Last Man by Vince Flynn (2012)

Maybe not the best book to listen to while driving up the magical Route 1 in CA, but it sure helped through LA highways and traffic. I love Mitch Rapp. He is the "last man" you wan't to mess with. I wish Flynn would not have to get so graphic - this time about torture, and all the different gun makes and caliber numbers just go over my head, but other than that, Flynn tells a great story.

This book is set in the current situation of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It reflects the covert operations needed to find Bin Laden, how giving control back to the Afghan people is going, the concerns of Taliban continuing to be a key player, the U.S. relation with Pakistan, the use of drones, FBI vs CIA, self serving officials, etc.

CIA operative Joe Rickman has been kidnapped. Rapp is sent to find him, as Rickman's head holds lots of information. Something isn't quite right, and it is very hard to tell who is working on which side, who has their own agenda, almost till the very end. I like the role played in this book by Irene Kennedy - Rapp's boss and CIA director. You get to see why she is director - she can play hard ball, but see she struggles with the difficult aspects of the job too. The book was full of interesting characters - some good, some bad, some little of both. Makes for a good read.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman (2012)

One of the best moral dilemma stories I have read. Yes it is a historical novel about post World War I Australia, and touches on the tragedies of families and individuals after a war, but the main story is about Tom and Isabel Sherbourne, who find a few month old baby washed ashore in a boat along with a dead man. Isabel has just had a stilbirth after two miscarriages on the lighthouse island of Janus Rock. She convinces Tom that it would be best for the baby if they just kept it and raised it as their own. Tom wants to report the incident immediately, but the hope in his wife's eyes keeps him from doing this, and they both fall in love with little Lucy. Well, it turns out Lucy's mother is still alive, and totally devastated at the loss of her husband and child.

I am so glad I have been able to experience the birth of a child. I would not have understood this book or much of what makes the world go around, if I had not had a child myself. The bond is intense. The dilemma in this book is intense.

My other main observation was on the life of a lighthouse keeper. I just can't imagine living isolated for three months at a time, even if you do have a responsible job that requires your attention every day. Or to be the wife that has to live with you in this isolation. I used to admire hermits and thought I could be one, but I am much too social to be a hermit. On the other hand, I do not think I could stand to see one person day in and day out.

My last comment is on the audio recording. I had a hard time understanding the reader, especially in the beginning. Maybe it was partially the Aussie accent, but it seemed like he swallowed endings and whole words, important words, so that I was trying to grasp where they really were and what was going on. Even in the end I found myself turning up the volume to not lose some important conversation.

Silence by Shusaku Endo (1966)

I am fascinated by Japan, and this is the most famous work by a highly regarded Japanese author, but it is the second book in a month I have chosen to not finish. The book is a historical novel (usually my favorites) about Portuguese missionaries to Japan in the 17th century. I fully respect the right of people to believe in whatever makes sense to them, but have a very difficult time with those who think they have to bring their beliefs to others. I understand bringing medicine, literacy, agricultural skills, clean water wells to people to better their lives, but imposing a religion, which then often wrecks their own culture, I do not get. 

If I understand it correctly, Christians did make some inroads in Japan, but then the Japanese government banned Christianity in the 17th century and punished those who still worshiped Christ. Many missionaries left, but some still tried to serve underground. If the officials found Christians, they were forced to denounce their religion and become an apostate or were killed. As far as I got into the book, two Portuguese fathers hear of their teacher having apostatized and don't believe it, so they sneak into Japan and find a few Japanese villages that still have Christian believers that they serve. I am sure they were going to go look for their teacher and discover what has happened to him.

I just could not continue listening to this, as in my mind I kept asking "why are you doing this?" The only slight glimpse of understanding I got was from a line where the Japanese told the missionaries that the Christian fathers were the only ones that treated them like human beings, with love and care. I understand their lives were harsh, as were those of lower classes everywhere, and I get that religion offered hope, something to help people get through the hard times. I would rather explore why Buddhism did not offer that to the people of Japan. 

