The Power of One Bryce Courtenay 1989

This book so far has been marvelous. It involves a young English boy who lives in Africa in the time of Adolf Hitler. From the get go it is spectacular, revolving on magic and intelligence as Peekay endures the torments of the older, Nazi Africans in his school as they torture him with pain and embarrassment. The discrimination is continued as Peekay's friend, an elderly German named Doc, is arrested merely for being German. Peekay was made to shout obscenities to himself, had rocks thrown at him, made to hold an iron bar for hours at a time which if he dropped he would be beaten. Even the teachers disliked him. One woman was so upset when he realized that she was smart she hit him with a ruler until his ear bled.
His only friend was a chicken named Granpa Chook, who was a gift from the greatest medicine man in all of Africa. The chicken seemed to be magical too, and Peekay called him "the toughest damn chicken alive." He was faithful all the way up until the last day of school, when he managed to poop inside the leader of the Nazi's mouth, and they killed him for it.
Similarly prejudice, the English Millitary arrested Doc for being a German spy, and during the relitivly harmless arrest, violence broke out and the policeman broke Peekay's jaw. The papers reported untruthful accounts of the story, saying that the pioctures Doc took as a Professor were some kind of intellegence for Germany and that he had tried to run for it, hurting Peekay in the process.

#13 Three Cups of Tea

I am finally finished with my book!!!! It has taken forever, I know. Some parts were very slow, while others made your heart race, or even cry. Despite the difficulty of getting though it, it was worth the read. It is amazing how much these people have gone through, and how one man's dedication made so much of a difference. Not many people care that only a third of the money promised to help Pakistan after the war made it there. They don't seem to worry about how the teachers need that type of money. They don't know about the five thousand girls trying to hold school in a feild next to the boy's high school.
Greg Mortenson risked his life to provide for these people when he had nothing. And think of us, who have everything. Mortenson is a real hero; a person who does not help others for the money or the glory. He does it only to help the people he has grown to love and give them a better chance at life. He has made over fifty-five schools and impoved chances for all the children, both boys and girls. In life, we have rare opportunintes to change someones life. Mortenson has taken the opportunity given to him and made it into his life. We need more people like him in this world.

#12 Three Cups of Tea

Towards the end of my book, Mortenson describes being in Pakistan on September eleventh, the year the towers came down. He had some difficulty getting details, but evetnually learned what had happened. He attended a big meeting that consisted of Muslims. He listened as they begged forgivness and gave him dozens of eggs to take back to the United States in order to express how sorry they were for their country to have done such a thing.
They were much more hospitable to him than the U.S. authorites were when he tried to return to the country. He was interogated about being a terrorist, and even knowing where Osama Bin Laden was located. Eventually they had to let him go, however, and he went back about his business in Pakistan. When he returned to the States he was given hate mail, one of which stating that the person wished a bomb had fallen on him, another saying that God would punish him for being a traitor and helping the Muslims.
This unsettled me. As a child, I did not like the countries who hurt us either. But my mother told me right away that we must not be angry at the ordinary citizens, because they were just like us. Even as a child I could understand this. It confused me that grown men and women believed helping refugees was wrong simply because of their background. I have heard stories like this before, such as after 9/11, three Muslim men (all U.S. citizens) were convicted for questioning, merely for talking about the attacks. It is scary how fast we are quick to judge, and frightens me. What if, one day, someone discriminates me and my ethnicity as we have done to others?

#11 Three Cups of Tea

While in Pakistan, Mortenson went deep into the mountains, looking for places in need of a school. However, this was very dangerous business, and it was proved to be so in every sense. The first night in foreign territory, Mortenson was kidnapped. He was put in a small room with a mat and was only let out to use the bathroom. The only thing he had to pass the time was an old Times magazine, which featured a hostage crisis, in which they were detained for more than a year. Needless to say this did not make Mortenson any calmer. He stayed in the room for days until a translator was brought, and after eight days, Mortenson was released, able to go home to his wife and see their child be born.
Not long after his daughter's birth, he was called by Jean Hoerni, his patron, asking if the school was finished yet. Jean was diagnosed with a deadly form of leukemia, and wanted to see a picture of it before he died. All too soon, Mortenson went back for the picture of the final product, and brought it back for Hoerni.
First, I would have never gone back to Pakistan after I was kidnapped. Mortenson is a very brave and dedicated man. He was just as proud as Hoerni, who upon recieving the picture, demanded that it be hung up despite hospital regulations, and called up his lifelong friend to boast on his deathbed.

