Geeking It - #19

You already know the rules for Weekly Geeks #19, right? If not, go here. I don't want to repeat the whole thing. It gets tiresome to look at, after a while, but the gist is . . . list your favorite titles published in 2008.

Unfortunately, I didn't begin logging copyright dates till mid-February, so this may not be all-inclusive, but whatever. Here are my faves, so far:

The Bleeding Dusk & When Twilight Burns - Colleen Gleason

Tarnished Beauty - Cecilia Samartin

The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen

Sway - Ori & Rom Brafman (not reviewed on this blog, sorry)

The Queen of Sleepy Eye - Patti Hill (not sure I reviewed this one, either)

Legerdemain - James J. Heaphey

Remember Me? - Sophie Kinsella

Talk of the Town - Lisa Wingate

The Last Queen - C. W. Gortner

Blue Sky July - Nia Wyn

The Darcys & The Bingleys - Marsha Altman

Matrimony - Joshua Henkin

Quite a hodge-podge, really, and I already overlooked one -- oops, just updated to add Matrimony because it was copyrighted in 2007 but newly released in paperback. That counts, right? Usually, I don't go out of my way to read new releases, but like most bloggers I've been sent a few ARCs. Three of those titles were found on a cart full of FREE ARCs at my public library. I just love it when they hand out free books.

Good news of the day: Not dead, yet. Always a positive sign.

Just finished because of impending library due date (it's a quick one): An Inconvenient Truth adapted for a New Generation by Al Gore (the kids' version, in other words)

Still reading everything else in my sidebar, plus Awakening the Genie Within by Bettye Johnson

I can't stop without adding a pretty picture, so here are some spider lilies -- in bloom last week in Vicksburg (the center-spot feature is deliberate -- I was playing, one day):

Weekly Geeks Quote of the Day

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.... People think pleasing God is all God care about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back. ~Alice Walker, The Color Purple, 1982

Two reviews forthcoming. I've been waiting for the hubby to return from Hawaii so that I can ask him to repeat some thoughts on High Altitude Leadership because I'm, unfortunately, rather forgetful. I've also finished Walking Through Walls by Philip Smith and will try to get around to writing up that review, this weekend.

Currently reading (and enjoying all):
Occasional Therapy for Your Midlife Years
Far World: Water Keep
The Darcys and the Bingleys

None are handy, or I'd tell you the names of the authors -- of course, we all know J. Scott Savage wrote Far World, after reading about a million blog reviews, right? The others . . . sorry. Brain drain. I'll tell you later.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, bookish weekend!

Weekly Geeks Quote of the Day

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are. ~Osho

Note from Bookfool: The happy flower above lived in the Vicksburg National Military Park and bloomed on a lovely little hill. It was not the slightest bit fazed by the proliferation of tourists and joggers going past. The ant tickling its favorite petal has been obliterated by the wonder of modern technology.

Weekly Geeks Quote of the Day

Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning, and under every deep a lower deep opens.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly: A Divine Guide to Lasting Fulfillment by Cindy Silbert

Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly: A Divine guide to Lasting Fulfillment by Cindy Silbert

Copyright 2008

149 pages

Author's website

Restoring the Yin in the Universe is not only essential to restore the balance we long for but also to restore the powerful feminine energy that allows us to seamlessly create our lives and manifest our desires. This isn't about having to quit your job or give up everything you've worked for to wear frilly dresses and run through poppy fields. We can't replenish feminine Yin by denying our own masculine Yang. Denying our femininity is partly what got us here in the first place. It's not the way out. The Divine Feminine isn't guiding you to be more "feminine" and less "masculine" but to become more "you" than ever before.

Oh, wow. No wonder I'm whacked up. Truth? I really do want to wear frilly dresses and run through poppy fields.

From the cover:

In Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly, Cindy Silbert guides you beyond your ego and intermittent happiness to your true self and lasting fulfillment. Based on her own encounter with the Divine Feminine, she reveals untouched wisdom and three Divine Archetypes that hold the key to balance, expression, power and your destiny. Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly is more than just another "self-help" book, it takes you on a mystical journey to manifest your greatest desires. Through a self-quiz, readers discover their eminent archetype further revealing their unique characteristics, lifestyle tendencies and life purpose. Ultimately readers receive inspiration and practical guidance to create their destinies and make their mark in the world.

