The Big Finale: The year of the book...

My thirty-fifth year has come and gone. I've surpassed my goal of twenty-five books in a year and I am very pleased with how the the Olio Scholar project went. I read a variety of material and in the process changed my lifestyle, hopefully for the better. Reading is now an important part of my routine and looks to continue that way after this project fades away.

So what does my thirty-sixth year of life hold for the Olio Scholar project?

• I plan to keep reading, although I don't have a set goal for the number of books I want to read this year. However, if don't reach at least twenty I will probably be disappointed. And please, visit the recommendations page and tell me what I should read next!
• I plan on continuing the book reports. This blog shall continue to be my reading home; these reports are a good way to keep me motivated. However, If I do miss a book report every so often, don't criticize me too much.
• I also plan to write some short stories this year to see how that works out. I have bits and pieces of inspiration laying around; a character here, a theme there, but no concrete story lines yet. I am a bit nervous about this goal actually. Considering how much work I put into these reports, constantly editing new drafts until it is satisfactory, I can only imagine how many iterations the stories will go through. And who knows if I will let anyone actually read them.

But enough about next year, it's the time we've all been waiting for: The first annual Olio Scholar Awards!

Best Novel

• Winner: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Other Nominees:Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Huckleberry Finn is a classic in every sense of the word, Good Omens was one of the most clever and funny books I've recently read and Jane Eyre exceeded my expectations enough to be considered as a nominee. But when it comes down to it, this wasn't much of a competition. The Book Thief was an amazing book. There wasn't a day that went by for months after reading it in which I didn't think about this book.

Best Non-Fiction

• Winner: The Forgotten 500 by Gregory A. Freeman
• Other Nominees: The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

I didn't read many non-fiction books during this year, but of the two that I did read, I enjoyed the The Forgotten 500 a bit more. I guess war stories are more engaging than stories about linguists.

Best Novella

• Winner: Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• Other Nominees: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

In a surprising upset, Picture of Dorian Gray won out over A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I rated the former four stars while the latter got a full five. However, in the voting, I found that A Christmas Carol has its appeal around Christmas. Reading it in July doesn't carry the same weight whereas Picture of Dorian Gray can be read all throughout the year and therefore got the nod.

Best New (to me) Author

• Winner: Neil Gaiman
• Other Nominees: Kazuo Ishiguro, M.T. Anderson, Markus Zusak, Pramoedya Ananta Toer

I thought Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett was a great book. Although the writing style is obviously Terry Pratchett, there is an edge to the story that his other stories didn't have. I was interested in seeing what Neil Gaiman's own books were like. I started to research which books I should read and found out three things: one, that his Sandman comic series got critical accolades from both the comic and non-comic critics, two, his books were wildly imaginative, with memorable characters and well written, and three, he has a very large cult following.  Well, after reading the entire Sandman series and The Graveyard book, I find myself part of the cult.  I will definitely be reading more of his books.  I also have him to thank for opening my eyes to the world of graphic novels.  I realize now that the comic book world is made up of more than just super heroes and damsels in distress.

Best Short Story

• Winner: "The Suicide Club" by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Other Nominees: "Markheim" by Robert Louis Stevenson, "Thrawn Janet" by Robert Louis Stevenson

All of the short stories I read this year were packaged as part of the Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde book. The Suicide Club was by far my favorite story line. It is actually three stories following a Prince visiting a suicide club for an adrenaline rush. All of the other stories just didn't have the entertainment value of that series and it made for an easy win in this category.  Please note, several of the individual Sandman comics could have been nominees in this category but I decided to keep each volume as an entity and not split them out.

Best Play

• Winner: "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett
• Other Nominees: None

I only read one play this year, so by default it is the winner.  Maybe next year there will be more potential nominees.