#10 Three Cups of Tea

First off, I would like to apologize for how long it is taking me to finish this book. I am not as interested in it as some of the others, and it is going much slower than I would like. However I am now more than two thirds through, and plan to push to get through the rest of it.

As Greg Mortenson finished up his first school, several mafia-type men came to put a stop to it, claiming that it was un-Islamic and immoral to allow this American to infiltrate so easily. The leader of Korphe Haji Ali stayed calm and quietly bartered with the men until they had finally settled on the price of twelve of the village's largest rams. Mortenson explains that goats were very dear to the people, like "a firstborn child, prize cow, and family pet all rolled into one." They were so dear that the boys who cared for them cried as they handed them over. The decision wasn't even contemplated. Haji Ali readily agreed to the terms without even trying to lower the price. This village gave up their dearest possessions and companions to pay their way for this school. I could not help but think of all the teenagers in America who drop out daily because they could no longer be bothered with going. We take what we are given freely for granted. These children are giving up so much for a lot less than what we have here. It's not fair to them.

#9 Three Cups of Tea

After many, many set backs, Greg Mortenson has finally gotten started on building his school. But he is way behind where he ever believed he would be. Upon returning to Korphe the year prior, he was informed that it was almost winter and too late in the year to build a school. In addition, the people of Korphe had decided that they would first need to build a bridge across the raging river that separated Korphe from the rest of the world. It was a necessary set back: in addition to helping the people generally, it would also make it a lot easier for Mortenson to transport all the supplies. The second delay was Mortenson's marriage. Although the wedding itself was extremely quick, Greg and Tara kept postponing the date of his return to Pakistan in order to spend more time with each other as newlyweds. When he finally did come back, the construction had not come along as fast as he had hoped. The stone had been cut from its quarry, but not much else. They barely had time to set the foundation before winter came again. And of course the people of Korphe made a big deal about blessing it and feasting, so not much was done before Mortenson had to leave once again.
This homecoming trip was particularly important. That Thanksgiving, Jean Hoerni offered to help Mortenson make a career off of building schools in the east by endowing a foundation called the Central Asia Institute and making Motenson the Director. For the first time in a long time, Mortenson had a job, which paid him almost $22,000 a year. And Motrenson would need it. That winter, his wife Tara became pregnant. They got a house in Bozeman, Montana and Mortenson was on he way to a fairly stable lifestyle.

#8 Three Cups of Tea

Everything about Greg Mortenson has always been strange. You can understand that much from reading it. While he's homeless and penniless he strives to build a school for those who have even less than him. But even I was shocked when he got married after just four days. His first girlfriend in this book that he had dumped him when he got back to the states and took him a very long time to get over. But when he did he realised that she was not the one for him. Later, he met Tara Bishop while listening to Sir Edmund Hillary give a speech. He later confessed that at the time he was more excited about meeting Tara. They were married four days later. As a child who has gone through no less than three divorces, this is almost even more crazy than a homeless man building a shcool in a third-world country. Did they know anything about each other? How were they going to live? But at the same time, the hopless romantic part of me believed it was incredably sweet. They took each other while they had nothing to their name, and expected nothing else but the others heart. That is a true love that doesnt need anything more than four days.

#7 Three Cups of Tea

One thing I found funny about Greg Mortenson was how he said, "If I die in Pakistan, it'll be because of a traffic accident, not a bomb or a bullet." and how that "The real danger over there is the roads." They line mountain edges and are uneven so that one mistake could get you killed. The drivers are not the best around either. I find it funny that the absolute horror in our stereotypes pale in comparison to the experience the roads. It makes you think twice about being so judgemental.
I experienced the same fear of riding when I went to Mexico the summer before last. The highways were crazy and everyone drove like maniacs. Once, I had to even get out of the car in the middle of the road to retrieve something that was dropped. Thankfully no cars came by, or I probably would just be an oil stain on the asphalt somewhere by now. We were in Chiapas, a part of Mexico that now is in the middle of a big conflict. Even when we were there, we were once stopped by a millitary checkpoint to be searched. But every time you ask me what was the scariest part about Mexico, I will tell you the same thing. Driving.

