same book?

what do you think of all of us reading the same book for december? i think it would be good for discussion-sake on our blog. what do you all think?

the smell of africa

most of you know that paul's parents are on a mission in ghana, so i am very much enjoying this idea to read about africa. i love smells and am very attentive to all kinds and so i've been wanting to know what africa smells like. i googled it and found this romantic quote from a book called, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexander Fuller. she says africa smells like, "black tea, cut tobacco, fresh fire, old sweat, young grass."

but then oddly enough, paul's mom wrote about her opinion of the smell in her most recent letter in response to paul's sister's question:

"I guess you just get use to all the smells that kind of blend in together and the smell of animals or burning grass is the least of them. They catch lots of fish but they are little tiny fish. They are cleaning them all through the market and then they smoke them and sell them. They carry lots of them stacked up on their head. They smell strong and fishy. Then there are the gutters full of garbage or stacks of garbage all around smelling. The heat and humidity makes for a humid damp smell. When we walk in the house there is kind of a humid, musty, insecticide smell. The bedroom and bathroom smell good from our shampoo and soap. Anyway it really isn't that bad after awhile..."

goodness

i am finally feeling up to reading so i started in on The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency again. my favorite quote for today that i had to share with you all is from the main character's father, speaking of jerky guys,

"...there was any number of men like that, waiting for an attractive girl that they could latch on to and whose life they could slowly destroy. These men were like leeches; they sucked away at the goodness of a woman's heart until it was dry and all her love had been used up. That took a long time, he knew, because women seemed to have vast reservoirs of goodness in them."

i love the whole paragraph but especially how we have vast reservoirs of goodness inside of us.

The Return of Tarzan

I finished Tarzan! It was a really fun book to read. Of course, once I got to the end, I realized that Edgar Rice Burroughs had many more Tarzan books - there's a whole series! I already put the next book on hold (after Tarzan of the Apes comes The Return of Tarzan). read more I wonder if Tarzan was so popular as a movie because the story of Tarzan already had a big fan base. Have you all noticed how toys that were popular when we were kids are back again - just like fashion? Some things, like Legos, have remained constant; others, like My Little Ponies, Strawberry Shortcake, and (my favorite) the Care Bears, have been coming back with a vengeance with new toys, new movies, and new stories.

As I read the book, I realized that the Disney movie does use a lot of the original plot, but the book has a lot more explanation. For example, there is some background on Tarzan's parents, and the fact that he is really English nobility. His father was on a diplomatic assignment when there was a mutiny on the ship, and they were left on the coast of Africa to fend for themselves. Tantor is an elephant, and Kerchak is the head ape. And, of course, Tarzan rescues Jane, and they fall in love.

But there were some surprising differences too - more fighting, cannibalism (not by Tarzan), and a big emphasis on British superiority. The book makes it clear that Burroughs is an evolutionist, and Tarzan experiences his own mini-evolution in the book. Raised by apes, he grows slowly, but learns quickly and continues learning as he gets older. He even teaches himself to read and write.

It's kind of funny, because the book is rather racist - Tarzan can do all these wonderful things because of his noble heritage, even though he was raised by apes. He is brilliant, incredibly strong, and handsome, as opposed to the dirty cannibals with yellow teeth filed to points that beat their prisoners before eating them. The superiority of the white man is sometimes even more directly emphasized. White men suffer without making a sound and use their superior intelligence to trick the blacks. The cannibals are extremely superstitious, and Jane's black servant Esmerelda refers to the animals as "gorilephants" and "ripotamuses" and a "hipponocerous".

I really liked how Tarzan has to make some tough choices - choosing to act as a man instead of a beast. I also like Burroughs' choice to have many protagonists. It's hard to pick who you want to come out on top sometimes.

But most of all, I liked the book - I enjoyed reading it, and it kept me interested in both the characters and the plot. It moves at a reasonably quick pace, and it is something I would read just for fun!

PS I also thought it was great that the only swearing in the book was written as "_____" instead of putting any words there.

Tarzan of the Apes

Just an update on Tarzan - it will be waiting for me tomorrow at the Library so I can finally start reading it. Is anyone else reading Tarzan? read more I just love getting those phone calls that let you know that "an item" is waiting for you. Of course, I usually have 10-20 items on hold at any one time, so I have to turn on the computer and log in to the library system to find out which one has come in. Currently I'm waiting for the first season on CSI, and two new books by Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey. Plus a book by Dorothy Gilman, two books by Dawn Cook, and a few more I can't remember right now.

I have a confession to make - I went to the library, looking for Tarzan of the Apes, and I saw a small little paperback called The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. I thought "hmmm... small... Jungle ?= Africa... sure... good movie..." and I picked the book up and took it home.

Unfortunately for me, The Jungle Book is placed in INDIA. Oops. Of course, I still like it, but now I have to go back to the library for a book to fit the AFRICA theme. Silly Julie! Something cool though, is that Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is part of The Jungle Book - it's actually a collection of stories, with stories about Mowgli, poetry, and other stories.

November Theme: AFRICA

While everyone is thinking of what topics we want for future months, I thought we could start off with a theme I know at least one of us will really like. read more Our very own Sarah McPhie loves reading about Africa, so why don't we all join in and make our November theme AFRICA! Anything relating to Africa is fair game, from children's books to travel guides.

Here are a few ideas:
Alexander McCall Smith - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible
Edgar Rice Burroughs - Tarzan of the Apes
Don McCullin - Don McCullin in Africa
John Steptoe - Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters : An African Tale
Chris Van Allsburg - Jumanji

Welcome

Hi everybody! Welcome to the new Bellevue Book Blog! The basic idea is to read a good book, share a good book, and find out about a lot of other good books. For now, we're going to pick a monthly theme, and everyone can post about any books related to that theme. Please use this posting to suggest themes for future months - I look forward to seeing what you're all interested in! read more

The two main purposes of this blog are (1) for us to write about the books we have read, and (2) for us to find new books to read. The discussions can be humorous, philosophical, general, detailed - whatever you feel like writing.

I will try to invite everyone I can think of, but I'm sure my list will be far from complete, so please let me know who I have missed.

Please help me think of future themes - my ideas so far include:
Africa
American Poetry
Science Fiction
Harry Potter
Presidents of the Church
A famous person - Lincoln, for example
Mysteries
Favorite books from our childhood
Favorite books assigned in school
WWII
Lewis & Clark
How To Books - home decoration, baking, juggling