Hell's Corner by David Baldacci (2011)

The Camel Club books are my favorites from David Baldacci - I am not sure why, maybe because one of the characters works in the Library of Congress. Actually it is more because of Oliver Stone, the well worn agent, who has been in Nam and the Cold War, who still solves major problems for our country, even if he has not been treated well half the time. He is good at what he does, deduces things, bends rules when needed, and attracts strong women. This was my favorite of the series, with plenty of twists and turns in the plot.

Oliver Stone is present, when a bomb goes off at Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. (I had to look it up on the map, and will try to go visit it next time I am in DC. Never have been to the White House, but there are still a lot of things on my to-do list in Washington.) There are four people in the park around that time, and the British Prime Minister across the street. Stone is asked to officially get involved and is given a powerful side kick in MI6 agent Mary Chapman. They follow leads that often turn out to be red herrings. Stone does not want to involve his Camel Club friends, but they get involved themselves and help him run down some leads, and are with him at the last stand. The plot is complex with Russians, Mexicans, British, nanobots, the CIA training mountain and more.

I also enjoyed the interview with the author at the end of the audio book. He reiterated one of the things I learned from the book - that after the Cold War was over, a lot of spies were retired or laid off, and when there was again need for them after 911, they hired a lot of young and inexperienced agents. This is why Stone was brought into the story.

The name Hell's Corner comes from the fact that Lafayette Park is under the jurisdiction of three different government agencies - the Secret Service cover the sidewalks (because it is so close to the White House), the Park Service covers the park itself and DC Police cover the street. From the other Camel Club books I know that Stone had a protest tent at the park and at least according to the Wikipedia it has really been a protest spot over the years.

Cleaning out the book collection

I am one of those book lovers, that has books piled up all over the place, and though I have 13 book shelves of various sizes throughout the main part of the house, they seem to fill up with natural wonders, photos, child's ceramic creations and knick-knacks, though I try hard to keep the latter to a minimum. I was having a hard time finding the books I need for my research, so it was time for a major book review.

When I moved into my parents house, it already had a very substantial, mostly Latvian book collection. I have kept the major tomes shelf in tact - with the complete works of various Latvian authors, the 12 vol. folk song set, the 15 vol. folk tale set, and the Daugava publisher's series on Latvian history, where each volume weighs about 4 pounds. I combined our Latvian literature collections and put them down in the basement. (I know, I know, not the best place for books, but more about the basement later.) I kept upstairs the books I use - encyclopedias, dictionaries, those for teaching in Latvian school, current reading, etc. And over these 10 years they accumulated and got disorganized.

After New Years, I set up two big tables in my living-dining room and pulled out all the books I had in piles and on the shelves around the house and put them in piles - by categories including "never read" and "give-aways." Even as a book lover, I realize I don't need to keep everything. Especially my English language volumes I could say I will never read or reread this, and if I really need it, I can get it at a library. Even with my Latvian volumes, I definitely did not need to keep duplicates, and there were other books that would make more sense in the Latvian school or Garezers library. I am also thinking of moving overseas when I retire, and one way of thinking about what to keep or not to keep was to say, would I take this with me when I move. I wish I used that criteria more stringently, but at least it helped me get rid of some books. In the end I moved out 3 boxes of English books and 2 of Latvian.

I should not need to visit a books store in the near future, as I found plenty of books I have not read and want to read - both in English and Latvian. My nightstand is now full of options. I also keep books by my favorite people in my bedroom. My recent English language books are in a shelf with the potential to give away to friends, if they would like them. I always wanted to be able to point to a shelf for visiting kids that like to read and say "See if you can find something you like." So now I have a young adult and children's shelf. The rest is in categories - encyclopedias, dictionaries, books about Latvia and the Balts, Latvian publishing and literature, about Baltic communities in the diaspora, Baltic libraries, nature, folk designs, art, folklore, music, coffee table books, literature, book for teaching Latvian school, travel. I did a rough count and figure over 500 books in Latvian, a bit under 250 in English. Remember, most of the books in this blog I have listened to on tape that I just borrowed, and some of the books I actually checked out of a library, like a good librarian should.

And then there is the basement and boxes in corners of the house that have more books. I estimate at least 2000 down in the basement - the family Latvian literature and other book collection, my previous collections including a substantial science-fiction & fantasy collection in bags, and the remnants of the Latvian Studies Center collection, plus boxes that people have given me. I can't go anywhere before I haven't gone through all of that, so I have my work cut out for me, but seeing the results from getting the small upstairs collection in order, I have confidence that it can be done.

