December 2017 Book Haul

Because I am me, I am also including library books in my haul as well as any digital books I get. In December I picked up 7 books. 

Book #1: The Jungle Book (vol 2) by Rudyard Kipling

Set in faraway India and the Aleutians, the animals and humans who inhabit Kipling's Jungle Books have been children's favorites for generations. Book I introduces the black panther Bagheera, the lame and evil tiger Shere Khan, the rock python Kaa, the brown bear Baloo who teaches the wolf cubs the Law of the Jungle, the man cub Mowgli who lives with the wolves, Toomai of the elephants, and many others. Though the stories and characters are exotic, the themes they address are universal ones: courage, loyalty, and adventure. Stories include: "Mowgli's Brothers," "Kaa's Hunting," "Tiger-Tiger!", "The White Seal," "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," "Toomai of the Elephants," and "Servants of the Queen."

Literally just the other half of the series. This one has a lot of the other stories that I actually like. Including Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. I can't wait to read it along with the others and finally get a complete picture of the Jungle Books. 

Book #2: Ulysses by James Joyce

The most famous day in literature is June 16, 1904, when a certain Mr. Leopold Bloom of Dublin eats a kidney for breakfast, attends a funeral, admires a girl on the beach, contemplates his wife’s imminent adultery, and, late at night, befriends a drunken young poet in the city’s red-light district. Ulysses has been labeled dirty, blasphemous & unreadable. In a 1933 court decision, Judge John M. Woolsey declared it an emetic book--tho he found it sufficiently unobscene to allow its importation into the USA--& Virginia Woolf was moved to decry Joyce's "cloacal obsession." None of these adjectives, however, do the slightest justice to the novel. To this day it remains the modernist masterpiece, in which the author takes both Celtic lyricism & vulgarity to splendid extremes. It's funny, sorrowful, even (in a close-focus sort of way) suspenseful. Despite the exegetical industry that has sprung up in the last 75 years, Ulysses is also a compulsively readable book. Even the verbal vaudeville of the final chapters can be navigated with relative ease, as long as you're willing to be buffeted, tickled, challenged & (occasionally) vexed by Joyce's sheer command of English. Among other things, a novel is simply a long story. The 1st question about any story is: What happens?. In this case, the answer might be Everything. Wm Blake, one of literature's sublime myopics, saw the universe in a grain of sand. Joyce saw it in Dublin, on 6/16/1904, a day distinguished by its utter normality. Two characters, Stephen Dedalus & Leopold Bloom, go about their separate business, crossing paths with a gallery of indelible Dubliners. We watch them teach, eat, stroll the streets, argue & (in Bloom's case) masturbate. Thanks to the stream-of-consciousness technique--which suggests no mere stream but an impossibly deep, swift-running river--we're privy to their thoughts, emotions & memories. The result? Almost every variety of experience is crammed into the accordion folds of a single day, which makes Ulysses not just an experimental work but the very last word in realism. Both characters add their glorious intonations to the music of the prose. Dedalus' accent--that of a freelance aesthetician, who dabbles here & there in what we might call Early Yeats Lite--will be familiar to readers of Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. But Bloom's wistful sensualism (& naive curiosity) is something else entirely. Seen thru his eyes, a rundown corner of a graveyard is a figure for hope & hopelessness, mortality & dogged survival: "Mr Bloom walked unheeded along his grove by saddened angels, crosses, broken pillars, family vaults, stone hopes praying with upcast eyes, old Ireland's hearts & hands. More sensible to spend the money on some charity for the living. Pray for the repose of the soul of. Does anybody really?" An earthy story, a virtuoso technical display, and a literary revolution all rolled into one, James Joyce’s Ulysses is a touchstone of our modernity and one of the towering achievements of the human mind.

I have seen many recommendations for this book floating around and I figured if the library had it I would borrow it and see just how much of it I could get through before the time was up. It's much thicker than I thought it was going to be. Here's hoping I can understand it? I realized shortly after borrowing it that there was no way I'd ever finish it in any kind of timely manner, so I went and bought the eBook edition. Sometimes it's just quicker for me to get through eBooks over print ones. 

