I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuilaish

"Our politicians bicker about who said what and who will recognize whom and then change their minds when a new slate of officials is eleted. All this while babies die from malnutrition, mothers bleed to death in childbirth, and an old lady with cancer is held up at the Erez Crossing because someone is trying to teach someone else a lesson." (126)

Izzeldin Abuelaish's memoir is passionately written but dense, especially for someone like me, who is not deeply educated in the conflicts between Palestine and Israel. Abuelaish makes a sincere effort to educate the reader on issues of Israeli-Palestinian conflict but comes off dry and mainly informative at times.

More specifically, though, he writes about the plight of the people living in the Gaza Strip. People who do not have access to running water every day, enough food to feed their families, adequate medical care or even the freedom to leave the strip of their own accord. He uses his own family as an example of the suffering, most notably through the description of the deaths of his three daughters and niece from an Israeli bombing.

Through his explanation of life and events in the Gaza Strip, he does make the human aspect of the issue shine despite the slow political explanations, which, I think, is the main point of the book. His plight does not have so much to do with the religious or political issues but the human aspect asserting that we are all, innately, the same...human. We all, at our core, have the same wants, needs, and desires and should treat one another with this understanding and respect. Hate and revenge only beget more hate and revenge and accomplish nothing aside from tearing families apart and hurting people.

"Judging others without knowing anything about them is what causes tension, apprehension, distrust, and prejudice. This is a big mistake. We need to be open-minded enough to want to get to know each other...By knowing one another on a personal level, we can begin to respect each other's differences, but more important, we can begin to see how truly similar we are." (229)

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

With the movie version of this book being released soon, I thought it was time for me to delve into a little chick lit reading to determine how it might stack up with the film.

Something Borrowed follow the basic Chick Lit formula - single, professional woman suffering from relationship troubles. The woman in question, Rachel, is turning 30. Rather than the husband and children she anticipated having by this stage in her life, she remains not only single, but with no contenders on the horizon. This all changes, however, when she and her best friend's fiance take a little detour after her 30th birthday party, ending up in a very compromising position.

While she realizes that Dex is a great guy and one of her very good friends, she does not even consider the possiblity that he might be seriously interested in her - plus, after all, he is engaged to her best friend, the gorgeous Darcy. When she discovers that Dex does have feelings for her, she realizes that she reciprocates those feelings, and they begin a romantic relationship in spite of Dex and Darcy's continued engagement. How will this situation be resolved? Will Dex follow his heart and choose Rachel? Will Darcy discover the illicit relationship? Will Rachel ever find happiness? Anyone who has read any kind of Chick Lit probably knows the answer to those questions, but it's still worth the quick read to find out!

Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

This is not your typical romance novel, although the "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back" element is certainly there. Our main characters, Francesca Day and Dallie Beaudine, are like oil and vinegar, or so it seems at first. Francesca, or Fancy Pants as Dallie "fondly" calls her, a member of the British upper class finds herself down on her luck. She heads to America for a great opportunity that turns out not to be so great and results in Franny walking down the road in a Scarlett O'Hara dress. Enter Dallie, a not-quite-professional golfer, and his caddy Skeet who stop to pick Franny up and give her a ride. These characters are richly developed and very likeable. It's not the "fast read" of a typical romance, but well worth the investment of time to get these characters.

The best thing is, if you like Dallie and Franny, they make cameo appearances in Lady Be Good by the same author.

Little Princes by Conor Grennan

I was a bit skeptical when I picked up this book - it immediately made me think of Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea - but any concerns that I had were washed away as I lost myself in Grennan's tale of love, perseverance, heartbreak and self-discovery in Nepal.

When Conor Grennan decided to leave his job to travel around the world, he felt a little self-indulgent, so he made arrangements to volunteer at an orphanage in Nepal for a couple of months at the start of his trip. Plus, being a young single man, he figured the ladies would swoon over his obvious selflessness and sensitivity. He had no idea that his experiences in Nepal would be a life-changing event.