The underpinnings:

Author Cindy Silbert finds that she is compelled to write a spiritual book that will help women overcome their tendency to let ego rule, in order to find the True Self buried beneath ego. The message, as it were, is fed to the author by the Hawaiian goddess Hina. Cindy's Hawaiian home (at the time of writing) sits on top of the "eye of Hina", so it's only natural that the channeling occurs at her island home.

Why I read this book:

The cover blurb sounded a little New Age but I love reading books about finding fulfillment and balance -- positive-thinking, go get 'em books -- and Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly sounded right up my alley.

Minor oops . . .

Google is just too handy. I was looking for a cover blurb and, instead, happened across this review at Breeni Books. Usually, it's my policy not to read other reviews when I'm preparing my own; one tends to absorb another person's choice of wording and it's preferable to be totally objective and original, right?

But, I really enjoyed what Breeni had to say -- in part because my viewpoint is so different from hers. The sections of the book I really enjoyed the most were the introduction and the epilogue, in which Silbert natters on about how the idea for the book came to her, the influence of the Hawaiian goddess, her own personal challenges at the time, the chaos of her early notes and the literary agent who said, "Oh, you're a woo-woo, too?" then later told Silbert, "If you don't write that sucker I will." She has a pleasant, chatty style.

Unfortunately, I found the meat of the book extremely disappointing. The concept of the three Divine Archetypes is certainly unique and, if I were to believe the quiz, I'm a combination of chameleon and dragonfly with hardly any butterfly at all. Not surprising, since the butterfly is all about beauty and being in the spotlight. I hate being in the spotlight and never thought of myself as pretty. But, while reading about the archetypes, my feeling was roughly the same as what I feel while reading a horoscope in a major publication-- there's too much cross-over, too much generic content that could easily apply to anyone. Here's a perfect example:

You don't like clutter but can also become overwhelmed by it so your home is immaculate, messy, or inconsistently somewhere in between the two.

Doesn't that pretty much cover every base? You have an immaculate home, a messy home or something in-between. Duh. We all have one of those, don't we? And, I'd say most people -- even those who are cluttery -- tend not to actually like clutter (hence the proliferation of books about ridding clutter from your life) so the clutter comment strikes both sides of the coin, as well.

However, the author had some good advice and some of what she described made total sense to me. I've copied all quotes directly from the book, so please don't blame me for the horrendous punctuation:

In an effort to become the best you can be, your ego begins to compare you to your ideal ego self and of course you always come up short. You end up spending your life trying to measure up to the standards of your ego; which isn't even real. On top of this, add traumatic experiences, emotional abuse, or just plain old disappointments. Then sprinkle on more and more responsibilities and different roles pulling you every which way. Finish it off with the imbalance of Yin causing you to deny your femininity inadvertently causing a break at your very core. The result is layer upon layer of distortion and more and more separation from your True Self and natural integrity; not to mention reality.

Eventually, I found myself taking notes saying that my chameleon is injured (and thinking, "Not possible, since I don't have a freaking chameleon!") then occasionally laughing out loud. That was the point at which I realized that what the book sounded like, to me, was the author's life coaching job combined with a little hippie philosophy and . . . maybe I'd be better off if I rolled it up and smoked it. Kidding, I don't smoke and I didn't give up on it, ever. I kept going because there were some occasional gems of wisdom. But, man . . . the number of capitalized words, alone, honestly did make me roll my eyes:

The stronger the balance among your Chameleon, Butterfly, and Dragonfly, the more powerfully your Eminient Archetype will emerge and the more fulfilling it will be to express your True Self and experience your True Feminine Power.

Eye roll. But, I love this:

Live Courageously as your True Self and you'll encourage other women to live courageously as well. As the women you've encouraged step forth, they in turn will encourage more women to do the same. Soon, an exponential explosion of Yin will occur bringing our Universe back into balance and the Divine Feminine will have fulfilled her mission. Beyond this, where will bold and courageous expression lead you? The answer is your Destiny.

But . . . I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to say it. Yes, I am. The word "destiny" with a capital D? That reminds me of Back to the Future and a young man whispering, "You are my density. I mean . . . my destiny." This, however, is another passage that has merit (except for all those capital letters):

Begin to Tell the Truth by making a list of all the things you've always wanted to say. Then, look at your life and Tell the Truth by writing down what's currently working and not working. Continue to Tell the Truth by writing down what's been stopping you from pursuing what you know would be True Self expression or a source of joy in your life. Reformat your responses into an action list. Work your way through the list until you've eliminated each item one-by-one. This can be extremely liberating. Once you get going you may not be able to stop, and that's a good thing.