Book #3: The Three Daughters of Madame Liang by Pearl S. Buck

After her husband takes a concubine, Madame Liang sets out on her own, starting an upscale restaurant and sending her daughters to America to be educated. At the restaurant, the leaders of the People's Republic wine and dine and Madame Liang must keep a low profile for her daughters' sake. Soon her two eldest daughters are called back to serve the People's Republic. Her oldest daughter, Grace, now a doctor, finds meaning through her work. Things are not as easy for her daughter Mercy, a musician who is not in demand in the People's Republic, nor for her new husband who she has brought back to China with her. Watching her two daughters grow apart and knowing that her youngest daughter will never return, Madame Liang must also face the challenges The Cultural Revolution, and how to keep herself and the restaurant, alive.

For some reason, I've become entranced by Pearl S. Buck. I tried reading The Good Earth back in high school, but failed miserably. Then a friend of mine gave me a copy of Dragon Seed, and now I am basically in love with the stories? I picked up this one and the next one at the same time. 

Book #4: Peony by Pearl S. Buck

Young Peony is sold into a rich Chinese household as a bondmaid -- an awkward role in which she is more a servant, but less a daughter. As she grows into a lovely, provocative young woman, Peony falls in love with the family's only son. However, tradition forbids them to wed. How she resolves her love for him and her devotion to her adoptive family unfolds in this profound tale, based on true events in China over a century ago.

I don't know why I grabbed this one as well as the other one. Perhaps I was being weird. The synopsis reminds me of the Korean movie that I watched where a Japanese girl was sold to a Korean family to be their servant during some occupation or something. Maybe she was Chinese....I don't remember now. It's been a while since I've seen it. I wouldn't be surprised if both were based on the same tale. Anyway, I saw this and figured since I like Pearl S. Buck now, I may as well get this one and read it. 

Book #5: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

This was a brilliant accidental find. I haven't been back to my local Free Little Library in a while and thought I'd just go check it out because I had time and some old books I didn't want any more on me. I was looking, not really paying any attention until I saw the orange spiral and thought "Isn't that....?" and sure enough it was! I got a virtually brand new copy of Turtles All the Way Down from my local free book thing. Yay!


Book #6: The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father's extreme faith and very public fall from grace. The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. Dill's only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia, neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending- one that will rock his life to the core.

I have seen this book around on BookTube not that long ago and when I found it at the local discount store, I thought I'd give it a try. If I don't like it I'll take it over to the FLL as one of the books that I owe them. It looks really good and I think it will be pretty high up on my TBR when I get that far. 

Book #7: The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

 Nemesis is a Diabolic. Created to protect a galactic Senator's daughter, Sidonia. There's no one Nemesis wouldn't kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia. She must become her. Now one of the galaxy's most dangerous weapons is masquerading in a world of corruption and Nemesis has to hide her true abilities or risk everything. As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns that there is something stronger than her deadly force: the one thing she's been told she doesn't have - humanity. And, amidst all the danger, action and intrigue, her humanity might be the only thing that can save her, Sidonia and the entire Empire... 

I have seen this one on BookTube a lot as well and thought it sounded amazing. I was searching for other things and ended up finding this on one of the shelves. I had to have it. It looks fantastic and I plan to read it next.


Book #8: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en (trans. Anthony C. Yu/W.J.F. Jenner)

First published in 1952, The Journey to the West, volume I, comprises the first twenty-five chapters of Anthony C. Yu's four-volume translation of Hsi-yu Chi, one of the most beloved classics of Chinese literature. The fantastic tale recounts the sixteen-year pilgrimage of the monk Hsüan-tsang (596-664), one of China's most illustrious religious heroes, who journeyed to India with four animal disciples in quest of Buddhist scriptures. For nearly a thousand years, his exploits were celebrated and embellished in various accounts, culminating in the hundred-chapter Journey to the West, which combines religious allegory with romance, fantasy, humor, and satire.

I love mythology and everything related to it. I'm playing a game with my friends that actually involves me basing one of my characters after Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King from this impressive novel. I've wanted to read it for some time and I got it as a gift for Christmas. Naturally I've already started it. The pages are incredibly thin and all told it has roughly 2,346 pages. I can't wait. It will be the longest book I've read by an astounding 1,100 pages. 