Best Graphic Novel 

• Winner: "The Sandman Vol 8: World's End" by Neil Gaiman
• Other Nominees: The Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country,The Sandman Vol 9: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman

While I enjoyed most of the Sandman volumes, I really enjoyed the volumes which were collections of one-off stories.  Neil Gaiman's imagination really shined through in those particular comics. My favorite volume was World's End which was a collection inspired by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The World's End is a Tavern/Inn where travelers from all over, including Fairies, Pixies, Humans, Immortals, et al. have to wait for a reality storm caused by Dream's depression to clear. To pass the time, they tell absolutely fabulous stories; many of which have other stories nested within them. The whole World's End volume was a treat to read.

To wrap things up, here is a list of everything I've read for fun this year. I've ordered them by my rating and within each rating category, I've tried to sort them again.  However, it was very difficult to sort the remaining books as the criteria depends on what you are looking for in a book at any one time. For example, I have Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov rated as a four-star book, but also The Hot Rock by Donald Westlake. Would anyone say that The Hot Rock is at the same "level" as Lolita? No. But I was entertained by David Westlake's crime caper and thought that, for its genre, it deserved four stars.

Novels

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (5 stars)
2. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (5 stars)
3. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (5 stars)
4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (4.5 stars)
5. One Hundred Years of Solidtude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (4.5 stars)
6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (4.5 stars)
7. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (4 stars)
8. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (4 stars)
9. A Long Long Way By Sebastian Barry (4 stars)
10. Feed by M.T. Anderson (4 stars)
11. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (4 stars)
12. This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer (4 stars)
13. The Hot Rock by Donald E. Westlake (4 stars)
14. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (3.5 stars)
15. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (3.5 stars)
16. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (3.5 stars)
17. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (3.5 stars)
18. Animal Farm by George Orwell (3 stars)
19. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz By L Frank Baum (3 stars)
20. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo By Stieg Larsson (2 stars)
21. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain(2 stars)
22. At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien (2 stars)

Novellas

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (5 stars)
2. The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens (4.5 stars)
3. Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (4 stars)
4. The Battle of Life by Charles Dickens (4 stars)
5. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (3.5 stars)
6. The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain by Charles Dickens (3.5 stars)
7. The Chimes by Charles Dickens (2 stars)

Short Stories

1. Lodging for the Night by Robert Louis Stevenson
2. The Suicide Club by Robert Louis Stevenson
3. Thrawn Janet by Robert Louis Stevenson
4. The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. Markheim by Robert Louis Stevenson

Non Fiction

1. The Forgotton 500 by Gregory A. Freeman (4 stars)
2. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (3 stars)

Graphic Novels

1. The Sandman Vol 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
2. The Sandman Vol 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
3. The Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
4. The Sandman Vol 4: The Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman
5. The Sandman Vol 5: A Game of You by Neil Gaiman
6. The Sandman Vol 6: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman
7. The Sandman Vol 7: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman
8. The Sandman Vol 8: Worlds End by Neil Gaiman
9. The Sandman Vol 9: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman
10. The Sandman Vol 10: The Wake by Neil Gaiman
11. The Sandman Vol 11: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman

Plays

1. Waiting for Godot by Samual Beckett (3.5 stars)

BOOK REPORT: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Title:                                     The Book Thief

Author:                                  Markus Zusak

Original Copyright Date:    2007

My Rating:    5 out of 5 stars  ( simply amazing )


Backcover Description

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath.

Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

      By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow.  It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
      But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.

My Thoughts

Prologue

featuring

an introduction and an explanation of format 

Why do I find it harder to write book reports for the books I love versus others?  This particular book report has been especially difficult given how much I loved The Book Thief and how much this book has impacted me.  I finished it over a week ago now and I've thought about this book everyday since.  I am still obsessed with it and I'm telling everyone I know who reads on a semi-regular basis to read it.   I've found it hard to articulate exactly what I want to say in a somewhat brief book report without overwhelming the reader or giving away too much of the plot line.