Patiess stāsts par Čingo Babu - Vizma Belševica (2007)

Patiess stāsts par Čingo Babu, Lileo Gliemezi un Jūras Karaļa bēdām. Ilustrējis Reinis Pētersons.

While cleaning and sorting piles of books I came across this delightful children's picture book by one of Latvia's most respected writers.  Čingo Baba is the biggest crybaby, so he is asked to come to the King of the Sea to heal the King's son, who needs human tears to heal. A large snail is sent to get Čingo, as he has a house on his back that can carry the kid into the deep sea. They meet various characters like Doctor Jellyfish, Commander Shark, Agent Crab, Sea Weed and more. Of course Čingo stops crying once the adventure begins. The illustrations are delightful and the moral of the story is not to cry over every little thing.

Belševica has chosen to write this as a play in rhyme (she is known for her poetry). As soon as I saw that it was a play, my first thought was, could we ever use this in Latvian school? Alas, the language is too complicated and it would take a lot of imagination to come up with a way of portraying the underwater world.

The Children's World in Soviet Latvia by Irēna Bužinska (2008)

Part of an interesting mini book series Art-Myth-Document that is in both Latvian and English. So this one in Latvian is Padomju Latvijas bērnu pasaule. In 32 pages it talks about what it was like to be a child in Soviet Latvia with plenty of illustrations, like the socialist positivism in holiday cards. The book explains the three progressive organizations for children that raised them into socialist citizens - Octobrists, Pioneers, Komsomol. It includes sample writings and drawings by kids, toys for girls and boys. Then quite a few pages are devoted to the store Children's World/Bērnu pasaule and its unique window displays and the man who created them.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)

I did not finish listening to this New York Times bestseller. I just didn't like the feeling the book gave me, and after 5 CDs, didn't think I could take 6 more. This is not a professional book review, but my blog with mostly personal reactions to books and a reminder about books I have read or started to read and chosen not to finish, I can say things like this.

Nick Dunn is a laid off writer, who moves back to his home town in Missouri from New York City partially to take care of ailing parents, and opens a bar with his twin sister. Amy is his wife, who has lived in NYC all her life, so moving to Missouri is quite a cultural shock. She comes from a comfortably wealthy family, who made their money on Amazing Amy books, based on her. The story starts out on the day Amy disappears from her house, and it doesn't look good. Half of the story is told by Nick during these days after her disappearance, with thoughts of their past together. The other half is told by entries from Amy's diary that tell the story from her point of view, and give details from their courtship, life in NYC, losing jobs, moving to MO. Wonder if the cops ever find these diaries.

The book does give an intense inside look into a crumbling relationship. How two people coming from different backgrounds can fall in love, and the relationship really works for a while, but then through those differences and miscommunication, it starts falling apart. I can't say I became fond of either character, especially the more I learned about them. Some of my favorite parts were when the author described the culture clashes Amy experienced in Missouri. She was amazed that parking was for free. (Having grown up just outside NYC, I get it.) And the scene where she recycles all the plastic containers that people brought food in to their housewarming party and expected to get the containers back. Or the concept that people buy in bulk, because they have room to store stuff.

I am trying to figure out why this book felt so uncomfortable as I don't mind suspense in other books. There are uncomfortable moments in many books for me, but then something happens and it is over and I can enjoy the rest. In this book I started feeling uncomfortable early on and the feeling never left. As soon as we learn Amy has gone missing, we know something bad has happened to her. And her husband Nick reacts in ways that don't look good for him, so as the reader I started suspecting him as having killed his wife pretty early on. So it was very uncomfortable to spend lots of time with him, even if he didn't do it in the end. (I will have to find out, I guess.) And then to hear Amy's view of her life as she moves towards her own disastrous end. (And if she comes out fine in the end, good for her.) My personal prejudice is against people who don't do anything. And I did not see Amy doing much besides being a housewife. In very few cases do I think being a housewife is enough - back when one had to provide most of the food for the family and possibly clothes, and in modern times if you have a extraordinarily busy husband, whose life needs to be managed. Being a mother - yes that can be a full time job, but if you are just a housewife, you could be doing charity work or delve into hobbies - artistic or otherwise. I did not see Amy doing much after she lost her part-time job. In Missouri she helped Nick's ailing mother, but again, I did not see her finding things to do for herself. In today's online interconnected world, you can live anywhere and still participate in a rich cultural, even social life. Sorry for the rant.

