classic

Book Review: Beezus and Ramona

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Beezus and Ramona
Ramona Quimby #1
by Beverly Cleary
Read by Stockard Channing

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

I’m pretty sure I read some of the Ramona books when I was younger, though this one wasn’t familiar. When I first started listening, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Stockard Channing’s narration, but it grew on me along the way. Now to the story…I totally felt for Beezus in these little vignettes—not because I had any kind of a similar situation when I was a kid, but because if I had, I would definitely have felt the same way as Beezus did. I found myself wishing often that the mom was a little stronger in how she handled the things Ramona did. Often, Ramona simply doesn’t understand that she’s done something wrong or why it’s wrong, but that doesn’t mean she can’t learn.

I appreciated how Ramona comes to understand that just because she doesn’t always feel love for her sister doesn’t mean she’s a bad sister. And though the main theme of the book is Ramona’s…obnoxiousness, I liked that Beezus had some little wins in there. Overall, a fun book with some good nostalgia in it.

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Book Review: By the Shores of Silver Lake

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By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
read by Cherry Jones

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s historical classic

This book was a little faster-paced than the previous ones in a way, with the bustling railroad workers nearby, the steady stream of homesteaders filing past them, and the short time living in town. There are some exciting surprises and some heart-stopping moments. After all of the moving they’ve done, I feel for Ma here and hope for her said that Pa’s promise to settle down won’t be broken. I wish more and more that I’d read these books when I was younger, but I’m glad I’m reading them now.

As before, my enjoyment of the book was greatly enhanced by the audiobook narrator, Cherry Jones, who does a fantastic job, and being able to hear Pa’s fiddle, thanks to Paul Woodiel. If you’ve ever considered reading this series, or have already read it and have occasion to listen to the audiobooks, I say do it!

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Book Review: On the Banks of Plum Creek

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On the Banks of Plum Creek
Little House #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
read by Cherry Jones

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s historical classic

I continue to be amazed that anyone survived life in these conditions, and I continue to be amazed at some of the choices Pa makes. Between the plague of grasshoppers and the dozen blizzards before Christmas, this family defines the “pioneer spirit.” Pa’s decision to borrow against a future wheat crop doesn’t seem wise, but it isn’t even the first questionable thing he’s done in this series. I liked reading about Ma and the two young girls working together to take care of things while Pa was away for months at a time and Laura learning to read. While some aspects of the stories seem to be the same from book to book, the setting and hardships tend to change drastically, keeping the series fresh so far.

As before, my enjoyment of the book was greatly enhanced by the audiobook narrator, Cherry Jones, who does a fantastic job, and being able to hear Pa’s fiddle, thanks to Paul Woodiel. If you’ve ever considered reading this series, or have already read it and have occasion to listen to the audiobooks, I say do it!

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Book Review: The Valley of Fear

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The Valley of Fear
Sherlock Holmes #7
by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

Like A Study in Scarlet, this novella is in two parts—the mystery being solved by Holmes and the backstory of the principle character in the mystery. Each part has a bit of a twist near the end. The mystery section is interesting enough, though doesn’t stand out much from the others I’ve read so far. I was spoiled on the twist (people seem to care a lot less about spoiler tags and warnings when leaving a low rating), so it’s difficult to say how I would have felt about it. It didn’t seem particularly inspired, that’s all I can really say. The backstory portion I found interesting and unnecessarily long in turns. It’s very difficult for me to get into the head of someone who is so brutal and uncaring. The twist, though, was probably one of the most surprising twists I’ve read. I did not see it coming and mentally applauded Doyle for the misdirect. I raised the story at least half a star, maybe a full star, just because of that twist.

I have to say that screen writers over the years have really done a number with Moriarty. I am sure I’m not the only person who has read these stories after seeing and hearing about Holmes over the years and imagining Moriarty as a dastardly foil for the great detective, only to realize that book Moriarty is nothing compared to his on-screen counterparts. This book had even less Moriarty than the short story in which he was introduced (“The Final Problem” in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes), and now that I’ve read both stories with the infamous villain in them, I really can’t believe how big of a deal the character became. We really only know he’s brilliant because we’re told he is. There’s no proof given; Sherlock says he’s a criminal mastermind, so that’s all we need to make up stories about his treachery. Anyway, all of that aside, this was a more memorable Holmes story for me, so that’s something (though it has nothing to do with Moriarty).

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Book Review: The Lost World

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The Lost World
Jurassic Park #2
by Michael Crichton

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Science fiction thriller

Up front, I will say that I’ve seen the Jurassic Park movies (original 3) many, many times, so if you’re looking for an unbiased opinion, you may want to go elsewhere. Jurassic Park is one of my top 3 favorite movie franchises, if not the top. I did read this book once, back in high school, most likely because of how much I already liked the first couple of movies then. However, unlike the first book, which I couldn’t help but compare to the movie as I read, this one is so different from the movie that very early on, I had to try to push the movie out of my mind. And in doing that, I am probably able to review it more for itself than based on my love of the movies. Though I can’t pretend that love didn’t still possibly make me enjoy this more than I might have otherwise.

I didn’t love this book quite as much as the first, but I did enjoy it, and it kept my attention throughout. Malcolm’s arrogance and loquaciousness takes a back seat to a new character, Richard Levine, though we do get almost a repeat of an injured, drugged Malcolm rambling on that also happened in the previous book. I don’t know why Crichton insists on putting kids in harms way in these books, but I did like the kids in this one more than the two in the first book (it was mostly Lex that was annoying in the first book). One of my biggest frustrations while reading is probably fair enough for Crichton to have included, but it frustrates me to have an intelligent character say that evolution may not tell the entire story of existence up to now, that there may be more that modern scientists haven’t uncovered, yet without a doubt, creationism is just wrong. To be so absolutely sure that one model is wrong, though there is plenty to confirm it, even while saying we may not know all the answers smacks of willful ignorance. Sadly, this is absolutely the world we live in.