The format of this book report is a bit different as well.  I've broken it up into four main parts similar to the way Markus Zusak breaks up the book where he gives hints as to what is to come with a "featuring" line.  I just thought this was clever and decided to mimic it for this report.

Part One

The Book Report

featuring 

A rave review and a reader jealous of the author

When I finished this book, I told Maggie that even if I don't finish the twenty-five books I set out to read last fall, this project was worth the time and energy because it led me to this book. This is the best book I've read this year. Hands down.

Even though it is technically classified as Young Adult or Children's Fiction, this is not "light" reading; it is a glimpse of the ugliness of War seen through the eyes of a 10 year old orphan girl.

 And it is beautifully done.

Actually, that is one of the major themes of the book.  That humans, can have moments of beauty, tenderness, and joy, even when their world is collapsing, sometimes literally, around them. 

How does Markus Zusak achieve this?  Besides being simply a great, well written story,  he uses two fairly standard literary constructs in interesting ways.

First is his use of Death as the narrator.  I can hear you mumbling as you read this, "How can Death make something as tragic the holocaust readable? That would seem to make it MORE depressing".  Well, Death in this book isn't the tall, stoic, black-robed, scythe-wielding figure we all know and love from the movies.  He cares for the stories of the people he helps cross from the land of the living to where ever they go.  He is an emotional player in all of the events which occur around characters, even before Germany invades Poland.   Death is not an omnipotent third person narrator either. This is Liesel's story, with Death's poignant commentary added in.

Second is Zusak's use of blatant foreshadowing.  Death tells us up front when something significant will happen, including a few details about the event, then backs up a bit and continues telling the story.  Sometimes the forshadowed event will happen within the near future, sometimes within a few months, and sometimes, the event is years away. These events are not always tragic, or sad, or life-changing, but they are important. But when they are heartbreaking, knowing about it before hand doesn't lessen or trivialize the tragedy of the moment, it just takes away a *bit* of the surprise,... sometimes... Blending this interesting use of foreshadowing somehow adds weight to small happy moments in Liesel's life, allowing you to enjoy them more completely with her.

On a side note, after I finished The Book Thief, I did a bit of research to see what else Markus Zusak has written.  I found out that he is now 36 years old as of this writing.  I am 35.  He's written 8 or 9 books in his young career. Needless to say, I am jealous of his creative success...

and this leads me to: 

Part Two

The Inspiration

featuring

A potential early "New Years Resolution"

Many of you know that I've played around with the idea of trying to writing a short story ever since I posted a link about National Novel Writing Month back in November.  The goal of NNWM is to get people to write down 50,000 words (~175 pages) of a story; it doesn't have to be perfect or even good, the organizers just want to inspire people to put pen to paper and get started. Neil Gaiman's notes about The Graveyard Book inspired me further when he said he's had the idea for the book ever since his son was two years old and wandering around a graveyard behind an old church.

Markus Zusak builds into The Book Thief simply written and illustrated  stories created by the characters themselves and shown completely within the narrative Death is giving us; a short story within a book if you will.  These stories, these characters actually, are the metaphorical straw that broke the novelist camel's back and I am now determined to actually write something of my own...

I don't have any subject, characters, or special theme in mind as of yet; I just know I want to write something. I also don't have any expectations that what I write will be any good. I am now constantly looking out for inspiration in everything I  do.   I figure I would start with simple story at first, which I can then, over time, expand into a legitimate short story that I wouldn't mind if some else actually reads. I think I will make this my next "New Years Resolution".  I haven't worked out the logistics of it or anything, so stay tuned.

The Ending

featuring

wrapping up the book report

I don't know why I seem to have a connection to books about war.  I'm not talking about non-fiction accounts of the political causes thereof or military strategies employed during such-and-such battle, but the personal and social ramifications of one of the most devastating wars ever.   Night, by Elie Wiesel, and One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn still impact me even though I read them waaaaay back in high school.  And I know, The Book Thief will live long in my memory as well.