The Power of One

 

by Bryce Courtenay  (read by Humphrey Bower)

20 for '21

 

 

 

 

ABSOLOOTLE!

Beautifully written but not really the kind of story that I normally seek out anymore.  I almost chucked it in very early on and only kept reading because my sister had heartily recommended it. In general, I avoid stories that "borrow other people troubles." Real life is full of troubles; I don't need to fill my reading hours with them.  I am especially turned off by boys' boarding school tales -- and that is exactly where this one begins. In the end, I was won over by the storyteller, by the characters and by the tale. 

Four stars -- because it is well written 

Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life

 

By Laura Thompson (read by Pearl Hewitt )

Read as part of the Agatha Christie Centenary Celebration and

A 20 for '21 read

 

 

I have been reading Agatha Christie mysteries off and on for at least half a century. I don't know how many I have read at this point and won't even hazard a guess -- and it doesn't really matter because in just 5 years I will be able to say that I have read them all, because for some odd reason, perhaps to read, perhaps for the socialization, I have joined up with a group that is going to read them all. When I heard that people in the reading group were reading and enjoying the recent biography by Laura Thompson, and when I saw that I could get it for free from Audible Plus, I decided that I should give it a whirl. About half way through, I decided that I needed a print copy for note taking.

I'm almost finished listening now and I will say that I have enjoyed going a bit deeper into her life than I get with a Wikipedia article. She was an interesting lady, to say the least.

Thompson book is an interesting combination of historical research and literary criticism -- and it is the literary criticism part that I am having trouble with, and part of the reason that I want a print edition. I am not sure of her methodology. I had a literature professor who went crazy any time someone would try to claim that actions or thought of a character had a direct correlation to what the author thought or believed. Thompson spends a lot of time pointing out which characters and scenes in the books are autobiographical. While it might be interesting to look for these things as I move forward reading the books, I also want to know the basis for these conclusions; I want to see the footnotes and references upon which she basis her opinion.

The early chapters are much more interesting than the later chapters. She covers almost every aspect of Christie's life -- her childhood, her marriages, her travels, her family, her financial affairs, her final years. While it started strong, at the end it just seemed to end abruptly.

Should you read it? Yes, if you are interested in the life and times of Agatha Christie. She was an interesting person who lead a fulfilled life and who didn't waste time crying over spilled milk. She worked hard to get where she was and she did it all on her talent and creativity.

Three and three quarters stars.

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

 

by Steven Pinker (read by Victor Bevine)

Second entry in my *20 for '21 challenge

 

Cognitive psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker dumps his bucket!

Please don't ask me to tell you what his book is about or what I have learned from it because I can't. The book is over twenty hours long and covers so many different topics that all connect to the study of human nature. All I did was listen. I didn't take notes. I'm not in college any more and it's not like I have an exam on the topic at the end of the semester -- although this would be an interesting college course.

What I can tell you is that it is informative, entertaining, interesting and, most our all, readable. It is not full of jargon and is definitely written for the layman, not the profession. If you have the patience to sit through twenty plus hours, you will find the book thought-provoking --even if the thought is to fling the book across the room because it challenges your way of thinking. The book reads like a well-structured series of lectures and moves from point to point logically. I can't criticize or comment on his methodology or his science because I have no basis for judgement; this is not my field of expertise. I can say that it will get the gray matter working, one way or another.

Four and a half starts for clarity, for not treating the reader like an ignoramus and for daring to challenge conventional wisdom.

*****

For those who really want to know what the book is about:

Publisher's Summary: In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, one of the world's leading experts on language and the mind, explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits - a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past century - denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the arts.

Injecting calm and rationality into debates that are notorious for ax-grinding and mud-slinging, Pinker shows the importance of an honest acknowledgment of human nature based on science and common sense.

 *****

*20 for '21 is a a reading challenge that I borrowed from bookish buddy Mike Finn. The idea is to listen to 20 audiobooks that are 20 hours or more in length in 2021.  Last year I managed to read six books for the challenge; this year I am hoping to so better -- if I can find 20 books of that length that I actually want to read.