Adams vs. Jefferson pt. 1

Politics, politics. Again, the more I read the more I learn. Simple, I know. Anyway, now I'm reading this book by John Ferling about the election of 1800. It's part of a series of books called Pivotal Moments In American History.

I'm glad I already read the biography of Abigail Adams, because it gives me a bit of an advantage with which to tackle the onslaught of names and events in this book. It kinda makes me proud that I actually retained some of the information. Most of the book so far has given background info on the people and politics involved in the early formation of the US government. How were we to handle the relationship between Britain and France? Should our government be modeled after Britain's or was that just too sore a subject? Slaves or no slaves?

Adams and Jefferson had thought they were inseparable friends, but their differing opinions on the French revolution and the lifestyles they led tore them apart.

Adam's Curse conclusion

I really am starting to learn a lot of things from this reading endeavor. I'm glad I've pursued it. That said...

Sykes managed to keep a typical secular viewpoint without making me uncomfortable in the process. I don't know if it's because I could hear his suave British accent in the pages or what. He has a definite opinion about abortion that surprised me, calling it "murder in the womb." And his idea of the eventual disappearance of men has to do with increasing male infertility and the potential of the mitochondrial DNA (only passed on through women) to do away with producing sons entirely.

It's an interesting theory. One I won't be around to test. But like I said, I learned a lot about genetics that I would have never been able to stomach from a textbook.

I'll give it a 3

Adam's Curse pt. 2

I'm in pain as I type this because I donated plasma and they bruised my pinky finger, trying to get blood out of it. OW!

Nothing terrible controversial happening yet. I'm a little over halfway through the book. In this section, Sykes looks at y-chromosomes in various parts of the world, trying to find their common male ancestor. He also tackles the question of why do we even have sex when we could just clone. His answer isn't that we do it to spread apart the genes and help our evolutionary chances down the road, as some geneticist propose. Rather he narrows it down to the simple fact that the micro-organisms living inside us have a better chance of keeping us alive if they are varied slightly from generation to generation. If we were all exact replicas of our ancestors, we would never have survived the black plague or other major epidemics.

He hasn't talked about this potential future without men yet. We'll see what happens.

Adam's Curse pt. 1

Geneticist, Bryan Sykes, tackles the Y-chromosome in my current book Adam's Curse: A Future Without Men. I thought I was going to really hate this book due to its controversial nature, but so far I'm learning a lot. This is why it benefits to not judge a book by its cover. I'm sure the controversial stuff is soon to follow, but I'm keeping an open and analytical mind.

Sykes is a natural storyteller. This is definitely not textbook hum-drum. Rather, he takes the reader on a journey (cliché) through the history of scientific discovery regarding chromosomes and genes and how they work. It's not too lofty for the novice and not too dumbed down for the expert. It's just an enjoyable read.

So far.

Adam the King conclusion

It was an interesting ending I guess. Lewis' main flaw was that he tried to include himself as part of the story without actually being part of the story. He wrote about things his character couldn't possibly know and then tried to cover it up by suggesting that that's how he imagined it would have been. Kinda takes you out of the story just long enough to stop caring about the characters. He interfered with it, in other words.

So, since I didn't form any connection with the story, I didn't mind terribly when the main character died. Yeah, no spoiler alerts for you. Oh well.

It earned a 2

Adam the King pt. 1

This is a short novel by Jeffrey Lewis. The setting is modern-day Maine, where a wealthy man (Adam) has just built a luxurious new home for him, his new bride, and her two adopted daughters. The locals aren't sure what to make of this rich new stranger, but Verne Hubbard and her boyfriend Roy get involved when Adam offers to purchase Verne's small property for over a million dollars. Verne isn't willing to part with the property because it's all that survives of her fathers legacy. But Roy want to get rich and is pressuring her to accept the offer.

I feel like I'm missing out on some secret information of which Lewis has yet to inform the reader. Adam's new marriage to Maisie seems to be based more on obligation than love. I guess I'll find out as I read more.

A couple of Adams

I had a lot of riding in a car today, so I cracked through two short books.

The first is Adam Sandler by Bill Crawford. Everything you can know about the Sandman is in this short book. That's because he's such a private person. Naw, it's a well done book, very enjoyable. It was written just before Little Nicky came out, so it's not exactly complete, but it's enough to confirm that Adam is a sick, dirty, funny man.