Book #9: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

When Melisande Stokes, an expert in linguistics and languages, accidentally meets military intelligence operator Tristan Lyons in a hallway at Harvard University, it is the beginning of a chain of events that will alter their lives and human history itself. The young man from a shadowy government entity approaches Mel, a low-level faculty member, with an incredible offer. The only condition: she must sign a nondisclosure agreement in return for the rather large sum of money. Tristan needs Mel to translate some very old documents, which, if authentic, are earth-shattering. They prove that magic actually existed and was practiced for centuries. But the arrival of the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment weakened its power and endangered its practitioners. Magic stopped working altogether in 1851, at the time of the Great Exhibition at London’s Crystal Palace—the world’s fair celebrating the rise of industrial technology and commerce. Something about the modern world "jams" the "frequencies" used by magic, and it’s up to Tristan to find out why. And so the Department of Diachronic Operations—D.O.D.O. —gets cracking on its real mission: to develop a device that can bring magic back, and send Diachronic Operatives back in time to keep it alive . . . and meddle with a little history at the same time. But while Tristan and his expanding operation master the science and build the technology, they overlook the mercurial—and treacherous—nature of the human heart. 

My niece and nephew call me "Dodo" because my name was a bit beyond their linguistic capabilities. When I saw this for sale from an author who's name I recognized, I knew it had to have it. Luckily for me Christmas was coming around the corner right away and my dad is the master of the Amazon list. It is one of the books that he ordered for me. I can't wait to start it after I finish Journey to the West. 

Book #10: My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara

The first time that ken McLaughlin sees Flicka galloping past him on his family's Wyoming horse ranch, he knows she's the yearling he's been longing for. But Flicka comes from a long line of wild horses, and taming her will take more than Ken could ever have imagined. Soon, Ken is faced with an impossible choice: give up on his beautiful horse, or risk his life to fight for her. 

I have read the first chapter of this years and years ago in school. I had to return it and they got rid of it during a purge of the shelves of the books that were not being checked out that often, and this unfortunately was one of the books that they were getting rid of in their purge. Naturally at some point after it being removed, I forgot the author's name. When I found Goodreads, I looked it up to see if I could figure out who wrote it and to look into getting a copy. My Nana managed to find a copy of it and got it for me. I am excited to read it and to find out what I didn't get to back in school.


Book #11: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

"One night - it was on the twentieth of March, 1888 - I was returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I passed the well-remembered door, which must always be associated in my mind with my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers. His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him. To me, who knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their own story. He was at work again. He had risen out of his drug-created dreams and was hot upon the scent of some new problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which had formerly been in part my own." [...] Contains a collection of 12 adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, such as "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Red-Headed League." Originally leased in 1892. 

I know. I have six various copies of this book or it's variants. I love Sherlock Holmes. I adore the stories both new and old and I think most iterations of him on the screen (big and small) are wonderful adaptations of the idea that Doyle had. I can't wait to read this one along with the others and to just enjoy myself as I make my way through Sherlock Holmes stories.

Book #12: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher's carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor's dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing. Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents' marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher's mind. And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon's choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world literally.

I love Sherlock Holmes and I recognized the line that's used for the title the second I saw it. I can't wait to find out what's going on here, but I know the answer to the originally posed question of what was the curious incident of the dog in the night time. The dog didn't bark. I can't wait to see what happens in this book and how well Christopher channels the impeccable Sherlock Holmes. 

Book #13: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death. The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The 'tributes' are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature. 

I tried to read this before, and I couldn't do it. I think at the time though I wasn't really ready to read it? I wasn't reading all that much in this category. I've started reading more however and I think now I might actually be able to read it and I hope that I actually don't hate it?

Book #14: Private Eyes by Hal Blythe, Charlie Sweet, & John Landreth

This book takes you behind the scenes, offering an in depth look at private investigators and how they really work. You'll find answers to questions such as: How do people become private investigators in the first place? Where do they work? What kinds of jobs do they perform? What procedures do they use? And what tricks and tactics? And, most important, how do real investigators differ from those we see in novels and on TV? Here you'll find answers to all of these questions and more--from a writer's perspective. Find out all the details about the day-to-day workings of private investigators, whether they work independently or with a huge agency. You'll learn such things as:

- How private investigators get licensed.

- What they're generally hired to do.

- The countless ways they go about getting information.

- How they run their businesses.

- What equipment they use, including guns.

- Their codes of ethics and standards.

- Their relationship to the police and real murder investigations.

- Their relationship to the courts.

- Special problems of private investigation work.

Not only will you learn all these details, you'll also get valuable advice about using this information in your writing. You'll keep your readers wondering "whodunit"-not questioning why your facts don't mesh. 

I needed it. I love private eyes and detective things and anything involved with basically being Sherlock Holmes like in nature. When I saw it available at my local library I had to grab it. I like the art on the cover and the premise of the work. I cannot wait to get it.