Book Post: Maddocks, Hawthorne, Vinge, Milne, M. Johnson
Hildegard of Bingen: The Woman of her Age by Fiona Maddocks, 344pp
I wanted to read a history book and I always liked Hildegard but didn't study her in detail. And the library had a copy so I finally got to it. It was certainly an interesting biography. Maddock is using many primary sources including autobiogrpahy, hagiographies and Hildegard's numerous work from visions to her music to her science. It was interesting to learn about Hildegard childhood - we don't have a lot of information but we know who her family was and her siblings and how she entered monastic life at age 8. I was not aware that she was an anchorite. I specialized in medieval history in grad school but my specialty was England and 14th century in particular. My minor was women and gender history so I knew the context of her life and various little things about the monastic life and women mystics in general. It was great to get back to the medieval world and to read this book. Maddocks writes really well and it is both scholarly but also good for general audience. Hildegard came across like a real complicated person, with her own quirks and foibles and not a perfect person. Just a real one. It was well done. My favorite part though was the interview with a nun that currently lives in the monastery in Hildegard's town. It was interesting to see her point of view.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 235pp [reread].
I have never been a fan of classic American writers. Although now as I'm reading some, like Steinbeck, as an adult, I'm finding that I'm enjoying the authors I didn't think I would. But as a teenager I was not a big fan. I hated "The Great Gatsby", I didn't particularly liked "The Catcher in the Rye" and I was not a fan of Hemingway, and in general reading American writers was a slog. Maybe it was lack of cultural background knowledge. But there was one exception and that was Hawthorne. It wasn't so much the plot but it was his language. I was just so awed by this language in many of his works. I loved "The Scarlet Letter" in high school and was thinking lately of rereading it and finally got to it. I still love the language and I still found the story interesting, since I was catching things I didn't really understand as a teenager. But it took me a while to get through the book. I was into in when I was reading but it was harder to just want to pick it up. What really surprised me in this reread is that the book is not so much about Hester and her feelings and her mood but it was really about Arthur Dimmesdale and his internal struggle. Hester is not the main character here, it is not about her since she deals with her societal shame and copes better. Arthur, meanwhile, does not - it is all internal and that psychological struggle and his angst is what drives the plot. I still couldn't understand what exactly Roger was doing to undermine Arthur and his motivations seem weird at times, especially at the end. And also when exactly did he find out it was Arthur, before he saw his chest - it seems like he suspected? that part wasn't clear. So overall, I still see Hawthorne as a beautiful writer language wise but as an adult there are some issues with the plot that I see. Still I am glad I reread it.
Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge, 415pp [Hugo book].
Every year I have a goal of reading 5 Hugo winning books and I love this goal since it leads me to books and authors I might not have picked up. I never read Vinge before although he won a bunch of awards and there will be more for me to read from the Hugo list.
In this book, the technology is so advanced that people basically wear internet and enjoy alternate reality overlaid with everything. Some of it is fun as you can create fictional worlds like Pratchett and live in them. Some is more serious. There is one person who is trying to save the world by mindcontrol, lots of double cross and a lab heist. But the main character is a very unlikable poet who has been suffering from Alzheimer's and is now cured and now has to deal with all this new to him technology. He attends his granddaughter's high school that has a class for older adults who need new technological education. He also gets involved in lab heist plot with other older people. As the book keeps going the main character does grow more likable.
This book really made me think about where technology is going and what it will be like in 20 years. As a person who grew up before tech but was at the right age to see internet become a thing and the rise of social media, how will things change and will I be able to keep up with it and what will it mean for jobs and entertainment and human relationship. The pandemic definitelly drove more change in tech and everything else. As I'm writing this, I am also watching/monitoring a presentation from a consultant that would have been in our conference room pre-pandemic. And I don't know if we would ever go back to in-person for those. So this book made me think for sure. As a fan of sci-fi and fantasy, I would welcome some virtual worlds to escape too but the implications of mind control and other ways people could take advantage of it is pretty scary. I wasn't a big fan of the characters in the story or many plot coincidences to make the plot happen but I can see how this story won a Hugo and the worldbuilding of this.
