Do you love political face-offs, Teddy bears, and people who concern themselves, in making life changing decisions with a "still, small voice"? If so, you will probably enjoy Theodore Rex.
President Theodore Roosevelt was a progressive Republican. This biography which focuses solely on his presidency captures clips of his passionate spirit. While he did hunt, take great effort to preserve natural lands by federal powers, and even send the country's navy around the world in a show of power, his unique spirit for engaging in negotiations/diplomacy stands out in this book. Under his presidency the Panama Canal was constructed and Booker T Washington was invited to the White House for a private meeting with the President. He also received the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese war. These are just the tips of the ice berg of his robust presidency.
I admit, I think this is one wonderful account of politics. President Roosevelt took office because of the assassination of his predecessor but was reelected and during his time was very popular. He was tempted to run for a third term but listened to a "still, small voice".
This book is the second in a series by Edmund Morris, the first of which, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (1979), won the Pulitzer Prize. I am hoping to go back and read that at some point. Theodore Rex was released in 2001 and Colonel Roosevelt was released in 2010.
Featuring some of history's most remarkable figures, vivid detail, and page-turning action, Killing Lincoln is a history that reads like a thriller. It's a fast read filled with little known information. While I knew most of the information about Lincoln already, I really enjoyed the insight into Booth and General Grant. And no matter how much you know about the events centered around Lincoln's assassination you can't help but hope that this time he makes it through. I have to admit that some aspects of the book I did find very disturbing, like the outcome for Mary Surratt. I particularly liked this passage found right before his death at Ford's Theater: "The crowd can see him only if he leans forward and pokes his head over the ledge; otherwise he is entirely invisible to everyone in the theater, except for those in the state box and the actors onstage. Lincoln takes advantage of the privacy, reaching out for Mary's hand and holding it lovingly. She blushes at such scandalous behavior. 'What will Miss Harris make of my hanging on to you so?' she giggles to her husband. 'She will think nothing about it,' he replies, squeezing her hand but not letting go." This passage makes Mary's despair even more heartbreaking in the coming chapters. You could tell they really loved each other despite their faults.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." I'm the type of person that can't not finish a book. I picked this one back up after almost 2-years of it sitting in the back of my mind waiting for me to finish. After all was said and done it was amusing, but not great. I would never read it again and I am giving it away. However, it was an amusing and fun idea. The Bennett sisters are trained ninjas who fight the zombie plague and their mother is determined to see them married. There are many quick one liners that had me laughing out loud and reading them to Joe, but also many little details that had me wincing from disgust. The only good that came from it was my strong desire to read the original book again and to watch the movie over and over.
For 2013, Julia asked me to read this book. This book is a very cleverly written page-turner. The story centers on a friendship between two bright Jewish boys from different Jewish sects and their fathers (both Rabbis). Perhaps more importantly, the book focuses on raising children and the weight of tradition and loyalty. I think this is an important book because it is so well written.
On a personal note, this book struck a chord with me owing to my own close friendship with a best friend who is both brilliant and a member (of my extended-family and of my faith). It was unusual for me to feel compassion for these boys because the writing was that good-that realistic and it did something I like--it transported me back to good memories. Additionally, anyone who reads it will likely be impressed with the characters' excellent ambitions. I believe this is a very American novel.
What can I say about The Magic of Recluce? It's 501 pages of many many questions, but few answers. It centers around Lerris, a bored, but inquisitive teenager, who must leave his home in Recluce and travel to Candar so he can learn how the world works and decide what path to take in his life. He also must decide whether to return home to Recluce after he completes his quest or if he will be forever exiled. Soon Lerris finds he possesses a natural talent for magic, and much of the book explores white magic versus black magic.
Lerris' path throughout the book. There are other continents in future books apparently.
You would think white magic would be good, right? Wrong. White magic centers around chaos while black magic centers around order. This has to be the only work I've ever read or seen that has black be good and white evil. I still don't quite understand why the author did it that way or how the magic is supposed to work because it was a bit confusing.
Overall this book was a fun read. The characters are realistic and there is a clear development as the story moves on. The author uses a lot of imagery to help the reader see his world. My one qualm with the book would be that the author constantly uses sound effects. Here's an example:
"Tharoom...thud...tharoom... Walking the white fir was walking across a massive drum. Antonin's coach must have vied with the real thunder when it rumbled across his bridge...Tharummmm... Creaaakkkk...The heavy wooden gate, set on massive bronze hinges, eased open even more widely as I watched."
Sometimes I felt like I might be reading this:
Okay, so the sound effects weren't that bad and overall I did really enjoy the book. The author definitely hooks you in and it is a very exciting adventure; however, I probably won't be reading any sequels.
Unfortunately, this is probably the only book I will be completing for the next few months, however, I am very grateful I had the opportunity to read it and that it began the year for me. Thank you Mom & Dad for the gift!
