An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde

Does anyone else gets pissy when they read lines like his one of Lady Chiltern's?

"A man's life is of more value than a woman's. It has larger issues, wider scope, greater ambitions. Our liives revolve around the curve of emotions. It is upon lines of intellect that a man's life progresses."

Seriously, I realise that this was normal at the time An Ideal Husband was written, but I'm unable to rise above my modern views! I also realise that it might be Wilde making fun of society, which his comedies were for... But it still really pisses me off! Anyone with me?

Other than that, I really like Oscar Wilde's societal comedies. This is my second one, after The Importance of Being Earnest, and I enjoyed it just as much. I love the way he uses language to draw his characters. Which in a play is doubly important, but when someone does it this well I am still amazed.

Very enjoyable, quick read. And if you know anything about Victorian London and want to see someone make fun of it, this play will put a smile on your face!

By the way, did you know that Oscar Wilde was Irish? I always thought that he was English, that's what I remember from school, but I was corrected on this very, very quickly.

I read this on a free book application on my iPhone, to see if I mind reading electronically before I invest in a Kindle... I prefer regular books, but it's certainly nice to have access to all kinds of reading material wherever you go. I think the Kindle is a definite yes.

In the Woods by Tana French

Um, I think Tana French owes me an answer to the second mystery? There are two cases in the book and only one of them is solved - I was very very very disappointed when I finished! I know that it makes the book different and all that and that in theory it's a positive that all loose ends aren't tied up like in Hollywood, but I wanted to know who did it!!!

There, I got that out of my system. Kinda. Nah, I still want to know who do it. :-)

For the rest, I thought the book was great. I loved the Irishness of it, first of all, the specific way sentences and phrases were built and the distinctive slang of the Irish. I loved the writing, but only once I got into the story, so perhaps I was just following plot by then. I found the language way over-flowery at the beginning, to such an extent that I had to re-read sentences and was wondering if I shouldn't just put the book down.

What I loved most was the relationship between Rob and Cassie, the two detectives working the main case. I absolutely loved the way  they were with each other and the way their relationship grew. There was such warmth, such closeness in it. The way the author wrote them interviewing people and working in general was spectacular. That private relationship somehow made them think like one person, they knew each other completely and this was indispensable to getting witnesses to talk. I don't like what happened to them in the end but I understand that there wasn't any other place Rob's character could go.

All in all, a very enjoyable page-turner.

Have you read The Likeness? Is it worth reading?

Challenges: 2010 Countdown, Orbis Terrarum

The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn

I really need to keep up with my reviews. I no longer remember my impressions! I liked The Ivt Chronicles, it was an enjoyable, entertaining, satisfying light read.

The story is about high-flying Ivy, living the good life in Manhattan, in a super-high-paying job and able to afford anything she could ever dream of. Then it all collapses and she is suddenly single, unemployed and forced to move to a cheaper neighborhood, where her kids actually have to attend the local school. Horror of horrors. Not surprisingly, the normal life grows on her (albeit slowly) and she learns to appreciate the small things in life.

The style is funny and engaging, the characters are likeable, if you need a light summer read, this could be it!

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge, What's in a Name 3

Into Thin Air

I thought my friend Elaine had recommended this to me, but in fact she recommened Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild - I ended up getting Into Thin Air. It's not the sort of book I would normally pick up, but I did need an adventure book for the Genre Challenge and I thought it might be interesting. I now feel like I learned a bit more about the world, a feeling I love.

Into Thin Air is Krakauer's account of the disaster that struck his and several other expeditions while they were climbing Mount Everest in 1996. Krakauer is a journalist and was doing a piece for a magazine - although he'd always been into mountain climbing so couldn't refuse the chance to climb Everest anyway. He joined one of the commercial expeditions and off he went. Thankfully, he also came back to tell the tale, although it's a story of eight climbers dying and many others only barely surviving...

First of all, I didn't know that there were commercial expeditions! I didn't know that people, sometimes people with very little climbing experience, would pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to companies that would take them up Everest with guides. It's a business and like all business, sometimes loses that feeling for the individual...which unfortunately makes disasters more likely to happen.

I also didn't know how physically taxing and outright dangerous climbing is. That's not correct - I guess I knew, I just never really thought about it. Those who climb mountains have to survive in terrible conditions and with little oxygen, meaning that they are mostly incapable of coherent thinking while up on a mountain...

And I didn't know that there is a whole people - the Sherpas - part of whose livelihood is dependent on climbing. They live in the mountains anyway and act as guides and carriers for the commercial expeditions. Often this is the job the pays most of anything that is available to them.

All in all, fascinating stuff. I'm very glad that I decided to read something so way out of my comfort zone, I am richer for it.

Krakauer insists that the story, told as truthfully as could be, needed to be told. I agree and I applaud his courage and his honesty. Parts of the story are not pretty - including bits about the author's own behavior and choices and the remorse he now feels. I'm sure this wasn't an easy story for him to tell and I thank him for deciding to put it out there.

Challenges: Genre Challenge, Dewey Decimal Challenge

I can make you thin

Isn't that a great book title? It sure caught my attention and I couldn't not buy it! I Can Make You Thin is by Paul McKenna, who seems to have loads of other similar books out about other issues. By similar I mean employing self-hypnosis-like techniques - I have a book by him about confidence as well.

It's very, very short and is based on some very, very simple principles. Basically, he says that thin people don't obsess about food as much as overweight people, they just eat when they're hungry. Paul McKenna tries to change the reader's brain programming to think more like a naturally thin person and develop a healthier attitude to food.

I liked reading it and I've already been putting some of the principles into practice and doing some of the excercises and the weight is starting to come off. I've been struggling with my weight since I quit smoking two years ago now. I just can't seem to shift it... the simplicity of this book makes sense to me so hopefully I'll continue on this track.

The book comes with a CD too, but I haven't had the courage to listen to it yet. It says that you shouldn't listen to it while driving or operating machinery so I suppose it's proper self-hypnosis. Has anyone tried anything like this?

Challenges: 999 Challenge, A-Z Challenge, Dewey Decimal Challenge (613.25019)

Incendiary

I'm trying to read a couple more books in Polish to finish the year's 888 challenge, so am picking up whatever my Mom has recently bought and read and can recommend to me. Chris Cleave's first novel Incendiary is such a book.

The story is told from the point of view of a woman who loses her husband and 4-year-old son during a fictional terrorist attack in London and takes the shape of a letter she is writing to Osama bin Laden. In it she tries to make sense of what happened and to move on. Her voice is very real, which makes for some very good reading. I found parts of the story unconvincing and even forced, but I liked the main character and felt for her, which made for a good reading experience. I probably would not have bought this book myself, but now that I know the author I'll be curious to see what his other books are about.

In a terrible coincidence, this book was published on 7 July 2005, which was the day of the attacks in London. But even without this, the subject matter treated in it is realistic and Cleave made a good effort to show a few individuals trying to make sense of the new reality that exists around us. Unfortunately, there are many who try to take advantage of this reality and the new power balance, but that's life. I don't want to give away any of the story, but I want to mention that I also liked how the author treated the politics of terrorism and some of the decisions that are taken in its midst. Disturbing stuff.

Challenges: 888 Challenge