Blog Posts by mingh
Ming was named after an evil Emperor. But she reads more than said evil Emperor, including nonfiction and almost all genres. She should read more in the Romance genre but that genre is forbidden on the planet Mongo.
Little Richard
01/15/10
Not a biography, but an appreciation of and a strong argument for Little Richard as the father of rock and roll. In Little Richard was the downbeat of Rhythm and Blues, the guitar driven country sounds, and pop lyrics, all in a subversive package. No wonder Pat Boone had to be be called in to whitewash Little Richard's songs. Just looking at him you knew he was something else.
This is a fun and interesting book about a man who only was in the spotlight for two years before he found God and left rock and roll. (He comes back numerous times but never with the hits of that two year period where he changed rock forever.) Kirby takes the song Tutti Frutti from its beginnings as a subversive song in the gay culture to Little Richard's first big hit. Many changes to the lyrics had to happen for it to be that hit.
What an incredibly creative time for music. Both Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley were big fans of Little Richard. Elvis sang one of Little Richard's songs on his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Little Richard never made it to Ed Sullivan.
Oh and remember when the Beatles would sing in She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!, the lyric, "and you know that can't be bad, Wooooo." The Beatles claim they stole the woo from Richard. Fun book that has you thinking about all of that wonderful music.
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Snow
12/16/09
Snow is the story of a late twenties/early thirties poet/writer who returns from political exile for his Mother's funeral. While back home in Turkey, he is asked to go to a far eastern Turkish city to write about the recent spate of suicides among young girls. Using his initials as his identity, KA, tells himself that he is only going for the story of the girls, and not because he also knows that the love of his life also lives in that city.
The story takes place over three days. In that time KA is reunited with his love, talks to friends of the girls who suggest different reasons for the suicides, meets up with the many different political and religious groups fighting for control of the city and struggles with how living in the West has changed him and how it has not.
Snow continues to fall until it locks the city in the mountains. There is no way in and no way out. And so the revolution begins with a theatre troop taking over the town. Lead by a man angry that he was not chosen to play Attaturk in the movies, he will show the people of this town what true tragedy is by performing a Turkish adaptation of Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy.
In it all KA looks at the snow with beauty and wonder and feels the poetic muse rise between all of the meetings demanded of him by the differing political and religious groups. Each group would like for KA to tell the West what is happening in their town. Some want the West to see them as sophisticated and very much similar to Europeans, others want nothing to do with the West.
KA is pushed back and forth between groups when all he wants is to be with his love. An interesting book to read from the Western perspective, to see the struggles that other countries have with our way of life and how threatening it may be to them.
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Cake Wrecks
12/08/09
Cake Wrecks would make a nice light funny book to give someone for this holiday season. Jen Yates has been collecting bad cake art for the past two years. Everything from misspellings on birthday cakes to misunderstandings between decorater and customer.
Chock full of the pictures of the cakes and comments to help with the fun, this book is a fast read. But you would be hard-pressed not to find something that will make you laugh. You'd be surprised how many cake decoraters can't spell burthday, brithday, I mean, birthday. Great fun.
For anyone ordering a cake in the future, be afraid, be very afraid.
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Bryant and May on the Loose
12/01/09
Bryant and May on the Loose recounts the most recent events of London's Peculiar Crimes Unit. Although they are on permanent hiatus, a headless body found in the environs of the work being done in anticipation of the 2012 London Olympics sets the group back in to motion. Thinking it is the work of gangs, nobody, including the Prime Minister wants this information to get out and ruin the building and rebuilding that is going on in London's King's Cross neighbourhood.
Like all of the Bryant and May mysteries you have to love London history which plays a pivotal role in every case. And the history of this case goes all the way back to pagan times as more headless bodies turn up in the area.
John May uses his relentless logic and understanding of human nature and Arthur Bryant uses his unusual interest in history and the occult to solve the murders. The head of Homeland Security has given them four days to solve the mysteries or their permanent hiatus will become a permanent ending. Can they do it?
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The Sisters Who Would be Queen
11/25/09
If only her uncles and others had waited to install Jane Grey AFTER Queen Mary and before Elizabeth, the line of ascension would be with the Grey family. But the populace would hear of no heir other than Mary, born of a true king and queen. The Sisters Who Would be Queen recounts in great detail the lives of the Grey sisters. Jane was the oldest, but Katherine and Mary were also considered such threats to Queen Elizabeth that she imprisoned them for almost all of their adult lives.
The subtitle of the book "A Tudor Tragedy" captures their lives completely. Katherine, the most unfortunate, fell in love with another royal and planned a secret marriage with him. Considered not as intelligent as Jane but the best looking of the sisters, Katherine who had no designs on the throne, still posed a threat because there were people who held her as the true heir.
For this, Elizabeth threw her and her husband and their new baby in the Tower. They were able to bribe a guard and spend a few nights together creating another child. This enraged Elizabeth and she separated them from their children and each other once the second child was born. Katherine never again saw her children or her husband.
