#7 Breaking Stalin's Nose

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A peak through story and illustrations into the backstabbing, double crossing, world of Stalin's Russia and the blindness to its faults and horrors of a little boy growing up in it.

My thoughts while reading Breaking Stalin's Nose were that living in such a society is at the same time a repugnant and scary prospect. Also, said Communist society is eerily evocative of McCarthyism. Well worth the read.

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#6 A Sand County Almanac

A Sand County Almanac: With Other Essays on Conservation from Round River by Aldo Leopold

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.

So Aldo Leopold begins the forward to his most famous book: A Sand County Almanac. To be clear, this book is not a traditional almanac in any sense. Here Leopold has recorded his thoughts under headings corresponding to each of the months of the year. Hence, it is only an almanac in a figurative sense. Something else that may cause confusion: There is not only one "Sand County". The title refers to one of several of the sand counties of Wisconsin.


A Sand County Almanac is regarded as a classic of literature in its own right as well as a cornerstone of the conservation movement.


I found Leopold's writing to be very straight-forward, simple and down-to-earth. At the same time the text is full of the joy and spiritual sustenance that nature contains for those who cannot live without wild things.


A Sand County Almanac gives a picture of environmentalism as I see it. Namely it is an environmentalism not primarily concerned with the economic and public health impacts of environmental degradation (though those are important concerns). Leopold's environmentalism recognizes the intrinsic worth of the biotic community, and it's power to uplift the human spirit.


Leopold recognizes that protection of the land cannot and should not be left entirely to the government (though governmental protections definitely have their place). Protection of the natural world must take place on a grassroots level to be effective and permanent. The problem (which Leopold saw in his time and which has not changed) is that the citizens and land owners have consistently failed to take even the easiest and most basic steps toward conservation. Forests are seen by the masses not as sacred places but as dumping grounds for trash. Yards are not seen as opportunities for harboring wildlife, but as sterile lawns with the beauties and complexities of nature manicured out of them. Thus, would-be land owners reduce themselves to nothing more than lawn owners.


The lack of a conservation spirit among the citizenry stems from two things I think: apathy and ignorance. Maybe they are really the same thing, or at least closely related. Leopold extols the virtues of some rarely valued plants: silphium and draba, for example. But how can you recognize the value of these quiet little plants if you can't even recognize them at all.


There is, of course, room for optimism. Nature will go on with or without our consent. Each of us has ample opportunity to derive from the elements of nature around us those things that our spirits need.


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#5 Over Sea, Under Stone

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the first book of the Dark is Rising sequence, but I read it after reading book two (which happens to be called The Dark is Rising). Anyway, The plan is to read the entire sequence with my older two kids. We're all enjoying it immensely. I think that reading books One and Two in either order is fine, but both book one and two should be read before book three (Greenwitch).

There is much less overt magic in Over Sea Under Stone than in The Dark is Rising, and it is a rather light read, but entertaining, nonetheless.



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#4 Hikaru no Go: First Battle

Hikaru no Go: First Battle, Vol. 2 by Yumi Hotta

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


In this second book of the series the story starts to hint at the possibility of getting interesting. Hikaru maybe starts to show some promise of becoming good at go. Anyway, I did learn something about go. There's this idea of mirror play. If the first player plays a stone on the center of the board, then he can just mirror the plays of the other player. Thus, it seems that he can always stay even with the other player, even if the other player is much stronger. The mirror idea sounds good, but this book shows one way to defeat mirror play. I won't go into it here.



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#3 Hikaru no Go: Descent of the Go Master

Hikaru no Go: Descent of the Go Master, Vol. 1 by Yumi Hotta

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


My first manga. Let's just say I don't see a lot of manga in my future. So cheesy! Also, the main character is this hot-headed, angsty adolescent. Reminds me of that twit Harry Potter. But, I'm mildly interested in go these days, and these books are super quick to read, so I'll likely continue with the series.



Reading right to left was pretty easy to get used to. The thing I'm having a hard time getting used to is the ghost of the ancient go master in the story: It's just hard for me to imagine this character with long hair, full lips, ear rings, a petite up-turned nose, delicate smooth features, and hearts in the thought bubbles as a male...oh well.



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#2 The Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Definitely worth the read, though it is tough going in places. I listened to it as an audio book, so that helped. These guys are very persuasive arguers. At least Madison and Hamilton are. Can't say I was too impressed with Jay. I wonder whether they could have argued just as convincingly against a constitution...



Among the things that caught my attention:

The authors argue:

-for the power of judicial review. I had been under the impression that at the Marbury v. Madison decision the court had pulled judicial review out of the air. This is not true at all. Judicial review had been anticipated, though it was a contentious issue (still is, I gather).

-for the power of the federal government to tax individuals, though they don't seem to think that this will happen much. In fact they appear to think that most of the federal revenue needs can be met by a duty on imported alcohol. (They also argue that reducing alcohol consumption through such a duty would be a good thing.)

-for the power of the federal government to borrow money as necessary.

-from an extremely pragmatic standpoint.

-that there must be a compromise on slavery for the sake of keeping the nation together.

-from the experience of other countries, ancient and modern.

-*against* a bill of rights (yeah, that one surprised me.)

-that for there to be any government at all, it is required that the people cede to it some of their natural rights.



Furthermore, they are dismissive of arguments that the constitution favors the "wealthy and well-born". What's more, they are dismissive of the idea of there being any "wealthy and well-born" at all.



Anyway, good read. Highly recommended. I'm only giving it three stars, but it's a high three.



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#1 A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've had the thought before, and I believe it is true that the value of a book can be measured by the journey that its reader takes while reading it. Thus, I can really only say how valuable a book is to me. A Monster Calls has taken me on a short journey (I've read it over the course of just more than a day) but it has been an unusually deep one.

Conor O'Malley's mother is dying, but no one dares talk about it in front of him. What's worse, Conor can't tell himself that she is dying and  that's just the first layer of truths that Conor isn't admitting--can't admit--to himself.

Patrick Ness depicts vividly and accurately the emotions of an adolescent boy dealing with the looming death of his mother but it's not just a picture of painful emotion that Ness gives us. His story also offers comfort and redemption in the unusual shape of a green woody monster.

Perhaps A Monster Calls is a bit sentimental, but I found none of it trite. The story teams with life, with raw violence of emotion; it is fresh and searing and strange and grotesque and deeply comforting.

Something else to recommend the book: though death (as the main theme) and sex (incidentally) come into the story, they are treated with a reverence unusual in this day that doesn't come off as prudish nor stuffy.

A Monster Calls is a good quick read; but not a light one--especially for anyone who has felt the feelings that Conor does.

I could say more, but that more would delve into the journey that this book took me on; and that journey is more about my own feelings and experiences at my mother's death than anything else. That would be far outside of the intent of a book review such as this one.



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