Last February my hard disk crashed and I lost all the data I had on it. Since then I more and more keep all my data on the net. There is almost no data on my hard disk anymore. I use Plaxo for my address book I use a web mail client even though I prefer the Thunderbird user interface and I use Flickr. One of the things I lost when I lost my hard disk was a catalog of my home library that I had been creating. I never got around to starting to re-enter all the data i lost. So today when I read 12 frogs I was thrilled to discover that a web based library cataloging application has been created. I have just started to play with it but Library Thing seems VERY cool and I am very excited.
Category: Books
English Passengers
About a year ago one of my bosses at Sun recommended the novel English Passengers by Matthew Kneale. I just finished reading it and highly recommend it. It is about a crew of smugglers from the Isle of Man who charter their boat to an expedition searching for the Garden of Eden. The group is headed by a clergyman who believe he will find the Garden of Eden in Tasmania. The back of the book describes the book as and "epic romp across the high seas and cultures of the nineteenth century." and I would agree. There are very few books that make you laugh out loud but this one does. It has some very serious themes too. One of the expedition members is developing a malevolent thesis about the superiority of races.. The book is also intertwined with what is happening to the aborigines of Tasmania. Bottom line it is a great story. Usually I can anticipate how a book will end but this one had me guessing until the end.
After recently reading
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by
Mark Haddon I am conscious of how perspective is used in a novel. English Passengers is told from the perspectives of at least 20 different people. You might think this would be confusing or heavy handed but the book flows beautifully.
English Passengers was a Whitbread Book of the Year and was a finalist for the Booker Prize. Interestingly enough
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time also won the Whitbread prize. I just looked up the Whitbread Prize and the site says "The criteria are to select well-written, enjoyable books that they would strongly recommend anyone to read." Based on this I think I’m going to have to read some other Whitbread winning books.
Harry Potter and Travel Plans
Allison and I had dinner Thursday night and got to discuss the new Harry Potter book which we have both finished. Rowling has an amazing ability to do what I think all fiction writers should do, tell a great story and create characters you care about. Someone asked me why the series is so popular and I think it is that simple. Harry Potter books are just meant to be enjoyed and one shouldn’t spend too much time analyzing them, although it is fun to speculate what will happen next.
Work is especially busy right now. We have started the pilot testing for our new software. I am off to Tucson tomorrow for meetings with my boss and the rest of our group. I’m looking forward to meeting the folks I’ve talked to on the phone.
Book Club
Our book club book this month was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I got to lead the discussion. It is a very simple read (I read it in a weekend) but it is highly entertaining, thought provoking, and memorable. The story is told from the perspective of Christopher, a 15 year old autistic boy. The author, Mark Haddon, does an amazing job of giving the reader Christopher’s perspective.
Christopher is very talented at Math and applies his own logic to his world. But his view of the world lacks any empathy or understanding of human interaction. One reviewer said that Haddon does what authors are supposed to do, paint the picture and not try to tell you how to feel. As a result when you read it you tend to rush in and fill in the emotions yourself. I highly recommend the book.
Harry Potter Party
My daughter, Allison taught 4th grade last year. She promised the 5 students who had reached their reading goals at the end of the year that she would take them to the Harry Potter party at Hicklebees today and that they would get the new Harry Potter book as their prize for reaching their goals. Today 3 of the five were able to go. Julia, Duy and Tanya went with Allison and me. It was lot of fun. We dressed up and there were games and prizes. All three of them are avid readers. Duy is especially impressive. He came form Viet Nam and this was his first year of school in the United States. At the beginning of the year he could not read or write English at all. By the end of the year he was almost at a fourth grade reading level and he reached his reading goal. All 5 kids and Allison and I are looking forward to reading the new book. I just talked to Allison. She said she is about half way through.
This was Allison’s last year teaching. She decided that although teaching has a lot of rewards it was not for her. She completed the two year Teach For America commitment and has accepted a new job that starts in August. She will be working for Inside Track. She is hoping to be able to continue to volunteer at the school. I am very proud of what she achieved as a teacher.
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