Winter Reading Challenge - Wrap-up

As spring has just begun, it's time to reflect on the books I read for the Winter Reading Challenge. I began on the high seas with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in Patrick O'Brian's The Mauritius Command. Then, Nicci French led me on a dark and twisted mystery in The Red Room. Isaac Asimov's book Naked Sun taught me lessons in facing one's fears while Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan taught me lessons in friendship. Next, I return to the oceans in Pete Goss's memoir Close to the Wind. I then spent a long time with Simon and his friends in the Osten Ard as told by Tad Williams in The Dragonbone Chair. And finally, I visited late 19th century San Francisco in Karen Joy Fowler's Sister Noon.

I discovered many new authors for this challenge. They are: Nicci French, Lisa See, Pete Goss, and Karen Joy Fowler. I look forward to reading more books by them.

Of the eight books I read, my favorite was Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I liked the descriptions and the characters. While Sister Noon was historically interesting, I didn't connect well with the main character, so that book was my least favorite.

Winter Reading Challenge

Winter Reading Challenge

Hosted by: Karlene
When: December 22, 2007 - March 19, 2008
What: Read any number of books during that time. See link above for further details.



I will read seven books for this challenge (in no particular order):

Patrick O'Brian. The Mauritius Command - finished 1/12/2008
Nicci French. The Red Room -- finished 1/12/2008
Isaac Asimov. Naked Sun -- finished 1/19/2008
Lisa See. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan -- finished 1/21/2008
Pete Goss. Close to the Wind -- finished 1/30/2008
Tad Williams. The Dragonbone Chair -- finished 2/9/2008
Karen Joy Fowler. Sister Noon -- finished 2/29/2008

Sister Noon by Karen Joy Fowler

First sentence:

"In 1894, Mrs. Putnam took Lizzie Hayes to the Mid-winter Exhibition in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, where they both used a telephone for the very first time."

Description:

"San Francisco in the Gilded Age: great fortunes are being made and family dynasties established as new money erases the often unsavory pasts and shady dealings of their founders. It is a city bursting at its seams - each day bringing new monuments to unbridled ego and ostentatious bad taste - a city ruled by a self-selected elite grounded in gentility and fueled by gossip and greed.

By dint of birth, Lizzie Hayes is part of this elite. But Lizzie, seemingly so docile, hides within her a passionate heart. All she needs is the spark that will liberate her from the ruling conventions. And that spark is Mary Ellen Pleasant. With her appearance on Lizzie's doorstep, she brings not only mystery and a whiff of disrepute, but also the key that will unlock Lizzie's rebellious nature. 'You can do anything you want,' she tells Lizzie. 'You don't have to be the same person your whole life.'" -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

This book was an interesting historical fiction set in late 19th century San Francisco. Appearances, both real and imagined, are important as well as maintaining one's reputation. I liked how Lizzie gradually broke away from convention to find her own path without relying on the opinions of others.

Date read: 2/29/2008
Book #: 13
Series: Winter Reading Challenge, Reading My Name Challenge, Celebrate the Author Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Historical Fiction

ISBN-10: 0399147500
ISBN-13: 9780399147500
Publisher: Putnam
Year: 2001
# of Pages: 321
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing Page

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams

First sentence:

"On this day of days there was an unfamiliar stirring deep inside the dozing heart of the Hayholt, in the castle's bewildering warren of quiet passages and overgrown, ivy-choked chambers."

Description:

"A war fueled by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard -- for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruller of the elvishlike Sithi, seeks to regain his lost realms through a pact with one of human royal blood. Then, driven by spell-inspired jealousy, prince will fight prince, while around them, the very land begins to die.

Only a small, scattered group, the League of the Scroll, recognizes the true danger awaiting Osten Ard. And to Simon -- a castle scullion unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League -- will got the task of spearheading the quest for a solution to a riddle that offers the only hope of salvation, a riddle of long-lost swords of power...and a quest that will see him fleeing and facing enemies straight out of a legend-maker's worst nightmares!" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

Like other epic fantasies, this book was slow to start as the world and characters were introduced in detail. Once things started going wrong with the land, and Simon had to flee his comfortable home to face the unknown, the story started picking up. I liked meeting all the characters, though sometimes I had trouble keeping them straight as the names are often similar to each other. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Stone of Farewell

Date read: 2/9/2008
Book #: 8
Series: Memory, Sorrow and Thorn #1
Challenges: Chunkster Challenge, Winter Reading Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0886773849
ISBN-13: 9780886773847
Publisher: DAW
Year: 1989
# of Pages: 766
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Close to the Wind by Pete Goss

First sentence:

"If the Southern Ocean represents the consummate challenge for any long-distance sailor, then the Vendée Globe is the pinnacle--one man, one boat against the elements."

