also reading Remains of the Day. Very good stuff!

Haha, weird. Yeah, I thought it was great too. It's one of those books you know you should really read, but never do, then when you get around to it, you wonder why you didn't read it years ago.

--A

Avatar wrote:Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Thoroughly enjoying it. LoreMaster, if you haven't read this, do.

--A

What is it about?

Set in the late 40's/early 50's, the tale of/"by" the Butler of the late Lord Darlington, so-called nazi collaborator.

Much more about that generation of "service givers" than anything else, a beautiful story, well written. A great glimpse of dedication and professionalism in the first half of the last century.

--A

Well, Avatar summed it up very well. I'm reading it on recommendation from my father in law. He reads heaps, and I asked him for a list of his favourite novels, and in amongst "Lord of the flies" and "1984" and "Lolita" is "Remains of the Day". In other words highly recommended.

Loremaster, you should definitely check it out.

Ylva's Doctoral Thesis.