2015 Reading Challenge -- Book More Than a Hundred Years Old

Candide by Voltaire
OK I admit it. I downloaded some SparkNotes for this book as I was reading it because I wanted to be sure I was picking up what Voltaire was laying down. It is clear from the very first page that Voltaire is sticking it to the powers that be. Here we are introduced to the Baron, Candide’s father:

He was called "My Lord" by all his people, and he never told a story but everyone laughed at it.

And that’s just the beginning. Much later in the book Candide and his companion find themselves in the fantastic land of El Dorado, where children play in the streets with gold nuggets and rubies. His companion asks a village elder about religion and asks to meet one of their priests:

"My friend," said he, "we are all priests. The King and all the heads of families sing solemn canticles of thanksgiving every morning, accompanied by five or six thousand musicians."

"What! have you no monks who teach, who dispute, who govern, who cabal, and who burn people that are not of their opinion?"

You get the idea. I was surprised that Voltaire was able to get away with this, until I read that he was imprisoned and exiled on various occasions. But apparently his wit and intelligence literally saved his life.

The sarcasm just oozes in every paragraph as Voltaire skewers religion, the government, and especially the philosophy of optimism which became popular during The Enlightment. Candide was living a sheltered life in his father’s castle and was educated by his tutor Pangloss who teaches him that “everything is for the best” and that we are living “in the best of all possible worlds”. Because with God in Heaven looking over us, any other point of view would suggest that God is imperfect. Then life intervenes. Candide is witness to murder, rape, terrible cruelty and disregard for life, shipwrecks and earthquakes among other disasters. He perseveres, however, convincing himself that all that he is experiencing is “for the best”.

Finally even his tutor Pangloss has to admit that the world is not perfect. The main characters meet a farmer who tells them: “Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.” And Candide speaks the last and possibly most famous line from the book: "That is good," replied Candide. "Let us cultivate our garden."

2015 Reading Challenge -- Book Recommended by a Friend

Big Little Lies
This is my first Liane Moriarty book but definitely not my last. As the story begins, there's been a murder, but the victim is not identified. Rewind to six months before the incident, and we are introduced to a community of women who are connected through their children. Each one has a sad secret, each one tells "little lies" that turn out to be -- yes, "big little lies". The characters are revealed through each one's inner thoughts as they navigate the waters of elementary school politics while dealing with ex-husbands, new wives, domestic violence, cliques, playground bullying, and projects that are due tomorrow. Their experiences are sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking and always believable. Time to decide which Moriarty book is next on my list!

Book review of In the Presence of the Enemy by Elizabeth George

In the Presence of the Enemy by Elizabeth George
This is #8 in the Inspector Lynley series. There have been some definite ups and downs in this series, but I'd say this one is pretty good. Regarding this series -- I enjoy the mysteries themselves and I also find most of the recurring characters interesting. Scotland Yard Inspector Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton, and his blue-collar co-worker Sargent Barbara Havers play off of each other very nicely. His best friend Simon St. James, a forensic scientist and his photographer wife Deborah round out the cast of characters. The other regular character, Lady Helen Clyde is Lynley's sometimes girlfriend. Lynley is madly in love with Helen. She tells him she loves him but doesn't know if she wants to marry him. She says she's worried that her perfect little world might not be always and constantly perfect if they get married. Please. I would say that any fan of English cozy mysteries will enjoy this series if they can get past the annoying Lady Helen.

In this installment of the Lynley series, the forensic scientist St. James, his wife Deborah and Lady Helen take it upon themselves to investigate the abduction and kidnapping of a child without bothering to tell their respective best friend / sort-of fiance who happens to be a revered and respected investigator with Scotland Yard. Tragically the child is murdered, and Lynley is understandably outraged when he discovers that his friends deliberately kept him uninformed. He lashes out at his friends and fiancee, and predictably Helen pouts, refuses to return his calls and eventually agrees to forgive him. Huh? I find it hard to understand why an intelligent perceptive man like Lynley would put up with this adolescent nonsense. But he does. The rest of the story plays out with interesting twists and turns and plenty of suspense until the murderer is identified and brought to justice. I still intend to finish the series in spite of the very silly Helen and the inexplicable devotion of Inspector Lynley. But I am addicted to who-dunnits.

2015 Reading Challenge -- Book that was made into a movie

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

This book, the inspiration for the classic Hitchcock film of the same name, begins with a chance meeting on a train. Guy Haines, an architect whose career is on the verge of blossoming into greatness, is traveling to meet his wife and negotiate a divorce so he can marry the woman of his dreams. Charles Bruno is a spoiled rich kid who also happens to be an alcoholic psychopath. They share drinks, and then confidences. Haines speaks of his wife, a serial cheater who refuses to cooperate about the divorce. Bruno speaks of his father, who (according to Bruno) refuses to give him access to the money that is rightfully his. The suspense builds from this encounter as Bruno and his madness insinuate themselves into Haines' life with tragic and inevitable results. As with many stories that stand the test of time, this one prompts a few existential questions. Are there good people and evil people or is there good and evil in everyone? And specific to this story, is anyone -- any "Guy" -- capable of murder given the right circumstances? Can a person be driven to madness by another's madness? Before you say certainly not I -- give this classic thriller a read. You may change your mind.

2015 Reading Challenge -- Book with Nonhuman Characters

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
I would characterize this book as Nora Roberts meets Twilight. To some, that puts this book at the top of their "to-read" list and for others, right into the "not worthy of my time" pile. I'd say I'm somewhere in the middle. This is the story of a young woman from a storied line of witches going back to Salem and beyond who falls in love with an impossibly handsome vampire -- in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, no less. Complicating matters is the fact that she does not want to acknowledge her witchiness, and the fact that vampires and witches have been forbidden by the Congregation to associate, much less fall in love. There were some interesting twists and it was an entertaining read, I suppose. It did bother me (as it always does in these situations) that the end of the book (#1 of a trilogy) is not a conclusion, but a lead-in to the next volume in the series. I may go back and see what happens to Diana and Matthew. But there are miles of books to read before I sleep.