What Conor discovers during his brief stay in Nepal is that he cannot stay away. He returns a year later and becomes even more involved in the lives of the "orphans," who he discovers are not actually orphans. He discovers that they are the victims of a child trafficker and most, if not all, of their parents might still be alive. This leads him on an unlikely and unforgettable adventure into the Himalayas in search of the parents of the children.

What I like about this book is that it is so eminently readable. Grennan is a likable and self-effacing character, and his story is so inspirational. While there might be other more well-known stories of white-man-does-good-in-third-world-country, this one about reuniting families against near-impossible odds will stay with me. It truly demonstrates how one person, armed with a goal, good intentions and a heart can accomplish miracles.

More Books Into Movies

Some great books are being features as movie releases during the month of April - here is a sampling:

"Soul Surfer" starring AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid. Based on the book of the same title by Bethany Hamilton and Rick Bundschuh with Sheryl Berk. True inspirational story of a young woman who survived a shark attack. Rated PG.

"The Conspirator" starring James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood and Tom Wilkinson. Thriller based on "The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln," by Kate Clifford Larson. Rated PG-13.

"Game of Thrones" starring Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey and Mark Addy. This HBO series is based on the book series, "A Song of Ice and Fire," by George R.R. Martin. Not rated.

"Water for Elephants" starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Christopher Waltz. From the book of the same title - and also one of my all-time favorites, by Sara Gruen. PG-13.

Ape House by Sara Gruen - Book on CD!

This book certainly wasn’t anything that I normally would have picked up. The cover is a little bland, mostly blue sky and trees, although at the bottom there is a fence of sorts and a tiny monkey-like face is peeking over. I didn’t see the monkey face at all when I picked up this book on CD from the library. I was simply looking for something to listen to right away since I had finished my previous book. I don’t usually care much for ‘chick lit’ type books, which is what I judged this to be simply by the cover. I was wrong. Ape House was so much more. As the book went on, I became more and more involved in the story until I felt like I was waiting on the edge of my seat for the next climax in the story.

Isabel Duncan is an ape researcher in Kansas who has been working with a group of Bonobos (small chimps), teaching them American Sign Language. She is engaged to Peter, director of the Great Apes Language Lab where the Bonobos are being studied. Later, we learn that Peter is a cad and there is a break up (thankfully, Peter is not a very interesting character, at least until later on, although he never really ‘fills out’ much). John Thigpen is a newspaper reporter who has just met the apes and interviewed Isabel. He's married to Amanda. She's a failing novelist who has written one book that didn't do very well. Amanda starts out as a very interesting character, yet soon becomes an annoyance with her extreme self-conscious behavior that, for me, took away from the heart of the story nearly every time she appeared after her initial introduction.

The ape lab gets blown up. The Bonobos escape and it is unknown what exactly has happened to them. Isabel is badly hurt and requires reconstructive surgery. Meanwhile, John is reassigned to another story, while his arch-nemesis, a female reporter named Cat, steals the ape story out from under him. The apes are sold to a porn producer to be used in a reality TV show called Ape House.

John and Isabel individually move all over the place, at times annoyingly close to reconnecting. Amanda moves to L.A. to work as a script writer, while John is assigned to ‘Urban Warrior’ column, which provides a few laughs for the listener. Isabel is glued to the TV watching the apes and trying to figure out how to get them back. Eventually John relocates to L.A. to be closer to Amanda and takes a job with a tabloid that reassigns him to the ape story, which has since become the center of attention everywhere due to the apes nonstop sexual antics right on television (for bonobos, this is natural.)