Description:

"On November 3, 1996, former Royal Marine Pete Goss embarked on the most grueling competition in his sailing career: the Vendée Globe, a nonstop, single-handed round-the-world yacht race. For the next seven weeks he met every challenge in his stormy path, from combating waves the height of six-story buildings to grappling with his spinnaker in high winds. Then everything began going wrong: His sails were destroyed, his navigation equipment proved useless. And on Christmas Day his radio picked up a Mayday that a French competitor was sinking 160 miles away. Turning into the hurricane-force winds, Goss set out to rescue a near-dead man on a life raft somewhere in the vast wilderness of the merciless southern ocean. How he did it makes this extraordinary tale as amazing as it is thrilling."

My thoughts:

This was a very well-written book as Pete Goss takes the reader into his life and onto the Aqua Quorum as it battles the wind and water while various parts break down. I had read about Goss's rescue of French sailor Dinelli in Derek Lundy's book Godforsaken Sea but it was good to hear about it from Goss's point of view.

Date read: 1/30/2008
Book #: 7
Challenges: Seafaring Challenge; Winter Reading Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Memoir/Adventure

ISBN-10: 0786707410
ISBN-13: 9780786707416
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Year: 2000
# of Pages: 261
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

First sentence:

"I am what they call in our village 'one who has not yet diet' -- a widow, eighty years old."

Description:

"Lily is haunted by memories–of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness.

In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu (“women’s writing”). Some girls were paired with laotongs, “old sames,” in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become “old sames” at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship."

My thoughts:

This was a moving book about friendship and how different perceptions can affect it. I also learned a lot about women's lives and customs in 19th century rural China.

Date read: 1/21/2008
Book #: 5
Challenge: Winter Reading Challenge
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Historical Fiction

ISBN-10: 1400060281
ISBN-13: 9781400060283
Publisher: Random House
Year: 2005
# of Pages: 253
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing Page

The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov

First sentence:

"Stubbornly Elijah Baley fought panic."

Description:

"Solaria was a beautiful planet, but a sparsely settled one, The Solarians had so isolated themselves that direct contact with others was almost unbearable, and all interpersonal dealings were conducted by solid-seeming trimensional projections.

Now there had been a murder. The victim had been so neurotic that even the presence of his wife was barely endurable, But someone had been close enough to beat him to death while he was attended by his robots. Naturally, the robots couldn't have done it-the first law of robotics would not let them harm a human being. No weapon had been found.

It seemed a paradox. So the authorities sent for Lije Baley, who was delighted to find that his old partner, the human-seeming robot R. Daneel Olivaw, would join him. The partnership was back in business - a strange business, indeed."

My thoughts:

This book was a good mix of science fiction and mystery. There was a theme of overcoming fears throughout the book, whether it was Lije's fear of the outdoors or the Solarian's fear of personal presence. I look forward to reading the first book in the series, The Caves of Steel.

Date read: 1/19/2008
Book #: 4
Series: R. Daneel Olivaw, #2
Challenges: Celebrate the Author Challenge, Winter Reading Challenge, TBR Challenge 2008
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0345313909
ISBN-13: 9780345313904
Publisher: Del Rey
Year: 1983
# of Pages: 208
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page

The Red Room by Nicci French

First sentence:

"Beware of beautiful days."

Description:

"Kit Quinn is a young woman who inhabits dangerous worlds: crime scenes, interrogation scenes, hospitals for the criminally insane. Horribly wounded in a brutal attack, she must return to the site of her worst fears. She is asked by the police to advise them on a simple murder inquiry. A young runaway has been found killed by a London canal and the chief suspect is the man who wounded her.

But it isn't a simple case. Kit refuses to accept appearances, against opposition from the police and her own fears; she finds other crimes, other victims. Her obsessive search for the truth draws her into an underworld of abandoned and exploited young people, and puts her at terrible risk."

My thoughts:

This was an interesting mystery. I liked how the clues were revealed bit by bit as Kit tried to discover the truth about the canal killings.

Date read: 1/12/2008
Book #: 3
Challenges: What's in a Name Challenge, Winter Reading Challenge, TBR Challenge 2008
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

Publisher: BCA
Year: 2001
# of Pages: 340
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing Page