That is a good thing. We all build our own imaginary road blocks. It's that kind of suggestion that makes Silbert successful as a life coach, I'm sure.

In general: A little weird, with occasional smatterings of excellent advice. I would not recommend against reading the book, simply because I think most people can squeeze a little juice from this lemon. But, it's not a book I would ever shove into a friend's hands, proclaiming it a "Must Read" (rampant capitalization: it's infectious). Like Breeni, I was a little dismayed that the book only contains 150 pages of content and a raft of blank journal pages.

Also: Not really a guy book.

Other thoughts: I think the author's chatty style would lend itself well to a memoir; and it would be awfully interesting to read about how she became a successful life coach with two homes (in very expensive locations) and a nanny.

Still reading: Far World: Water Keep and Walking Through Walls

Added to current reads: Occasional Therapy for your Midlife Years by Dr. Ellyn Gamberg

Weekly Geeks quote of the day:

#12 Geeking, Part 2

Time for the answers to Weekly Geek post #12 -- questions about the books I haven't reviewed. There were two books (out of thirteen) that generated some interest. I'm going to hit both books, separately, but in the same post.

Questions about Facts the Historians Leave Out: A Confederate Primer by John S. Tilley:

bkclubcare's questions: I don't know a thing about it so, do tell. Did you learn a LOT? was the tone condescending? What prompted you to read this?

Bookfool's answers: Facts the Historians Leave Out is what I'd call a "factoid book" as it's very, very short (76 pages) and doesn't go into any great detail about its claims -- such as the fact that the Southern states were well within their rights to secede from the Union. But my Civil War knowledge is even skimpier; so, I can say I learned quite a bit -- certainly enough to whet my appetite for more. The tone isn't so much condescending as self-assured and extremely pro-Confederate. In case you're interested in reading about Tilley and his books, there are several paragraphs about him, here (skip down to about the 14th or 15th paragraph to begin).

What prompted me to read Facts the Historians Leave Out? I recently read The Disagreement by Nick Taylor, a novel that takes place during the Civil War. The protagonist in The Disagreement is a doctor but it almost seems like he lives in a bubble -- even as he's treating people who have been wounded in battle, the reader gets no real sense of the war that's raging around him. I closed the book hungry for information about the Civil War -- enough to ensure that I was ridiculously excited when I found Facts the Historians Leave Out on my mother's shelf. I sat right down and read it on her sofa.

Carrie K asked: Do the facts left out change the political outlook? What was the most interesting fact you learned from the book? Did you know any of the facts he included before reading the book?

Bookfool's sort-of answer: Carrie, I'm not sure I know enough to respond well to that first question, although I think the answer is probably "yes". Let me say this much: Tilley really made Abe Lincoln sound like a Bad Guy. He claimed Lincoln deliberately held back supplies from Fort Sumter and then sent war ships rather than regular supply ships with aid when Fort Sumter's inhabitants were on the verge of being starved out of their post . . . in order to provoke Confederates into making the first move -- which, of course, they did. Holding back supplies virtually ensured that Major Anderson and the rest of the Yankees at Fort Sumter would not be able to hold out for long, if attacked. I have a slightly altered opinion about the Confederate attack after reading the section on Fort Sumter in a different book, The Words of War (which I'm in the midst of reading, right now). I'll share my thoughts on that, when I finish the book.

Of all the bits and pieces brought up in Facts the Historians Leave Out, I found the entire story about Fort Sumter the most fascinating. It's amazing how little I knew! I didn't bring the book home, so I can't flip through it to see if there's anything I recall already knowing, but I'd say most of what's in the book was new information. The vast majority of the books I've read about the Civil War have been focused on the Siege of Vicksburg. In fact, I have to wonder if I even would have gotten around to reading about the Civil War at all, had we not moved to Mississippi. As an example of my ignorance, all I knew about Vicksburg when my husband came down here for a meeting, while we were still living in Oklahoma, was that it was a significant location during the Civil War . . . like Gettysburg. The name rang a bell, but it was a distant one. We still laugh about the fact that I kept asking my husband to remind me where Vicksburg was located. I repeatedly asked him, "Which state did you say you're in?" I probably shouldn't admit that. Here's a photo of the interior of Fort Sumter (under the Confederate flag):



Questions about Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

bkclubcare, Chris and Les all asked similar questions (I'm choosing bkclubcare's wording): Which side did you end up on? (love it or not) Did you have any expectations about loving it or not? Which section did you like best and would you read more from Ms. Gilbert?

