Book Marks, Take III

For most of 2007, I read an average of one book every two weeks, until that is, early September.

After looking at it on my bookcase for a few months, I finally picked up a book written by a former co-worker, and, truth be told, it was tough to stay with the story. It took me seven weeks to finish it. It had its good moments, but I spent more time shaking my head and thinking, "What the ... ?" I liked the concept, but I thought it was way too descriptive. Every time someone's eyes or hair were mentioned, the narrator also gives the color, such as "She shook her brown hair," "Her brown hair flowed in the wind." "She looked down and her brown hair fell in front of her face." And, "He opened his blue eyes." "His blue eyes focused on the talisman." "As he woke up, his blue eyes registered shock." (Those are not direct quotes.)

And over-describing is not limited to eyes and hair. It applies to the curtains, the cafes, the streets, the carpeting, yadda, yadda, yadda. I think that with a decent editor, the book would've been half as long, but twice as readable.

There were also a few things that the characters conveniently forgot that seemed unforgettable, like what company they work for, because remembering those tidbits sooner would've prevented the author from furthering the plot the way she wanted. Plus, one issue in particular was brought up, but then never addressed again. That whole chapter could've been eliminated, in my opinion.

I would include the title of the book and the author here, but, on the one in a trillion chance that she stumbles across this blog, I'm not divulging that information. She wasn't my best friend or anything, but I still wouldn't want to hurt her feelings, which is why, by the way, I did not use direct quotes from the story a couple of paragraphs back.

But here are a few reviews for books written by authors I have never met, and therefore have no fears of hurting their feelings, but of course, it's easy not to worry about hurting someone's feelings when you have few if any negative comments to make. All three books were great reads, and all three authors really know their history.

Shell Shaker by LeAnne Howe
Grade: A
There's nothing like a little history mixed in with a narrative. I loved this story, which switches back and forth between past and present as the spirit of an 18th century Choctaw shell shaker comes to the aid of her 20th century descendants after the murder of a popular chief sparks division within the tribe. There is a lot of history and culture in this novel, and mixed in with that is a captivating story that had me wishing there were a sequel novel using the same characters. The details -- such as a scene in which one of the ancestors talks about how the tribe, which before removal was based in southeastern swamps, was not afraid of alligators and the traditional burial -- made the story even more alive for me. One of the landmarks (the name of which I can no longer remember, and because I borrowed this book from the library, cannot look it up) intrigued me so much that I spent some time Web surfing to find out more about it. All in all, an awesome story that I highly recommend.

The Freshour Cylinders by Speer Morgan
Grade: A-
Set in the 1930s when the Spiro Mounds in eastern Oklahoma were being looted, this tale of corruption and the theft of tribal artifacts is packed with history. I thought it was very readable, and I loved Morgan's idea that there might've been tribes in less-populated, travel-inhibitive areas of the U.S. that were able to live outside the scope of the U.S. government and its anti-American Indian policy. I think the story kind of meanders some toward the end, but it still held my interest. Speer Morgan is man I'd like to meet someday, though, and ask him some questions about this novel, such as:
1) How long did it take to do all of that research?
2) As someone who has toured the Spiro site, I know that there are actually several mounds at the Spiro site. Is there a reason it is referred to singularly in the book?
3) A few years back, my husband and I went to Woolaroc, a tourist site started by the founder of Phillips Oil, in northern Oklahoma, and saw some items taken from the Spiro Mounds at the Woolaroc museum. Is the connection to oil in the book a reference to this, or is it just a reference to the fact that there was an oil boom under way at Oklahoma at the time?

The Whipping Boy by Speer Morgan
Grade: B
I read "The Freshour Cylinders" and "The Whipping Boy" out of chronological order. "Whipping Boy" was both written and set prior to "Freshour," but honestly, I'm not positive I would've read "Freshour" if I had read "Whipping Boy" first, and the reason is probably going to make me sound like a prude, but I don't care. I thought that the sex scenes in "Whipping Boy" were incredibly drawn out. However, I kept reading because I had read "Freshour," which made me hopeful that there was a bigger story here other than a teenage boy and his affair with an older woman. Luckily, I stuck with it, because, like "Freshour," this book was rich with historical detail, and I love being transported completely to another place and time. This novel takes place before Oklahoma had achieved statehood. This book focuses on a plot to steal land from the tribes. Slow start, but also an interesting read.

Summer of Cinema

I think I can count on one hand the number of times I went to the movie theater last year. Actually, I think I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been the theater for 2006 and 2007 combined. But I think this year might be different, because I am already anticipating several, mostly superhero inspired, the first of which my husband I saw this weekend.

Iron Man
This was my husband’s pick. He’s the comic book fan, and I am merely a tagalong who didn’t even know Iron Man existed before he started telling me he wanted to see this film. I didn’t expect to have an opinion of it one way or the other, but I really liked it. It was funny, interesting and educational -- for example, I learned that Jeff Bridges looks an awful lot like Jesse Ventura if he shaves his head and grows some fur on his jowls. It was a little slow to get going, but once it picked up, it was soaring. I thought Robert Downey Jr. was awesome in the title role, which surprised me, too, because I have don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a starring role before; therefore, any opinions I had of him had come from his unflattering appearances in news. But I was impressed. There were a couple of plot points I took mild issue with, but I can’t give details without spoiling, so I’ll just say that they were very, very minor sticking points for me.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I want to see this mostly because I have really liked all of the other Indiana Jones films. But I don’t have too high of hopes for it. I don’t know why I expect to be disappointed. All of the other films were fun and thrilling. Maybe it’s because as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become less and less thrilled by films in which the hero has all of the answers. Maybe its because I fear Harrison Ford’s role will be little more than torch-passer to Shia LaBeouf. (Although I did see a trailer before “Iron Man” that seemed to indicate that Harrison Ford is still the star of this film. Whew!) Or maybe its because Harrison Ford is now older than Sean Connery was when he played his dad, relegated to the sidecar of Indy’s motorcycle. I’m really hoping for a pleasant surprise.

The Dark Knight
“Batman Begins” was one of those pleasant surprises (with the exception of Katie Holmes ... I don’t know if it was her acting or the character itself, but I was not sorry to see she is absent from “The Dark Knight”). I liked the fact that the story brought Batman a little more into the real world, giving him down-to-earth reasons for who he was and why he was. (I think that’s part of why I liked “Iron Man,” too.) My husband, the Batman authority in our house, still prefers Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman,” which I list as my second favorite to this one, but he enjoyed “Begins,” too. So, I have every intention of making opening weekend on “The Dark Knight.”

The Incredible Hulk
This is also my husband’s pick. I enjoyed watching the TV show when I was a kid (although, when I’ve caught it on TV since, I’ve wondered why), but I was not even remotely impressed with Ang Lee’s 2003 “Hulk.” Hubby liked it, though, so I’m sure that it appealed to quite a few comic book fans, but I thought it was long and slow, and I thought that the effect of the comic book panels was distracting. Before “Iron Man,” though, I did see a preview that makes me a little more curious this version.

Hancock
I know very little about this, except that it seems like another superhero film and that Will Smith is in it. And Will Smith has always been one of my favorite entertainers, despite his “Willenniam” phase. There are few actors that I go to the theater just because they’re in a movie. Tom Hanks is one. Will Smith is another. There might be others, but right now, that’s all I can think of.

The Happening
This is another movie that I am going to see mostly because of who is a part of it: M. Night Shyamalan. I’ve liked everything by Shyamalan so far, with the exception of “Lady in the Water.” I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t wow me, either. But just because he’s had more hits than misses with me, I’m very eager to see this one.