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, 160pp [reread].
I forgot how good this book is. I read it as a kid in Russian and I loved the Soviet cartoons, which are very, very faithful to a couple of chapters from the book, including translated dialogue. I am aware of American animated version of Winnie-the-Pooh but I never watched it much since the voice sounds so weird to me. To me those three short Soviet cartoons are just so definitive (they are on YouTube with English subtitles).
Tanya got this book for her birthday (with original illustrations) and I started reading it and read it quickly. It was my favorite book of the month! I just found it funny and there is a lot of subtle humor I like and it was just well written. I just enjoyed it. Very fun. Excellent children's literature and stands up after almost 100 years.
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson, 323pp
I disliked the first half of this book. I love the concept of parallel universes and the set up was great - one could only travel or traverse to the worlds where the world is very close to your own and where your counterpart is dead, and Cara, the main character, is only alive on about 8 of 380 worlds she could travel too. So she an asset to her corporation. The problem for me is that this set of worlds, including Earth 0 is more dystopian and much darker than I like. Cara comes from Ashtown, very poor and dystorian area ruled by a tyrant outside the big and tall protected city. I think the authors' worldbuilding is actually well thought out- there are consequences to various pollutions - but I did not want to be in this world. Even the city didn't sound like a place I would want to be in. And the Ashtown with their runners and wild west type life was definitely where I didn't want to spend my time. And I disliked Cara. It is hard to read a book where you don't particularly like the main character. Yes, her life was hard, I get it. Some plot twists I could see coming and some I didn't. The book itself is put together well, there are many twists and turns but I didn't have a character to latch on to. When Cara got stuck on 172, I didn't understand why we were spending time there, why was this important and what the plot was doing.
The second half of the book, once Cara was on Earth 0, was better. New revelations and things were happening moved the book along and I started to understand Cara a bit better and got used to the world and started caring about the outcome. I thought the end was actually well done - all the set up that I didn't realize was a set up like Lot's Wife, paid off, and I like when authors do that. By the end I could see what the book was doing. But it was still not a book I particularly liked. It was too dystopian for me and not a world I wanted to be in. But written well.
I wanted to read a history book and I always liked Hildegard but didn't study her in detail. And the library had a copy so I finally got to it. It was certainly an interesting biography. Maddock is using many primary sources including autobiogrpahy, hagiographies and Hildegard's numerous work from visions to her music to her science. It was interesting to learn about Hildegard childhood - we don't have a lot of information but we know who her family was and her siblings and how she entered monastic life at age 8. I was not aware that she was an anchorite. I specialized in medieval history in grad school but my specialty was England and 14th century in particular. My minor was women and gender history so I knew the context of her life and various little things about the monastic life and women mystics in general. It was great to get back to the medieval world and to read this book. Maddocks writes really well and it is both scholarly but also good for general audience. Hildegard came across like a real complicated person, with her own quirks and foibles and not a perfect person. Just a real one. It was well done. My favorite part though was the interview with a nun that currently lives in the monastery in Hildegard's town. It was interesting to see her point of view.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 235pp [reread].
I have never been a fan of classic American writers. Although now as I'm reading some, like Steinbeck, as an adult, I'm finding that I'm enjoying the authors I didn't think I would. But as a teenager I was not a big fan. I hated "The Great Gatsby", I didn't particularly liked "The Catcher in the Rye" and I was not a fan of Hemingway, and in general reading American writers was a slog. Maybe it was lack of cultural background knowledge. But there was one exception and that was Hawthorne. It wasn't so much the plot but it was his language. I was just so awed by this language in many of his works. I loved "The Scarlet Letter" in high school and was thinking lately of rereading it and finally got to it. I still love the language and I still found the story interesting, since I was catching things I didn't really understand as a teenager. But it took me a while to get through the book. I was into in when I was reading but it was harder to just want to pick it up. What really surprised me in this reread is that the book is not so much about Hester and her feelings and her mood but it was really about Arthur Dimmesdale and his internal struggle. Hester is not the main character here, it is not about her since she deals with her societal shame and copes better. Arthur, meanwhile, does not - it is all internal and that psychological struggle and his angst is what drives the plot. I still couldn't understand what exactly Roger was doing to undermine Arthur and his motivations seem weird at times, especially at the end. And also when exactly did he find out it was Arthur, before he saw his chest - it seems like he suspected? that part wasn't clear. So overall, I still see Hawthorne as a beautiful writer language wise but as an adult there are some issues with the plot that I see. Still I am glad I reread it.
Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge, 415pp [Hugo book].
Every year I have a goal of reading 5 Hugo winning books and I love this goal since it leads me to books and authors I might not have picked up. I never read Vinge before although he won a bunch of awards and there will be more for me to read from the Hugo list.
In this book, the technology is so advanced that people basically wear internet and enjoy alternate reality overlaid with everything. Some of it is fun as you can create fictional worlds like Pratchett and live in them. Some is more serious. There is one person who is trying to save the world by mindcontrol, lots of double cross and a lab heist. But the main character is a very unlikable poet who has been suffering from Alzheimer's and is now cured and now has to deal with all this new to him technology. He attends his granddaughter's high school that has a class for older adults who need new technological education. He also gets involved in lab heist plot with other older people. As the book keeps going the main character does grow more likable.
This book really made me think about where technology is going and what it will be like in 20 years. As a person who grew up before tech but was at the right age to see internet become a thing and the rise of social media, how will things change and will I be able to keep up with it and what will it mean for jobs and entertainment and human relationship. The pandemic definitelly drove more change in tech and everything else. As I'm writing this, I am also watching/monitoring a presentation from a consultant that would have been in our conference room pre-pandemic. And I don't know if we would ever go back to in-person for those. So this book made me think for sure. As a fan of sci-fi and fantasy, I would welcome some virtual worlds to escape too but the implications of mind control and other ways people could take advantage of it is pretty scary. I wasn't a big fan of the characters in the story or many plot coincidences to make the plot happen but I can see how this story won a Hugo and the worldbuilding of this.
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, 160pp [reread].
I forgot how good this book is. I read it as a kid in Russian and I loved the Soviet cartoons, which are very, very faithful to a couple of chapters from the book, including translated dialogue. I am aware of American animated version of Winnie-the-Pooh but I never watched it much since the voice sounds so weird to me. To me those three short Soviet cartoons are just so definitive (they are on YouTube with English subtitles).
Tanya got this book for her birthday (with original illustrations) and I started reading it and read it quickly. It was my favorite book of the month! I just found it funny and there is a lot of subtle humor I like and it was just well written. I just enjoyed it. Very fun. Excellent children's literature and stands up after almost 100 years.
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson, 323pp
I disliked the first half of this book. I love the concept of parallel universes and the set up was great - one could only travel or traverse to the worlds where the world is very close to your own and where your counterpart is dead, and Cara, the main character, is only alive on about 8 of 380 worlds she could travel too. So she an asset to her corporation. The problem for me is that this set of worlds, including Earth 0 is more dystopian and much darker than I like. Cara comes from Ashtown, very poor and dystorian area ruled by a tyrant outside the big and tall protected city. I think the authors' worldbuilding is actually well thought out- there are consequences to various pollutions - but I did not want to be in this world. Even the city didn't sound like a place I would want to be in. And the Ashtown with their runners and wild west type life was definitely where I didn't want to spend my time. And I disliked Cara. It is hard to read a book where you don't particularly like the main character. Yes, her life was hard, I get it. Some plot twists I could see coming and some I didn't. The book itself is put together well, there are many twists and turns but I didn't have a character to latch on to. When Cara got stuck on 172, I didn't understand why we were spending time there, why was this important and what the plot was doing.
The second half of the book, once Cara was on Earth 0, was better. New revelations and things were happening moved the book along and I started to understand Cara a bit better and got used to the world and started caring about the outcome. I thought the end was actually well done - all the set up that I didn't realize was a set up like Lot's Wife, paid off, and I like when authors do that. By the end I could see what the book was doing. But it was still not a book I particularly liked. It was too dystopian for me and not a world I wanted to be in. But written well.