Though, as I said, I didn’t compare the book to the movie as much this time around, one thing that I realized is that Sarah Harding is quite the strong, courageous woman. She’s mostly portrayed that way in the movie too, but I don’t understand why the movie makers decided to flip the script when the trailers are being pushed over the side of the cliff. In the book, Sarah does the saving, while in the movie, she has to be saved by Malcolm. I’m not a feminist, but that seems fairly deliberate to me. Though, I suppose, it could have just been more about giving Jeff Goldblum the save than anything to do with gender roles. Overall, I do think that fans of the first book and/or the movie franchise will enjoy this book.

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Book Review: Old Yeller

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Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic historical fiction

Old Yeller is yet another children’s classic I’ve never read. I don’t think I’ve watched the movie either, but of course I knew how it ends. However, I didn’t expect the entire book to basically be just about getting to that ending. It’s even stated on the first page that the narrator, Travis, would end up having to kill this stray. For me, that definitely dampened the enjoyment of the story of Travis and Old Yeller becoming good friends. What bothered me the most, though, was Travis’s little brother Arliss. Oh my goodness, that kid is annoying! Every time he gets upset about something, he gets violent, even with his own mother. And it basically goes unchecked. It just all seems extreme and unnecessary. And in the end, I was left wondering what the author’s intention was in writing this book. And would it have been such a classic if it weren’t for the tragic ending? Take that away, and you just have the story of a boy and his dog, which has been done.

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Book Review: The Last Battle

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The Last Battle
The Chronicles of Narnia #7 (original order)
by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic fantasy

From the creation of Narnia to the destruction of it. This book seems to be pretty polarizing, and it’s the same in my mind. I appreciate Lewis’s vision of the afterlife, eternity for the world he’s created and the characters in it. I’m a little uncertain about why everyone had to die at the same time to get there. But that’s Lewis’s choice to make. I also like Lewis’s view of God, shown through his writing of Aslan—His love, mercy, and righteousness. I noted that the dwarves that couldn’t see the beauty around them is a pretty clear representation of casting pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). I don’t fully agree with all of the theology presented within the story, but since it’s allegorical, it’s difficult to say for sure what Lewis is saying with certain aspects.

This wraps up my first reading of this series. I wish I could say I liked some of the books more than I did, but others I really enjoyed. I am certain there’s more to get out of the books than I did, though, so I do plan to re-read the series someday.

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Book Review: The Greatest Gift

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The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale
Philip Van Doren Stern
Read by Edward Herrmann

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Classic Christmas fiction

When I found out that the short story that inspired the movie It’s a Wonderful Life was narrated by the late, great Edward Herrmann, I tracked it down immediately to give it a listen. It’s difficult to give a rating and review that is unbiased and not compare the original story to the movie. The basic idea that Stern was going for came across easily enough—a single person affects more than they think in the lives of those around them. Not knowing what has George contemplating suicide and thinking the world would be better if he hadn’t been born, or even really knowing what kind of man he is, it’s a little difficult to be as connected to him as I would have wanted to be in a story like this. And in the end, while he is certainly affected by more than the loss of his wife to a rival, it could just as easily be missing her presence in his life and leads him to want his life back, rather than deciding his life is worth living after all. So bringing it back around to the movie, the extended version of this story does a much better job of first laying out the problem and then getting to the change of mind and heart. But the original story is so short, it might still be worth a quick read. The actual story part of the audiobook was about 25 minutes long, with an afterword that doubled the length, and Edward Herrmann an unsurprisingly great job with the narration.

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Book Review: Little House on the Prairie

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Little House on the Prairie
Little House #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
read by Cherry Jones

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s historical classic

What a change of scenery from the previous book with the Ingalls family, from the woods of Wisconsin to the wide-open prairie. I don’t recall reading the reason for the move, and while I can imagine that Laura never knew the reason as a child, I wonder if she learned it later in life. I suppose it might be due to the woods becoming overcrowded, since, as they’re building their house, Pa says that he’d be content to stay there the rest of his life, even as the area gets more settled, because the area is so wide open, it could never feel crowded. Considering what happens here, it seems a shame that he wasn’t content where he was, but I suppose that’s a mindset most of us these days can’t fully understand (though I know some people who would).

The story continues to be charming, and while there are some unfortunate mindsets that I wish would not have been so common in that day, I appreciate that Pa mostly has a different attitude. My daughter has recently started reading the first book in the series, and I don’t know if she’ll continue to this one, but if she does, I’ll be intrigued to hear her thoughts on the matter.

As before, my enjoyment of the book was greatly enhanced by the audiobook narrator, Cherry Jones, who does a fantastic job, and being able to hear Pa’s fiddle, thanks to Paul Woodiel. If you’ve ever considered reading this series, or have already read it and have occasion to listen to the audiobooks, I say do it!

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Book Review: The Mouse and the Motorcycle

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The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Ralph S. Mouse #1
by Beverly Cleary

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic, fantasy

Ralph is full of adventure, and I am full of nostalgia for my younger days. I don’t actually remember if I read this book, but I definitely saw the ABC Weekend Special episode based on the book, probably a few times. This book is fun and exciting, and while it is full of things that modern kids wouldn’t necessarily understand, I think that just makes it all the more of a classic. It’s a great chance to explain about how things used to be, though this book even predates parents of the kids that are the right age for the story. It’s a book I wish I’d read to my kids when they were younger; they would have loved hearing me make the sounds of the motorcycle and ambulance and maybe even an attempted mouse voice. There’s nothing profound here, but it’s a fun adventure for kids.

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