Mom and Will have each read extensively from it and so they may be able to fine-tune what I write.
This book has inspired in me a change of opinion about the job done by Harry Reid. I appreciate that he wrote down his experiences. I've become convinced that he is a man with good principles who might do a great job in the Senate. I still think he is wrong on some positions. However, I am inclined to believe that he can do much good in the Senate. This seems justified to me in that principles matter and Nevada matters to me.
The top five most revealing facts about Harry Reid--
1. Harry Reid opposes abortion and even drafted/proposed a Nevada abortion law limiting abortions on the state level prior to Roe v Wade.
2. Harry Reid is pro-guns.
3. Harry Reid grew up extremely poor and perhaps more poor than any single person I have personally ever met or known (his hometown had no doctors, no churches, and only one school room).
4. Harry Reid loved President George H. W. Bush but appears to hate President George W. Bush.
5. Harry Reid can't ever remember having gambled although he became the Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission after becoming the youngest Lieutenant Governor in Nevada's history and the first locally raised lawyer to be of counsel to the City of Henderson.
Reid also included a letter he wrote detailing his testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Plan of Salvation to his granddaughter in response to her request for it so that she could accomplish her Personal Progress Award for the Young Women's Program.
I also enjoyed reading Reid's detailed stories about early Las Vegas and mobsters, Howard Hughes, Oscar Goodman, Steve Wynn, and other notables. There is a familiarity about his writing voice and it sounds rebellious but Vegasy.
Mom would like for us to write a quick review of the books we read in 2013 on here, so I thought I would start things off with the very first book I finished this year: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.
Although this book was very repetitive, I loved it. I loved the passages on de-cluttering, not nagging your husband, enjoying the moment, singing in the morning, taking time to be silly, not gossiping, gratitude, meditation, laughing out loud, giving positive reviews, and so forth. Much of the book I could identify with what I've learned in church since infancy so it rang very true to me. Some of my favorite phrases were:
"Act the way I want to feel."
Often if we pretend we are happy or enthusiastic we will actually become this way.
"You can choose what you do; you can't choose what you like to do."
"What's fun for other people may not be fun for you - and vice versa."
"Beeee yourself." (Genie from Aladdin)
"Happiness doesn't always make you feel happy."
But sometimes the memories or the effects of your actions pay off in the long run!
And my personal favorite: "The days are long, but the years are short."
Here are two of my favorite quotes from the book on this subject:
"Most nights, I spent the time before bed racing around, trying to get organized for the morning, or crashed in bed with a book. But Jamie has a lovely habit. We call it "gazing lovingly." Every few weeks, he'll say to me, "Come on, let's gaze lovingly," and we go look at Eliza and Eleanor as they sleep.
The other night he pulled me away from the computer. "No, I've got too much to do, " I told him. "I need to finish a few things before tomorrow. You go ahead."
But he wouldn't listen, so finally I went with him to stand in Eleanor's doorway. We "gazed lovingly" at her small figure flung across the huge pile of books that she insisted on keeping in her crib.
I said to him, "Someday we'll look back and it will be hard to remember that we ever had such little kids. We'll say, 'Remember when Eleanor still used her purple sippy cut or when Eliza wore ruby slippers all the time?'"
He squeezed my hand. "We'll say, 'That was such a happy time.'"
Towards the end of her project people kept asking her if her husband, Jamie, had changed from it. He claims he is the same, but she argues, "But he had changed. Without any nagging on my part he was taking on tasks, such as holiday shopping or putting our finances on Quicken, that he'd never done before. He was much better about doing little chores like answering my e-mails and emptying the diaper pail now than he'd been a year ago. Not only did he remember my birthday this month... he organized a family party, got me a present, and took photos (he never takes photos). He'd absorbed more of my happiness talk than I'd realized..."
These two passages reminded me of a discussion I had with Mom during Christmas vacation. She was asking me about some of the little projects I do for Joe throughout the year and I told her that I knew as a wife I would be much happier if, instead of hoping that Joe would read my mind and make big gestures for me, I would take my ideas and do them for him. As insignificant as they are they make his days brighter and make me happier because I am focusing on him and doing something I know he will love.
She asked me, "What if he never starts to do big gestures for you?" Well, I didn't really have an answer then, but after reading the above passages I think that people really do want to reciprocate actions. If I set a precedent that I will do these things, Joe will start to think about similar things he can do for me. "If you give a little love you can get a little love of your own."
Alright, sorry for the big long blog post and that I can sound so preachy! I know a lot of it isn't even about the book, but these are the types of things that came to my mind while I was reading it and for me they represent what the book was about. In the end I do want to do a Happiness Project someday, but not right now. However, different parts of the book have inspired me while making my New Years resolutions and I think that a large part of happiness is following through with our commitments and always feeling like we are progressing and growing.
Good luck with your New Years Resolutions! We can all be anything that we want to be!
