BOOK: The Plague by Albert Camus

The Plague by Albert Camus

African Reading Challenge: Algeria; 1% Well Read

What are my impressions after reading this book? It's a classic, so that comes with a bunch of preconceived notions for me, which is layers, messages, and deep. Usually I don't like classics because they are deep, with hidden messages and layers. For some reason though, I kind of like Camus.

Camus tells a story about a town in Algeria, Oran which becomes infested and then isolated, with the bubonic plague. There are a bunch of characters that I had a hard time keeping straight, so they each probably represent a different philosophy. At some point, I thought that there must be some analogy to world war two, and my reading after confirmed this inkling. The German invasion and occupation of France is the parallel. What makes Camus an interesting read for me is that the plot and story at its lowest level is still interesting, but I can recognize and still even enjoy the other level. The characters are facing difficult situations all in their own way and there are philosophical discussions going on that I somewhat skim over.

The Plague tells a great story and has levels for some readers who like that stuff. Camus is a Nobel Winning author who writes in a very accessible style.

Isn't that an awful cover I have? I bought this at a used book sale, but it just screams Important Book!

BOOK EVENT: Meet the Author

It was the LM Montgomery Institute Convention this weekend, with a large emphasis on the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables. There are a lot of events surrounding the anniversary here on Prince Edward Island. A colleague of mine is acting in The Nine Lives of Lucy Maud that is playing this summer at the Georgetown Theater; I am hoping to finally get to see Anne & Gilbert, the Musical after several summers.

One of the more controversial events has been the publication of Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson. Well, somewhat controversial. I haven't read the book yet, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to. Ever since that last Anne movie, where she was running around the trenches of Europe during World War I, many fans like myself have been very wary of 'adaptations.' Don't mess with LM's original stuff! However, this time, the family of LM and a publisher contacted writer Budge Wilson to see if she was interested in writing a prequel.

She spoke of this dilemma herself today at a Author Reading today at Confederation Center. There were only about 20 of us there, braving the driving rain on beautiful PEI. Wilson was still gracious and wonderful, and we all got a chance to get a book signed if we wanted, and after a short reading, she took questions. She said her biggest question was 'Would LM approve of someone else writing this prequel?" And while she emphatically thought No, after thinking about it for a while, the bug got in her head and she really wanted to write it. There was contact with the heirs of LM to keep everything within their 'scope of imagination' as they take protecting Anne very seriously. (Although, I have to wonder why they ever let the province put Anne on our license plates?)

So, while many fans have their back up, I am open to reading it. Wilson is a great children's writer, and I have seen some favorable reviews. Someone on my google reader really liked it, but unfortunately I can't find that review now. It was good enough that it made me put the book on my mental TBR. I don't usually buy hardcover books as soon as they come out, but the chance to buy it and then get it signed was too good to pass up. I quite enjoyed Mrs Wilson today and her somewhat meandering talk. Her enthusiasm and respect for the history of Anne came through. I don't think I will reread Anne this year, I've read her so many times, but I am looking forward to the prequel. I particularly like how this edition looks so similar to the original Anne book of 1908.

BOOK CLUB: Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Book: Heidi by Johanna Spyri, and a version adapted by Lucy Collins

Participants: My mother (Nana), who read Heidi for the first time, my daughter (Rachel, 8) who read the abridged version, and me, who read the original at least 20 times as a young girl, plus the sequel Heidi Grows Up

Snacks: Gruyere cheese in the little foil triangles, Swiss cheese bread sticks, fresh strawberries, Toblerone bar, tea/hot chocolate in the fancy tea cups

Discussion: We discussed our favorite parts, why everyone liked Heidi, why Peter pushed the wheelchair, Alm Uncle and how people were afraid of him, how the names of the goats were different in the original vs the abridged, which led to seeing what was different between the books, how to get the damp, musty smell out of books that have been in a basement for twenty years (put in the freezer, which led to a discussion of 'freezer books', tm Joey from Friends), how the Toblerone bar is shaped like the Alps and has the letters imprinted in the chunks

Conclusion: We had a great time; Rachel was very grown up and had a good comprehension of the book, and seemed to think seriously before answering any questions. We agreed to have another book club meeting, to discuss A Tale of Despereaux, once Rachel and I finished reading and we give it to Nana.

I hope everyone has read Heidi, because it is a sweet book, that is a classic for a reason.

BOOK: All in Together Girls by Kate Sutherland

All in Together Girls by Kate Sutherland

short story challenge, Canadian Reading Challenge: Saskatchewan


I really enjoyed this collection of short stories by Kate, who happens to be hosting the short story challenge over here. The girl knows short stories. And these stories are all about girls - young, teens, young women, and their mothers. There was a familiarity to the voice in many of the tales. What I liked about these were snippets that stayed with me because they rang so true. I was driving the other day trying to remember where I'd read about a girl writing in a diary, how she was dismissed as someone who only wrote about the present, not the future. What book was that? Gradually, I remembered the story it came from("The Story of Her Life.") I expect there will be more little scenes replayed in my mind, like the dinner party from "Aerial View of a Dinner Party."


"Making Love While the Kettle Boils" was my favorite story, which surprised me. I'm not usually a fan of the love at first sight, wild passionate love stories. I hated Romeo and Juliet in high school because I thought it was stupid, not romantic, to kill yourself over someone you've just met. I'm more logical, even tempered, would rather ride the train than the roller coaster. However, every now and then, I get it. I see it portrayed in a way that makes sense to me. The English Patient movie is the one that stands out to me, but this short story did it for me as well. The crossword clues progressively changed as the tenor of the relationship changed, and then crashed, because for some reason, these romantic love affairs have to end tragically to be considered a true love affair. That is my problem with those love stories. But, as I read this one, I believed, and I really liked it.


