Thoughts on The Time Traveler's Wife

Our book club pick for November was this novel by Audrey Niffeneger and it made for a very lively discussion. We may not have "fallen in love" with any particular character, but we thought it was an extremely imaginative and complex novel.
Personally, I got a bit too emotionally involved in feeling Henry's pain and fear. I have trouble separating myself from fictional characters sometimes- my own boundary issue, I guess. But that was the most interesting part of this book to me- the view of time travel as being something dangerous and frightening rather than being a positive experience. A quote I've often heard, "Your mind is a dangerous place, don't go in there alone" could have been Henry's theme. When he traveled, he could take nothing with him, and I mean NOTHING- not clothes, not food, not the basic means for survival. He was completely, utterly vulnerable. He couldn't chose where or when he went or who he met there. There was a pervasive, underlying melancholy and sense of doom because of this vulnerability.
I thought the premise- that Henry has a genetic disorder that causes random time travel and that he represents an evolution of the human species- was very plausible. Some reviewers don't think this premise was necessary and think that it even detracted from the story. I respectfully disagree. I think the premise is the thread that weaves the the story together and makes it an almost believable science fiction. I can think of ways that we "time travel" in our heads- for example, when we see, smell, touch, or taste something that reminds us of our past. The sense leads us back to a specific time and place, a specific memory. Another example is when we have an anxiety or panic attack or feel overwhelming fear- these are emotions that are generated by past traumas and return to haunt us in the present moment.
Henry's travels were life threatening. If he had time traveled for no apparent reason, I don't think I could have continued through to the final page of the book.
I can't say that I enjoyed this book because I felt overpowered by the bleakness that permeated the story, but it was an eye-opening experience and I would definitely recommend it for book clubs.

Thoughts on The Glass Castle

My book club discussed our December pick, "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls. We were excited to read this memoir, expecting great things based on all of the glowing reviews. We were bitterly disappointed. To me, this book read like a litany of immature actions by incredibly dysfunctional (sick is more like it, actually) parents. And even worse, throughout the entire book there was a sense of resigned acceptance- not the positive kind, in my opinion. More like: "my alcoholic father brought me to a bar and prostituted me, but that's okay because that's how he is." There was no sense of indignation and no affect whatsoever from the author. There was definitely no sense healing, of recovery. It was empty. I think we all agreed on that. I suspect we are all going to purge this one from our libraries ASAP.

Onto a different topic: I'm working on a list of my ten favorite thumping good reads. There are so many that I'm having a tough time narrowing my favorites down to just ten. I will post them as a list in the next couple of days and write mini-reviews of each one in the coming weeks.

Welcome!

Welcome! Isn't the image in the title box gorgeous? I love the English countryside/moors. Isn't it strange how a place simply captures your heart and won't let go? Unfortunately, I am stuck here in Maryland because this is where our jobs are. But I can dream! And go on vacation :-) But I travel in my head to the far corners of the world and back in time through my love of reading, especially historical fiction. Historical fiction is my first love and passion. That's not to say I don't read other types of books- in fact, I started a book club for exactly that reason- to expand my horizons. I've never been involved in a book club before and I'm sorry I waited so long. It's a fantastic way of getting to know people through our passionate love of books.
The other way I expand my horizons, so to speak, is to work as a volunteer reviewer and distributer for the Historical Novel Society (www.historicalnovelsociety.org). In the role of reviewer, I often volunteer to review books set in times and places that are outside of my comfort zone, which are books set in medieval England or that take place during the first and second World Wars. I have discovered some marvelous books that way and have opened myself to the delights of historical fantasy and Civil War history, for example.
One of the reasons I love historical fiction is because it is such a pleasant way to learn history. I hated history classes in high school- memorizing lists of dates and events was torture to me. But in college, I took a history course in which we read works of literature to supplement the dry history texts. It was like discovering a great secret- ah, this is how I learn best! Thus began my love affair with historical fiction.
Historical fiction also sweeps me away from the mundaneness and occasionally ugliness of reality. Sometimes it is easier to for me to be excited by the mundaneness of life in a past era; and the ugly affairs of the past are often romanticized by time, making them riveting reading.
In general, my favorite books are lengthy family sagas or epics- the longer, the better. If the book is part of a trilogy, fantastic! I prefer lengthy books because, having put so much effort into starting one, I like to coast along enjoyably for as long as possible before starting from scratch again.
I love the physical sensation of books- they way they feel in my hands, the way they smell, the satisfaction of turning the crisp pages of a newly-minted tome. The idea of reading e-books is completely abhorrent to me. Reading on a cold, impersonal computer? No way!I am an avid collector and my home is overflowing with books.
So, fellow book lovers, join me to reminisce about thumping good reads that are like comforting old friends and to explore new genres and titles, from both my book club and my personal collection.