#6 Three Cups of Tea

Upon returning to Pakistan, Greg Mortenson had 36432.1 rupees to live on in the months while he was there. This amounted to eight hundred U.S. dollars. He rented a room that was more of a cement box than anything, with a florescent light that he could not turn off. There was no air conditioning to save him from the sweltering heat. He had two shirts to his name.
Not many people could live like that. Just think of how much you spend and receive just by living. You need to pay for electricity, heating, mortgage. And you get in return a bright, warm, home. I would like to see one of us softies live in a cement box for several months with only eight hundred dollars to get us though it.
Right now, my dresser is overflowing with clothes since I have not yet put away my things from winter and my closet is similarly occupied. My room is an absolute mess and at that stage that you dread looking into it for you know you will have to clean it soon. But after reading about Greg Mortenson's living conditions and how they were better than most of those in Korphe I feel really appreciative of my room and the stuff in it. I am much luckier than some people to have so much.

#5 Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortenson came back to the States completely broke with almost nothing except the unfulfilled promise of building a school for Korphe. He resolved to mail 500 letters to movie stars, coorperations, anyone who might have been generous enough to donate to his cause. He calculated that he would need to raise $12,000 in order to build a five roomed school and pleaded everyone to give what they could in order to help reach this amount.
To say something more about his dedication, Mortenson did the first 300 letters on rented typewriters that were to small for his fingers, and it was such slow and tedious work that it took months to complete before he finally discovered how to use a computer. But even then the charity wasn't going as well as hoped. No one seemed interesed enough to contribute. That is, until he spoke about it at his mothers school to the children. What the adults could not understand, the elemetary school students understood immediatly, and they began raising money by collecting pennies. The first $623.45 Mortenson gathered was from these insignificant pennies given to him by kids.
Children truely are the world most pure hearted creatures. They understand love and giving without fail. They gave so much by giving so little. They could teach all of us a thing or two.

#4 Three Cups of Tea

It really sickens me to think of how we as students act towards school. We moan and complain, and never realize how privileged we are. The children of Korphe could not afford a teacher, which would cost about a dollar a day. So three days out of every week, the children would walk to a designated spot where a teacher from a neighboring town had agreed to teach them. The lucky ones would have slates to write on, and the others simply used sticks in the dirt. There they would sit, in the cold, writing out their multiplication tables. They often were not supervised, but unlike students here, they would work diligently, eager to learn.
It makes me sick to think that I complain or listen to complaints about school close to every day. We see school as an awful burden we cannot rid ourselves of, whereas these children see education as a priceless gift. If they could see our schools I'm certain they would regard it as heaven, and would be shocked to hear us complain as we do. It makes me feel ungrateful. Even now I am working on a computer while they write in dirt, I am learning Chemistry while they have to make do with the bare basics that the teacher can help them with. I eat three meals a day while they scarcly have sugar. I have no right to complain about school lunches, lessons, or how cold it is in the mornings. Not when they would do anything to take my place.

#3 Three Cups of Tea

When Greg Mortenson loses his way on his way home from his failed attempt at climbing K2, the people from the town of Korphe welcomed him with open arms. The children flocked him, the chief let him sleep in his home under the quilt from his wife's dowry, and honored him with a second cup of tea even though sugar was a rare and expensive luxury. He said they took him in with the hospitality that would be "unforgivable for any Balti not to display."
This made me think about how we treat people. We stereotype and judge people without knowing them. We shun those who are strangers to us, are quick to take offence, and withhold our forgiveness. Just think of how much better our lives would be if we treated everyone with this degree of warmth and hospitality.
If the people of Korphe are ready to give so much when they have so little we should be ashamed for not doing the same. We have indefinite more resources than they do and yet we would not think half so well of a stranger if he walked into our midst. I think it would do the world well if everyone was as good hearted as Korphe, who although they did not give much, they gave everything they had.

