People of the Book

Complex and intriguing, Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book takes the reader on a book's journey through time. But the point isn't the book, it's the people around it. It's the people that created it and protected it. Here are a few quotes:

Page 195:  "Well, from what you've told me, the book has survived the same human disaster over and over again. Think about it. You've got a society where people tolerate difference, like Spain in the Convivencia, and everything's humming along: creative, prosperous. Then somehow this fear, this hate, this need to demonize 'the other' - it just sort of rears up and smashes the whole society. Inquisition, Nazis, extremist Serb nationalists...same old, same old. It seems to me the book, at this point, bears witness to all that." 

Page 214:  I let the white grains fall from my hand onto a weary, rust-edged lettuce leaf. Thousands of feet below, the salty waves of an unseen ocean heaved and crashed in the dark. 

Page 232:  It did not even occur to David to consult Ruti herself about this, or any other matter. Had he done so, he would have been most surprised by the result. He did not realize it, but his love for his daughter marched hand in hand with a kind of contempt for her. He saw his daughter as a kind-hearted, dutiful, but vaguely pitiable soul. David, like many people, had made the mistake of confusing "meek" with "weak." 

Page 239:  But some things on earth were possible, and some were not, and Ruti knew the difference. 

Piranesi

I love to read what my daughter is reading, so when Sidra recommended Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke, I was eager. I read it while visiting Germany and Spain in September, which seemed an apt setting. The story has a European feel, in its evocative world of labyrinthine halls filled with great staircases and marble statues. Very transportive. The tale is told from an intriguing point of view - by someone who had lost grasp of what is happening, who he is, and how he'd come to be there. Yet he strives to be rational and scientific. He keeps journals and lists. It was a trip to watch him evolve. 

What a cool story. Here are two quotes: 

Page 27:  It was the very depths of Winter. Snow was piled on the Steps of the Staircases. Every Statue in the Vestibules wore a cloak or shroud or hat of snow. Every Statue with an outstretched Arm (of which there are many) held an icicle like a dangling sword or else a line of icicles hung from the Arm as if it were sprouting feathers.

Page 174:  He led me to a sitting room. The Berlioz was playing. He turned down the volume but it still played in the background of our conversation, the soundtrack of catastrophe.

All the Birds in the Sky

I'm part of a book club with wide and eclectic taste. All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders is a quirky, creative sci fi with a twist on the classic science-versus-magic scenario. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of opposing views with the same goal: to save humanity. All about perspective. 

These are some pretty random quotes that don't explain much of the storyline, which was hip and satisfying. In any case, I was charmed by the author's relatable moments and cool imagery. 

Page 32:  On the long drive home Laurence tuned out his parents explaining to him that life isn't an adventure, for chrissake, life is a long slog and a series of responsibilities and demands. When Laurence was old enough to do what he liked, he would be old enough to understand he couldn't do what he liked. 

Page 243:  Magic was always bound to claim her in the end, in retrospect, but love was the most susceptible to fandom failure of all. 

Page 254:  The chapel clenched granite and stained-glass fists, their knuckles spiked with gargoyles.