I think I'll keep this little collection and revisit it from time to time. Thanks, Kate.

BOOK: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

Young Adult Challenge, mini challenge # 4 (read a banned book)

You can't read the title of this book and not be intrigued. It's a quick little read that will make you glad you aren't a teenager anymore. I think of this book as chick-lit for teens.

from the back cover:

Virginia Shreves has a larger-than-average body and a plus-size inferiority complex. She lives on theWeb, snarfs junk food, and obeys the "Fat Girl Code of Conduct." Then there are the other Shreveses: Mom is an exercise fiend and adolescent psychologist; Dad, when not jet-setting, or golfing in Connecticut, ogles skinny women on TV; and older siblings Byron and Anais are slim, brillian and impossible to live up to.

Delete Virginia and the Shreveses are a picture perfect family... until a phone call changes everything.

It was an eye opener to remember how self conscious and self absorbed teenagers are, even though I work with them everyday. The first part of the book was a little slow as I wanted to shake Virginia and her family as things seemed a little exaggerated. But I would guess there are teenagers who feel like everyone is looking at them and are critical of them. And I liked Virginia, and her growth as she begins to question how perfect everyone is. As an adult, I know they aren't perfect but it's Virginia who thinks they are. Her gradual awakening is done nicely, if somewhat quickly. And that is part of growing up: realizing that you can only control your own thoughts and behaviours and not letting other opinions or perceived opinions affect you. Did the popular people suddenly notice Virginia, or did she stop feeling like they didn't notice her and was open to talking to them? Once her opinion of herself changed, so did the response of other people.

The novel deals with some big issues including a good job on body image, but also touching on self hurting, date rape, eating disorders, and cliques in school. Many young adult novels I've read recently include different technology to get information across, and this novel includes emails and text messages. And yet the same old angst is there, teenagers, and their thoughts and their parents. Oh, and I wanted to slap the mother, adolescent psychologist indeed!

CHALLENGE: mini challenge #6

One of the mini challenges for the Novel Challenge Group is to read two articles from a magazine, and then write a review. I started a new subscription to Canadian Living and was planning to use that, but there are barely articles in it! That's actually alright, because I got it mostly for the recipes and I'm enjoying them, but with the diminishing attention spans of the general population, and mine in particular, there is nothing there I could even dare to call an article.

Then I noticed that several of the reviews at The Novel Challenge have been about online magazines. And reading articles online goes much better with my blog hopping and pathetic attention span. So I looked in my Favorites File for a magazine I was sure I had saved there: Babble the magazine and community for a new generation of parents. I subscribed to Today's Parent when my children were very young, and the tone always made me feel I was a different, slacker kind of parent. So when I browsed today at Babble, I was pleased to read a few different articles that are more to my parenting style. I ended up reading most of the newer articles, and enjoyed myself.

The Over-Parenting Crisis by Katie Allison Granju was written by the author of Attachment Parenting. I wasn't much of a family-bed, breastfeed til they are toddlers type of mom, major tenents of attachment parenting. But the author goes on to say that the line between meeting all your child's needs and anticipating, or catering has gone too far. And that parents need to let their children grow, make mistakes and experience success and failure on their own terms. The safety, bubble-wrap environment provided to children does them no favors.

Dating Games by Emily Mendell was much more humorous, as a family looks for another family to hang out with, in dating style. I could see the logic in this, because it is fun to have another family to do things with, one where the kids get along, the dads are pals and the moms enjoy each other. It's a gradual process meeting a like minded family, and not dissimilar to dating.

There were all types of articles from Steve Carell's take on parenting, to best books, and TV show reviews, and parenting styles and advice. I haven't spent a lot of time there, but I'm sure I fit their demographic, and it is an interactive site, with forums and columns and articles.

CHALLENGE: The Mini-Challenge 2008

THE MINI-CHALLENGE 2008
Sponsored by group owner, Wendy (caribousmom)

1. Complete all twelve mini-challenges from January 1st through December 31st of 2008 and become eligible for some fun prizes at the end of the year. DO NOT start this challenge prior to January 1, 2008.
2. Challenges may be completed in any order and may overlap other challenges. Work through them at your own speed.
3. Participants must EITHER post their progress (and reviews if appropriate) to their blog with links to this group OR directly to this group.
4. After completing each challenge, go to the database and record the completion date in the correct column next to your name.

Here are the challenges: (bolded when completed, and linked where possible)

1. Read a short story - review it "Making Love While the Kettle Boils" - Kate Sutherland Feb 20
2. Read a children's book - review it From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler
3. Read a poem - tell us about itTribute to Terry Fox Jan 25
4. Read a banned book - review it The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler Feb 19
5. Give a book away (you may donate to charity, give a book to a friend, leave a book "in the wild" to be found by another reader...as long as you do not sell it!) - post why you chose the book you did and where it went sent Buying a Fishing Rod for my Grandfather and Elizabeth Costello to edith_jones
6. Read two (2) articles from any one magazine - tell us about them Babble an online parenting magazine
7. Read a classic (for this challenge a classic is defined as a piece of literature which has stood the test of time, has literary merit, is widely read, and was published prior to 1970) - review it The Plague
8. Go to a book event and then tell the group about your experience (book events may be library events, author readings, seminars/lectures pertaining to books or reading, etc...) Budge Wilson author reading
9. Read an essay - tell us about it Housekeeping vs The Dirt by Hornby
10. Read something inspirational - tell the group why it inspired you This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun
11. Read a book written by a "new-to-you" author - review it The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
12. Participate in a group or buddy read and discussion (this can be either a face to face book club, an on line group, or a blog/buddy read). Tell the group what you read and with whom; give us a review! Read Heidi with Nana and Rachel