OK, so I briefly went looking online for what happened in the end, and though I did not get a clear answer, there will be more twists and turns in the book. I do not mind suspenseful spy thrillers and sometimes mysteries, but I will not see movies like Fatal Attraction (which this book was compared to) or Silence of the Lambs. I can see others really enjoying the book, it was just not for me.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (2011)

Whew! Finally finished this lengthy biography, but well worth it. I had to stop in the middle and read some other books, as I could not take reading about Steve Jobs being such an asshole (term often used in the book). I definitely did not want Isaacson to write it any differently, I just couldn't take huge doses.

I started my computing life with Macs, as they were the first to be able to "speak" Latvian, and have always admired Apple products and ads, and so also Steve Jobs. I did not realize that he was born a month after I was, so it means that we grew up with the same cultural influences. I had read all the books he listed as early reading, and at the end he still reread the Autobiography of a Yogi every year. I have only reread it once, but it was one of the books that changed my perception of the world. We grew up around the same music, though I never got as into it as Jobs. Lots of similar cultural influences, even if he grew up on the west coast and I  was on the east coast. I could totally relate to him walking into board meetings with bare feet. I had a period during college, when I went either bare-foot or in boots. That was before stores had the "no shirts no shoes no service" signs. Unlike Jobs,  I did believe in washing. I also went through a vegetarian phase, though Jobs was a very picky vegan till the very need. And obviously I don't have anything near the intelligence or creativity of Jobs, but I can relate to it and admire the intersection of humanities and technology he was able to embody in his products. I use that intersection in my library work.

It was just fascinating to read how much this man and his teams at Apple and Pixar changed my world. I was a strong Mac user up until I started working at the university, where for networking purposes I just had to move into the PC world. My son was at the appropriate age that I went to see all the first Pixar movies. Though I myself have never owned an iPod, I observed the way my son just took to it instantaneously and had a much wider world of music open to him though this device. But to read how it and iTunes Store transformed the music industry is fascinating. I do not own an iPhone (but  in the book, the much maligned Android), but am on my second iPad. I feel like I am an amateur user of both, my son just laughs at me, but I get a whole lot about what Jobs talked about in how we use these tools - how we hold them, etc. I experienced an Apple Store only recently, when I had to have something fixed on my son's Mac and was impressed with the services offered, the layout, and was astonished how busy the store was in the middle of a weekday.

The book was everything a book about Jobs should be - full of details about him, his family (tastefully so), colleagues, and the development of each product. I don't feel the book sugar coated anything, which is just the way Jobs wanted it. Obviously Isaacson talked to hundreds of people and was able to be present at numerous official and unofficial occasions to give this detailed, many sided story of the man and his companies.

I am thankful for the presence of Jobs and his influence on my world. I am amazed by the patience of his wife Laurene, to support this amazing, but undeniably difficult man. I am glad that he could put a Zen-like simplicity and high quality in all of his products, but am sorry he could never find that Zen like calm within himself.

Murjāņu Kurmītis un viņa draugi - Valdis Rūmnieks (2011)

I don't know what it is about moles that kept popping up as main characters in the kids books I found interesting in Latvia, but here it is again. Rūmnieks is an author of numerous children's books and the book is wonderfully illustrated by Gundega Muzikante. I was asked to find books that had more substance than a typical picture book with only a sentence or two per page, but were still colorful and easy to read - for the Latvian camps in Three Rivers. This seemed to fit the bill - it is illustrated like a picture book - every page with full color illustrations, but it is 95 pages long and has an introductory section about the place Murjāņi and 10 tales follow.

 I have to express my frustration with some Latvian publishers - Zvaigzne ABC being one of the main offenders, for not indicating the year of publication in their books. Maybe they feel it gives their books a longer shelf life, but it is a huge disservice to anyone wanting to describe a book. I have started looking dates up in the catalog of the National Library of Latvia.