Bookfool's answers: I ended up on the loving side, for the most part, although there were sections about which I had mixed feelings. Since Eat, Pray, Love has received such polarized reviews, I went into the reading leaning toward the thought that I'd probably hate it. Quite a few people have described it as "selfish" or "self-indulgent". In fact, I think it is pretty self-indulgent. Gilbert begins the book by describing her utter despair as her marriage was falling apart -- and then goes on to say that she had an affair. I thought that was pathetic, but I didn't let my personal notions of marriage and fidelity interfere with what I really wanted to take from the reading. Nor did I let envy intervene, although I honestly think timing is everything with this particular book. I'm almost certain there have been times I couldn't have gotten through it. It just happened that I was more interested in the sense of place, the unique characters she met and her spiritual journey than I was put off by her stunning good fortune, her emotions and personal life. She was one messed-up chick; but, her experiences were pretty amazing.

My favorite section was the first, the part about her stay in Italy. I think part of the reason I liked it best is that Italy appeals to me -- the food, the relaxed lifestyle, the beautiful language and history. India and Indonesia . . . not so much. The change of environment when she left Italy and began her stay in India was actually quite jarring, in my opinion. I had a terrible time getting into the second section. But, I set it aside for a few days and let Italy roll around in my head. Then, I picked it up, again, and enjoyed the rest.

Would I read more by Gilbert? Definitely. But, I really, really hope her sex life isn't mentioned in her other books. That was one of the few aspects of Eat, Pray, Love that I found utterly repellent. I don't know why so many authors think readers give a flying petunia about who they've slept with. Not my business; I don't care. Actually, that may be one of the reasons I liked the section on Italy so much. She chose to become celibate during her journey and, at first, she succeeded. In Italy she was chaste (although still tempted). It's apparently a self-control issue with Gilbert; she's a bit of a sex addict and eventually abandoned her enforced celibacy. But, at least we were spared the details of her sexual romps while she was in Italy (since there were none). And, India. India made me feel hungry and fat, though, and the idea of sitting around meditating for hours on the hard ground almost made my bones ache. So, Italy won. On the positive side, I really liked her chatty, accessible writing style.

My husband traveled to Italy without me, last year. So unfair. Just look at what he got to see:

In other book news:

I finished Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese, last night. Review will appear in a few days.

On this day in Bookfool's reading history, in 1997:

I finished reading Wild Horses by Dick Francis (just after finishing Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl) and began to read Time and Again by Jack Finney.

Right now in my reading travels:

I'm immersed in the Civil War in The Words of War by Donagh Bracken and hiking around Alaska in a three-piece suit in Travels in Alaska by John Muir. Coolness. Where are your reading travels taking you, today?

Belated Weekly Geeking (#12)

I'm quite far behind the rest of the blog world on this because I had misled myself into thinking I was totally caught up on blog reviews. And, then I finished a book. And, I realized that . . . oh, yeah . . . I skipped over quite a few because of limited internet access during the time I was working on cleaning out my mother's house.

You've heard them before. Here are the rules:

1. In your blog, list any books you've read but haven't reviewed yet. If you're all caught up on reviews, maybe you could try this with whatever books you finish this week.
2. Ask your readers to ask you questions about any of the books in your comments. Most likely, people who will ask questions will be people who have read one of the books or know something about it because they want to read it.
3. Later, take whichever questions you want from these comments and use them in a post about each book. (Dewey suggested an "interview-review"). Link to each blogger whose question you used.
4. Visit other Weekly Geeks and ask them questions.

Here is my list of un-reviewed books. Ask away!

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior - Ori & Rom Brafman

Eat, Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

Overcoming Hurts & Anger - Dwight L. Carson, M.D.

Facts the Historians Leave Out: A Confederate Primer - John S. Tilley

In the Land of Dreamy Dreams - Ellen Gilchrist

Return from Tomorrow - George Ritchie

The Queen of Sleepy Eye - Patti Hill

The Book of Dahlia - Elisa Albert

Human Voices - Penelope Fitzgerald

Sermons & Soda Water III: We're Friends Again - John O'Hara

In the Clearing - Robert Frost

At Home in Mitford - Jan Karon

Queen of Babble - Meg Cabot

Apropos of nothing . . . really, just because I love adding a photo to each post . . . I give you my grandmother's art class at Weslyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. Wild guess which one is my grandma?

Grandma is the teacher, on the far right, standing, with her head ducked slightly.

Isn't that a cool photo?

Off to read . . . happy weekend!