#2 Three Cups of Tea

Earlier in this year, I lost my little cousin. He was just a kid, still in school, had the rest of his life ahead of him. He was taken from us in an accident with an ATV four wheeler. It's one of those things you hear about and never imagine it happening to you, so when it does it is awful, raw, and unreal.
It was because of this awful experience with my cousin, Shane, that made me be able to relate to Greg Mortenson's reason for trying to climb K2. His sister had been terminal, and just recently died. In tribute to her memory, he was going to climb the worlds second highest mountain, his greatest challenge yet, and leave his sisters necklace at 28,267 feet. I almost cried when I read this, right in the middle of the school cafeteria. I felt so bad for him that he failed, because in a way, I knew his disappointment. Shane lived in South Carolina and his memorial was held on a weekday when I could not come. I felt horrible, because my father said he had never seen so many people congregate in the little town. Everyone had come, except me. I felt as if I had to do something, anything, to distinguish that I knew and loved this person, and that he was not just some other tragic victim. I didn't resolve to do anything so wild as to climb a mountain, but I did write a poem in his honor and submit it to a contest. I would like for it to win, to be a tribute to Shane, just as Greg Mortenson climbed for his sister.

Three Cups of Tea Greg Mortenson and David Relin 2006

I have been wanting to read this book for some time. I have heard some really good things about it, and it seems like the kind of story I would enjoy. I wish I had a little more insight to give on the subject, but the truth of the matter is I only got my hands on this copy today. I have only had time to read the first few pages, which is an introduction from the author, David Relin. He gives us his impression of Mr. Mortenson, who he says is an extraordinary man with a very bad since of time that could drive anyone crazy. He also introduces us to the poverty of the land by writing of his experience with flying to the small village of Korphe. Even though he does not even speak of the village itself, he gives us a preview of how bad things are just with the flight.
The best pilot around ignores the warning the fuel gauge give him, claiming it to be "notoriously unreliable" and smokes underneath the air crafts NO SMOKING sign. He navigates with only experience, a map, and a store bought GPS. As a passenger, I would not be comforted by this. If this is what the best flight there is like, i can only imagine what state of poverty Korphe must be in. It sounds like a place you would only find on accident, which is (i believe) what happened in this case. Luckily for Korphe, the person who found them was a selfless humanitarian bent on helping them.

#2 Diana Gabaldon 1991

I am almost sorry to say that I have finished Outlander. I thought it would take me a while to read, seeing as it is so big, but I didn't count on not being able to put it down long enough to breathe. As it is, I finished the 627 page book in merely five days. It was amazing. I put myself into Claire's shoes a lot while I was reading it, to try and discover what it must be like in a time that is not your own. Our generation has become so dependant on things like cell phones and computers. It would be almost inconceivable for us to live in a time where not even hot baths were available. I doubt many of us would take very well to the more primitive surroundings. I would like to think that I could have adjusted. Although I love the luxuries of today as much as anybody, I have always yearned for some sort of adventure.
Another aspect Claire must face is changing the future. She knows of the wars that will destroy clan life as it exists, and the potato famine to come. In trying to prevent these disasters she alters the course of history. Indeed just being there changes the future. The chain of events she creates causes one of her husband's ancestors to die before his time, creating the possibility that her future husband may never even be born.

Outlander Diana Gabaldon 1991

I have read a lot of books in my life. Anyone who knows me well will tell you the same thing. out of all the books I've read, this one just may be the best. I have not read something this addicting in a long time. It makes me want to read and nothing else.
It takes place in 1945 when a retired nurse and her husband return from the war and reunite after six years with a second honeymoon in Scotland. one day the nurse, Claire, comes upon a structure like a miniature Stonehenge. Upon her misfortune of falling between a split rock she is transported back thorough time to the year 1743. The story follows her as she is saved from the lusty English soldiers from Scots of the McKenzie clan and is further protected by being married off to the incredible Jamie Fraser.
I must say it is a habit of mine to fall in love with fictional book characters. Jamie Fraser is no exception. The two most appealing physical traits I find in a man are red hair and an accent. Jamie has both, along with the build of a Highland Scottish Warrior that would make most girls go weak in the knees. In additon he has a sense of honor, pride, and most importantly a sense of humor. Other than that, he is the type of man that only existed 210 years ago and only now in fantasy.

Quick Mention

I am afraid i will no longer be writing about Sense and Sensibilities and Sea monsters. It was a good book, but a quick read and do not have much more to comment on it save to applaud its wit and hilarity. It is a charming book for those who wish to read it and I highly recommend it.