Mary Grey, hoping to avoid the same fate, married a man not of royal birth, a man considered well-below her. Because of this marriage she would be prohibited from ever taking the throne. Still, Elizabeth separated them and kept them imprisoned in far locations from each other. They, too, never saw each other again.
Its a different Queen Elizabeth that we get to see in de Lisle's account of the lives of the sisters. This Elizabeth is frightened and vengeful and never sure of her place on the throne even though she serves for over 40 years. She never names an heir because she fears that the heir will be preferred over her.
This very detailed book notes all of the behind-the-scene machinations that occurred throughout Edward VI's (Henry VIII's sickly son) reign and beyond into the time of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. While it is good to be queen, it is never good to be almost queen.
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Ms. Hempel Chronicles
10/14/09
Eight chapters all focusing on a different aspect of Ms. Hempel, 7th and 8th grade English teacher. The first chapter focuses on her recent years as a teacher. The next chapter focuses on early years growing up. Third chapter is about her bridal shower of the previous year. Each chapter opens up the reader's understanding of Ms. Hempel.
Ms. Hempel loves her students because she can see in them all of her potential at that same age. She wonders if they too will settle for something less than their potential. She watches them eagerly to try and find out where it went wrong for her.
Ms. Hempel Chronicles is the character study of a young woman who has reached a place in her life that is by all means successful but does not fulfill her hopes and dreams. How did she get here? This novel is for a reader who is willing to jump around in the narrative of someone's life to see the layers slowly unfold.
This book would be good for book discussion groups and people in their twenties who could really identify with Ms. Hempel's predicament.
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The Dancing Plague
10/05/09
On July 14, 1518 in Strasbourg, Frau Troffea started dancing until fatigue overcame her for the night. After sleeping briefly, she continued dancing until her feet were bloody. By the end of July, over one hundred people had been affected by the dancing plague and many were dying from it.
In The Dancing Plague: the strange true story of an extraordinary illness, John Waller uses contemporary witnesses and records from Strasbourg that document this unbelievable event. What scientific causes were there, if any? What internal struggles or environmental causes could there be to make people dance to their death? How did it come to be called St. Vitus Dance?
John Waller has created a very readable book about the times in which the dancing plague occurred. How the beliefs of the people may have helped or hindered those afflicted. And could this event be the basis for Hans Christian Anderson's tale The Red Shoes?
A great read for nonfiction book groups and those interested in learning more about living in the late medieval period.
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Coventry
08/17/09
Two women meet briefly at the start of World War I and meet again during the bombing of Coventry, England on the night of November 14, 1940. We learn how the women have spent their lives between the wars. But what really compels in this book is the depiction of that terrible night.
Humphreys used historical records and personal accounts of that night to help in her depictions of everything from what it felt like in the shelters, to the bombing of Coventry Cathedral. While the story is clearly fiction, some of the images will remain with you long after you have closed the book.
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Au Revoir to All That
08/09/09
Michael Steinberger's Au Revoir to all that: food, wine and the end of France is a fun and interesting look at the state of food in France. Like in America, the rise of the food star has made many first-rate chefs abandon food for media exposure. Chefs used to work hard to create new and interesting dishes. But now chefs strive to have the book deals, tv shows, and marketing of their brand. Very few top chefs remain in their kitchens. And as Steinberger notes this is a problem. France used to be the number one country for food excellence. Spain is currently the top-rated country and even England has better ratings than France.
Steinberger also gives us a fascinating glimpse into the world of the coveted Michelin star system. As the chefs have been complaining for decades, there is no specific criteria for the stars. Michelin claims it is all about the food. Yet there are numerous instances where the ambience has allowed the restaurant to receive the three stars. Also, the cost of upkeep of a three star restaurant has become such a problem that a number of chefs have refused the three stars.
Many wonderful food facts about France are included, the most shocking being that France is the number two market for MacDonalds. Yes, you read that correctly. After the USA, France is the second largest consumer of McDonalds. Steinberger also presents information about how the French wine industry, formally number one in the world, has shrunk so dramatically.
This is a great read for Francophiles, foodies and anyone interested in the state of three star, chefs, restaurants, and food in today's world.
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Valeria's Last Stand
06/16/09
Zivitar is a small town in Hungary that was never touched by World War II. But its mayor wants to bring it into the 21st century. Valeria, the 68 year old curmudgeon of the village could not care less. But then she sees the town potter, as if with new eyes, and finds herself reluctantly and frighteningly falling in love. The potter has been having an affair with the tavern owner but finds himself drawn to Valeria who seems to understand his pottery as art just as he sees it.
This town is not big enough for two strong women in love with one man. One of them will have to go. Valeria and Ibolya the tavern owner make their stands and the town will never be the same. A beautifully written story about how love changes all, but one must change to admit love.
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