The Sacred Calendar

The Sacred Calendar: Twenty Poems Inspired by the Cholq'ij –by Ralph-Michael Chiaia

Poetry

62 pages / 1160 KB

5 Stars

Let us get the legalities out of the way first—I received a complimentary copy of The Sacred Calendar from the author, a man heretofore unknown to me, and was asked to read and review it. With hesitation, I accepted, knowing if I thought it sucked bilgewater, I would return it and not review it.

I did not return it. In fact, I am buying a hard copy for my poetry collection.

Chiaia has written 20 poems, inspired by his time in South and Central America. These poems are beautifully executed, and held together by an expert weaver's use of warp and weft and yet, if you were to cut those threads of continuity, each poem would stand alone in it's own beauty.

Chiaia knows words, and how to use them, weave them, sing them, into tapestries never before seen or heard. Yes, heard. We read with our ears, and in this case, the poems should be read aloud. (Actually, all poetry should be read aloud, but most people are to shy to sit and read poetry to their cat!) At the end of the poems, which came too soon for my taste, he shows us the glyphs for each day, and explains their meaning. That alone makes the book worthwhile, even if you happen not to like poetry.

These poems are like poems I've never read. They evoke memories of sights I've never seen, perfumes I've never smelled, voices I've never heard. You will leave the comfort of your living room to enter the marvelous World of Chiaia. The trip is a head rush and one you will enjoy the rest of your life.

Buy this book. Read this book. Enjoy this book. Oh, and review this book.

The Virgin Blue

Fiction / Historical

320 pages / 723 KB

3 Stars

I love this type of story that goes between two protagonists in two different times and cultures. Ms. Chevalier is a marvelous writer, but I almost didn't finish this book. I loved Isabelle du Moulin from a time long gone, and because I had to find out how she ended, I finished the book.

My sympathy for Ella Turner (Tournier) was pretty much lacking, actually, it was totally lacking. I could not find a single thing about her to relate to, other than we are both female. I disliked her. Immensely. I've lived in a foreign country (Germany) where the language and the culture was considerably different than mine, and I loved every minute of it. I found the people to be wonderfully patient and helpful with my struggling through their language, often with the help of a small dictionary always with me. Including the French when we visited Toulouse and the area.

The other thing that really irked me was the excessive use of French (sorry, I no longer have my little dictionary). I don't mind a few words here and there, that I can translate in context, but not sentences, especially when there is no internal dialogue telling me or at least giving me a hint as to what was just said.

Chevalier is a marvelous writer and perhaps this book is really better than I'm giving it credit for. Had Ella been more sympathetic and likable, I probably would have loved the book. As it was, I loved the history, especially since some of my ancestors were Swiss Huguenots, and thought Chevalier did an excellent job weaving that history into the story.

There were some areas that left me puzzled. Like, how did she get the bones across the border? What did she see in Jean Paul that was missing in her husband? What did either man see in her? Both Isabelle and Ella were midwives; why didn't that figure prominently into the story? Why didn't that fact play a major factor in solving the mystery?

I've thoroughly enjoyed the other books by Chevalier I've read, and I hate to give her a low rating on even this one. Do I recommend this one? Only if you are fluent in French and want to be able to say you've read all her books—or if you're really, really bored.

A Month in Mongolia

A Month In Mongolia –by Barbara A. B. Seiders

Nonfiction / Travel

88 pages / 2937 KB

5 Stars

Say the word, "Mongolia" and I'm all ears to the exclusion of any other conversation around. Tell me you've been there and have a book out about your visit there, and it will be downloaded on my Kindle in a heart's beat! Such was the case with this little book that is chock full of color pictures and hot links to other exciting things.

I enjoyed this book and the photos so much that I have ordered the hard copy in case my Kindle dies at the wrong time ;-)

Dr. Seiders made a few (work related) trips to Mongolia, but this book tells of her first one. She writes in an engaging style, and talks about the people with admiration and respect. She makes me want to make my own trip to Mongolia, take my own photos, and try all the interesting foods and meet all the wonderful people she met. (My idea of a perfect trip is to eat my way across the country I'm visiting ;-)

A wonderful little book to be read more than once.

Cheetahs -- Not those cheesy crispy things!

Cheetahs: Amazing Animal Kingdom Series –by Emma Child

Nonfiction

26 pages  587 KB

5 Stars

It is very obvious, at least to me, that Ms Child loves writing these books.  If possible, each one gets better than the one before it.

She writes in a relaxed and fun manner, her books are easily accessible by either the young, or the adult. They are full of fun facts presented in a lighthearted way, and at the end, she has a list of 24 Fun Facts about cheetahs. Wish she'd written these books when I was still in school—what fun to read and repeat all those facts.

For instance, did you know cheetahs are terrible climbers, that they can change direction mid-air while chasing their prey, that they can't roar, but they can, and do, purr? Did you know that the Ancient Egyptians tamed them and kept them as pets and or used them while hunting?

If you have a young one you buy books for, I heartily recommend this series of books. If your youngster isn't yet reading, and you read aloud, you will enjoy this book each time you're asked to read it. You will enjoy it each and every time you read it.

The Farthest Home is where you make it

The Farthest Home is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy –John Phillip Santos

Nonfiction / Memoir

280 pages

5 Stars

When I read his first book, Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation, I never wanted the book to end. I parsed out the last few pages one or two pages at a time, and then one or two paragraphs until, alas, I reached the fateful words: The End.

This book was only slightly different, I did not parse out the last pages, because I know there is another book by him waiting to be read.

Where Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation was a pretty straight forward memoir of his patrilineal line, The Farthest Home is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy is anything but a straightforward memoir of his matrilineal side of the family.

He took chances with this book, and they not only worked, they worked well. He used poetic language—in fact, the whole book may well be one very long prose poem—to weave a tapestry of brilliant colors and subdued shadows of a surreal magical realism as he told the story of his search for his matrilineal roots.

Engrossed right from the beginning, I had a hard time putting this book down. Normally, when people use "foreign" words in a story, it's a turn-off for me. I get the feeling they are trying to show me how intelligent they think they are. This book starts off in Spanish. I do not speak Spanish. But I read, and I recognized the words, and he explains them when they might not be so obvious to a gringa such as I. (We have so many Latin Americans living in my area, that most signs are in Spanish and English—it is amazing what one can learn by reading and observing!)

This is the story of Santos searching for his deep roots, all the way back to Spain, and how he finds them. I loved the people he met along the way, and the story of meeting a cousin and trading his Tony Lama boots for his cousin's ragged farm work boots. They wore the same size.

His mother's family arrived in southern Texas in the 1620s, Santos goes back to Spain and finds the town they were from. He rethinks the way we think about our identity. Wo are we, really? How many generations or years must we be Spanish or Mexican or American or Scottish to call ourselves by one name or another?

This book is history, from an up close and personal perspective. It is memoir. It is told in past, present, and future. It is totally engaging. A read no one should miss.