Sense and Sensiblity and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters 2009

Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters puts a new spin on Jane Austen's classic. The Dashwood sisters grow up in the time of the Alteration, where all of the creatures of the sea have turned against humans and mutations have caused mermaids, seawitches and sea monsters to form. It is my opinion that the monsters make the satire much funnier and ridiculous. Upon the insult to her eldest daughter Elinor, Mrs. Dashwood decides to move their family out of the house belonging to their relations, to a seaside shack on the island chain of the Devonshire coast, the most feared in all of Britain. Later the extremity is shown again when the Dashwoods are visited by their landlord and cousin, Sir John, his wife (a captured island princesses), and their son. A quote given states that, "On every formal visit a child ought to be of party, by way of discourse, or in extreme cases, if someone needs be thrown overboard to satisfy the piranhas trailing the boat." Later, when Edward, the flame of Elinor, does not visit her sister, Marianne, confides to her mother that she believes he must have met a horrible fate with a sea monster, and can fathom no other reason why he has not visited already.
The absurdity of the book and it's situations do wonderfully to complement Jane Austen's satire, exspecially for someone such as myself who takes everything I read far too literally. I can't wait to keep reading.

#3 Dave Barry Talks Back by Dave Barry 1991

In one article Dave Barry admits to his readers that he is a really "big weenie". Every time he sees something scary, there is a part of him that convinces himself that it is possible. Once as a teenager he was so scared after seeing a scary movie that his date had to drive him home.
I have to say, it came as a very big relief that I am not the only (or the biggest) weenie in this world. Take just yesterday for example: I watched a movie on the sci-fi channel called Abominable. As you probably can guess, it was about the abominable snowman preying upon unsuspecting mountain tourists. I spent most of the time laughing at the majorly flawed plot line and downright stupid effects. They made no effort to make the blood not look like makeup, and I have a very high suspicion that they stole the Ewok masks off the set of StarWars to make their ambominable snowman costume. And yet despite all of that, I had to convice myself that the snowman was stupid, not real, and even if it was, what would it be doing in the middle of the city, at my house? I felt really stupid. But listening to Dave Barry having to convince himself the same thing about the Brainsucker, I felt a little more comforted in the fact that I am not alone.

(P.S. I am sorry to note that I have finished with Dave Berry's fabulous book, and I hope to read more from him to come)

#2 Dave Barry Talks Back by Dave Barry 1991

At one point, Dave lets lose on the police. They pulled him over one day because his registration had expired to write him a ticket on the side of the road "to avoid getting hit by the steady stream of unlicensed and uninsured motorists driving their stolen cars with their left hands so their right hands would be free to keep their pit bulls from spilling their cocaine all over their machine guns. Not that I'm bitter."
I share some of this same resentment towards roadside policemen. Once I was driving with my father when he spotted a state trooper car. We both glanced at the speedometer and found to our relief that we were going the speed limit. In addition, my father's radar did not go off, so we knew he didn't try to read us. But of course he pulled us over anyway, and had the gall to lie and said we were going over the speed limit. And that is not the worst of my police expirences.
Once when I was really little while I was at my grandmothers house, I fell and hit my head on a brick. We were an hour away from the nearest hospital, so my grandmother (who had not even dared to go past the speed limit) put on her emergency lights, which she mistakenly believed they were for. About ten minutes from the hospital, we were pulled over. My grandmother explained our situation, and instead of giving us a police escourt, like any SANE person would have done, told her to call an ambulence if I needed it that bad. (Hello? She just told you we lived an hour away!!) He let us off with a warning, but stopped us again to tell us her emergency lights were still on. I needed eight stiches to the head, and he still stopped us a second time!
I salute Dave, who immediatly after he got out of traffic court, made an illegal u-turn. Stick it to the man, Dave, stick it to the man.

Dave Barry Talks Back by Dave Barry 1991

Upon first reading Dave Barry's book, I did not think that I liked it very much. This is because it made me feel like the time someone told my friends and I if you said the word "gullible" really slowly it would sound like you had said "green beans". So of course my friends and I all start saying, "gu-ll-ib-le...", only to smack ourselves on our foreheads two seconds later. I couldn't ever figure out if Dave Barry was making fun of ludicrous claims and ideas, or if he was making the whole thing up. No one would really ever be stupid enough to blow up a whale, would they? To answer myself: Yes, yes they would. (I looked up the video on You Tube.) Once I figured out that all of his topics were real (sort of) I could enjoy his humor, laughing with him at the rest of the world and their ridiculous stories. Silly, silly world...
Dave seems particularly interested in things that blow up, whale carcases being only one example. He also studies spontaneous combustive cows, pigs, snails, toliets, and potatoes. He is very intregued by the subject and suggest we stay away from all objects until the matter is resolved. I think everyone should try and follow his suggestion. This is a very serious matter, and we need to heed him.

