Pages

Subscribe:

Ads 468x60px

Thursday, November 04, 2004

New Reads

For the past two weeks I have been staring at the book shelves at the same old books I have had for the past 15 years or more. I have lots of books. So many that I have actually run out of space for them. I need to buy 2 more book cases as I have books stacked under a table in teh bedroom.

I have read and reread my books at least 3 times each. I was in Costco over the weekend and was drawn to the books there and was forced to buy 2. They were yelling at me, "Buyme! Buy me!" What could I do? I am a sucker for a good book....no it does not even had to be a good book.

I am a sucker for books period. I ended up buying :

Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau
New Orleans in the mid-nineteenth century is a city overflowing with white aristos, black creoles, and African slaves, a city that pulses with crowds, with commerce, and with the power and spectacle of the voodoo religion. At the center of the ritual is Marie Laveau, the notorious voodooienne, worshipped and feared by blacks and whites alike. Marie's followers claimed that she walked on water and sucked poison from a snake's jowls, that she raised the dead and murdered two men. Voodoo Dreams is the spellbinding story of the woman behind the legend. Raised by her Grandmere in the Louisiana bayou, Marie ventures to New Orleans and begins a journey of self-discovery, hoping to find her lost Maman and understand the visions that haunt her dreams. Instead, she runs headlong into the brutality of slavery and oppression, and into the arms of John, the voodoo doctor who promises to teach her what Grandmere will not. As she falls under his spell, John sweeps Marie into a world of voodoo ceremonies, of drama and manipulation, and of sometimes terrifying power. A mesmerizing combination of history and storytelling, Voodoo Dreams marks the debut of an important new voice in fiction.

Life of Pi
Life of Pi is a masterful and utterly original novel that is at once the story of a young castaway who faces immeasurable hardships on the high seas, and a meditation on religion, faith, art and life that is as witty as it is profound. Using the threads of all of our best stories, Yann Martel has woven a glorious spiritual adventure that makes us question what it means to be alive, and to believe.Growing up in Pondicherry, India, Piscine Molitor Patel -- known as Pi -- has a rich life. Bookish by nature, young Pi acquires a broad knowledge of not only the great religious texts but of all literature, and has a great curiosity about how the world works. His family runs the local zoo, and he spends many of his days among goats, hippos, swans, and bears, developing his own theories about the nature of animals and how human nature conforms to it. Pi’s family life is quite happy, even though his brother picks on him and his parents aren’t quite sure how to accept his decision to simultaneously embrace and practise three religions -- Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.

The Giver
Winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal, this thought-provoking novel centers on a 12-year-old boy's gradual disillusionment with an outwardly utopian futuristic society; in a starred review, PW said, ``Lowry is once again in top form... unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers.'' Ages 10-up. (Sept.)

Has anyone read any of these? If so leave a comment and let me know what you think.


What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

4 Broken Heels:

Angela Belt-Newcom said...

Life of Pi is very good. Classic, IMO.

But, Voodoo Dreams ... I loved it. I love occult books anyways, but I could not put that book down. I read it in 2001 in two days. It is very well written, descriptive, and it keeps you turning the page.

Anonymous said...

"The Giver" is one of my favourite stories. It's wonderful!

-Kirstin of www.slackeruncensored.com

Anonymous said...

Well, as you know according to my blog, I've read Voodoo Dreams and I loved it! I haven't read the other two books that you'd mentioned but I'm always on the look-out for something interesting to devour! I can't WAIT until I'm done with grad school--so that I can read what I want, when I want :)!

--Laniza

Anonymous said...

I'm about to read Life of Pi --I've heard lots of good stuff about it...haven't read the other 2 but I love books so I'll keep them in mind...

http://www.behindbrowneyes.squarespace.com