It takes Isabel & John a long time to reconnect with each other, but when they finally do, the story (finally) kicks it up a notch. The last section of the story moves fast and the anticipation is high. I was very satisfied with the ending, although I wish that there had been more with the apes overall. That was the part I most enjoyed listening to, the apes interacting with each other and with the few humans around them. As I was writing, I realized that this book is by the same author as Water for Elephants, which I loved, of course! It is nice to see an author follow up a great book with another. Sarah Gruen knows how to write a realistic voice for animals. It doesn’t seem fake or Disney-fied when the animals ‘talk’ in her stories. It makes you look differently at your own pets or animals you see at the zoo, to wonder what they are thinking and feeling, even more than you normally would. Because I didn’t think this book was one I would like, judging by the cover only, I didn’t pay any attention to the author. Just goes to show that the old idiom of ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ is true!

This Mystery Series Has It All!

If you haven't read Julia Spencer-Fleming's excellent Rev. Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series, this is definitely one not to miss! The seventh book of the series, One Was a Soldier, is due out April 12th - but, don't start with this one. This is a series you definitely want to read in order.

Set in the fictional Adirondack village Miller's Kill, New York, Clare first comes to town as the new Episcopalian minister in the first book of the series, In the Bleak Midwinter. Here she is introduced to the sheriff, Russ. Clare is not your typical minister - not only is she a female, she is also a tough-as-nails former Army helicopter pilot. Russ, also a former army soldier, is the wizened married lawman of his hometown.

The two first come together to solve the mystery of an abandoned baby that is left at Clare's church, become friends who share a growing attraction to one another, and become a formidable team in solving the rash of crimes that go on in their little community. One aspect of the series that is very interesting is the different perspectives the two main characters come from in investigating the crimes - Clare from a sociological perspective, and Russ from a law enforcement perspective. Despite the fact that Clare is a reverend, this is not a cozy mystery series.

Here are the books in order:

1. In the Bleak Midwinter
2. A Fountain Filled with Blood
3. Out of the Deep I Cry
4. To Darkness and to Death
5. All Mortal Flesh
6. I Shall Not Want
7. One Was a Soldier

Annabel

I love reading new authors! Kathleen Winter has become my new favorite with her book, Annabel. The story takes place in Labrador in the late 1960's. Wayne is born into a world were the roles of men and women are clearly defined. Unfortunately, the little baby is born as a hermaphrodite. His father, Treadway and a doctor decide the baby should be raised as a boy named Wayne. Wayne's mother, Jacinta mourns the daughter that she wanted, while Treadway attempts to teach Wayne all that a father should teach his son. As Wayne grows up he knows that he is more feminine than masculine and is accepting of that fact. Jacinta recognizes this and quietly nurtures Wayne's feminine side, Annabel.

This is a wonderful story of personal growth for all of the characters. It is a story of acceptance and unconditional love!

House of Prayer No. 2

Mark Richard gives us a thoughtful and provoking gaze into his spiritual awakening in his memoir, House of Prayer No. 2.

Born with a physical ailment in his hips, Richard is operated on and bedridden frequently during childhood, only to be told that he will be wheelchair-bound by the age of 30. Written in second person, you immediately feel as withdrawn and disconnected with the people around him as Richard does growing as a "special" child in the South.

In the book, Richard takes us along on his life journey while he experiences the horrors of the Children's Hospital he is operated in and dabbles in a multitude of occupations on his way to becoming a writer and, lastly, finding God. We are with him as he searches for meaning in his life as a deckhand, photographer and journalist (along with a slew of other jobs). We travel with him as he stands up to his abusive father in protection of his mother and sister. And we celebrate with him as he achieves his dream of becoming a writer, builds a life with his wife and sons, and achieves some spiritual clarity, realizing his call in life.

Oddly enough, the second person writing that makes us feel so disconnected in the beginning of the book ends up making us feel the complete opposite by the end of the book. As Richard finds more clarity and meaning in his life, it seems we, as the readers, develop a closeness with the meaningful people and events in his life. Richard's writing is warm in some places and witty in others, making the overall experience of reading his life an enjoyable one.