To see exploding whale video, click HERE

# 6 East of Eden John Steinbeck 1952

Today I finished East of Eden and I have to say, the book did not disappoint. Although admittedly I did bang the book against the table because I was so angry. I should have seen it coming. I know the story of Cain and Able, and I should have seen where it was going. (WARNING, the next few sentences are a spoiler for those who have not read the book) Adam Trask was the one who really made me angry. He was so proud of Aron for choosing to finish school early and go to college, and Cal wanted to make his father proud too. Instead of going the same path Aron did, he made a fortune in business and presented the money to his father. His father would not take it, claiming that rightfully belonged to the farmers who grew the crop that Cal got rich off of, and told Cal that a real gift would have been going to college like Aron had. In addition to being unforgivably rude, Aron was not even worthy of his fathers compliment. He confessed to Cal earlier that day that he did not want to return to college, and would rather settle down on a ranch. It hurt Cal vary much, and jealousy drove him to hurt his brother in the only way he could: introducing him to their mother. Aron went into a fit of rage, and ended up running away to be a soldier in the war, where he ended up dying.
But unlike in the Bible, this story has somewhat of a happier ending. Even though Adam Trask has a stroke afterward and can do very little, he forgives Cal and gives him his blessing. The last word he said was of great significance to the book. Timshel- Thou mayest. When put in the context it is used in the Bible, it is saying that you may serve the Lord, and that you do not have to. You are free to do as you will. With it, he set Cal free.

#5 East of Eden John Steinbeck 1952

At one point in my book, Aron goes away to college, leaving his family and his girlfriend, Abra, behind. While he was away he became more in love with Abra than he had certainly ever shown before. He wrote notes, composed poems, and could not wait to return to her again. It reminds me of a saying I have heard before that goes "absence makes the heart grow fonder." I happen to be a believer of this truth. Almost my entire family lives in South Carolina, and although I do not get to see them often, I have several cousins that are as close to me as sisters. (108) Both my father and two of my younger siblings also live in South Carolina, and we have a wonderful relationship together that we might have taken for granted if they had lived closer.
The one problem where the story is concerned, however, is that Abra believes he is building her up far too much. He only sees what he wants her to be, pure, young, and beautiful with no flaws. She becomes frightened that when he comes back and rediscovers these flaws he will no longer love her as much. Aron is doing the same thing to Abra that is father before him did to Cathy. He is blinding himself by his fantastical vision and is unable to see what is really there. I wonder if Stienbeck made that analogy on purpose, to illustrate how much like his father Aron really is. If this is the case, I believe Aron will react in a similar way of his father when he finds out who his mother really is.

#4 East of Eden John Steinbeck 1952

Recently in the book, Cal confronted his mother, Cathy. He had been following her for a long time, and when she called him out on it he explained who he was and why he was following her. I have to say that this revelation came as a bit of a relief to me. I was afraid that at one point one of the boys might have gone to the whore house she owned and accidentally... well, you get the idea. But now, Cathy has been following Aron around, as now he is the only one of her sons that she has not met. My new theory is that Aron will finally learn of the truth from her and make the discovery that much more painful. His own father and loving brother kept this from him, while his lying, runaway mother would have told him the truth. It is bound to stir up more family trouble than it would have had Adam or Cal told him in the first place.
I'm going to get a little off topic now, going back to the beginning of the book. Both Cathy and Adam's brother, Charles both had marks on their foreheads, bruises that they had acquired that never went away. These characters were the two that were the most corrupt, and I knew it must have been symbolic for something, I just never knew what. Now, I am more certian of just what that is. When Cain killed his brother Able, God banished him, but marked him so that none may kill him. He was forced to wander alone forever. Charles and Cathy were marked the same way. Both of them lived solitary and very lonely lives.