A 2 from me.

The second book is Adam Spencer's Book of Numbers, which is a much more enjoyable read than the similarly named book in the Bible. Spencer goes gives interesting facts about each whole number 1-100. I say "interesting" because it's piques the interest of someone somewhere. It's short. The cover calls it "A bizarre and hilarious journey...", but I'm not sure I'd go THAT far. It's humorous enough for the plebeian and academic enough for the mathematician. If you happen to read it cover to cover, it can drag a bit toward the end, but I'm probably one of the few to do that, so I think you're safe.

It didn't change my life or anything. I give it a 2 as well.

Adam Fuss

Adam Fuss: Essay by Eugenia Parry

Sometimes I have a hard time using the word "artist" to describe myself. This is because so many artists are complete lunatics. In my opinion, true art is creative but also humble. If you have to try to make more out of it than what is really there, it's lost its artistic element. I'm not speaking of abstract art that requires the person to see through the surface to define the work. I'm more talking about the artist himself, who sees something he's done, and then tries desperately to extract some meaning from it to bring some purpose to his own life.

This is how I feel about Adam Fuss. Some of his photography is pretty great, but some of it seems quite vapid. At least the book was short.

1

Adam Bede conclusion

What a strange ending! It almost like the book was too climactic in the middle to justify the long drawn-out ending. Everyone seemed happy in the end, but by then, I had sorta stopped caring.

It was good writing, but not one of her best.
3

Adam Bede pt. 5

WHAT???!!!

Supremely aggravated! Hetty is a moron.

Adam Bede pt. 4

"Pity that consequences are determined not by excuses but by actions!"

The book has gone from interesting to exciting! Why, then, is it taking so long to read? Because it's 600 pages, that's why.

I don't wanna ruin the story for anyone who's not read it, but Hetty is being a MORON!!! I just want to strangle that girl. One of George Eliot's strengths is that her characters can be placed in a crazy storyline and still be realistic. No one is one-dimensional. Everyone has character flaws and everyone has redemptive qualities. I just hope that Adam doesn't get his heart broken too much.

*bites nails*

Adam Bede pt. 3

"All passion become strength when it has an outlet from the narrow limits of our personal lot in the labour of our right arm, the cunning of our right hand, or the still, creative activity of our thought."

Alas, Dinah has gone back home, and Seth has no assurance of ever seeing her again. Meanwhile, BIRTHDAY PARTY!! Arthur Donnethorne, has come of age to inherit and is throwing a party for the whole town. He has currently decided to stop leading Hetty on, but she is still leading Adam on. The big news is that Arthur has hired Adam to be in charge of the woods. No more working for the little guy. Now he'll be working for the MAN.

Adam Bede pt. 2

"Yes! thank God; human feeling is like the mighty rivers that bless the earth: it does not wait for beauty - it flows with resistless force and brings beauty with it."

George Eliot's writing style let's the audience participate in the story. We know this is a story. We are supposed to believe that the story is a true one, and that Eliot is merely retelling it, having heard the account from Adam Bede himself, after the events took place. She also has a way of telling the story in both past and present tense, something which is fervently poo-pooed in writing classes, but works rather well in this case.

By this stage in the book, two men are in love with the same girl. Hetty is the prettiest girl in town, but true to cliche she's doesn't have the beauty of character to compliment her good looks. This is not to say that she's a terrible person, just young, naive, and totally aware of how well she catches the eyes of men in town. Poor Adam Bede loves her. I'm not sure how well he loves her, because I haven't seen them interact yet, but I have a feeling he could just as easily love someone else. Arthur Donnethorne, the local landowner, is also in love with Hetty. He knows however, that she is far beneath his class, and that his attentions toward her could never come of anything serious. Too bad for Hetty that she's already been kissed by Arthur and is now planning the rest of her life with him.

Adam Bede pt. 1

"When death, the great Reconciler, has come, it is never our tenderness that we repent of, but our severity." Adam Bede is one of the lesser-known classics by George Eliot.

This story takes place in 1799 in the rural English town of Hayslope. A young methodist preacher named Dinah has come into town and shaken things up a bit. Adam and his brother Seth Bede have just discovered their father dead in a river after a night of drinking. Seth has taken a pious fancy to Dinah, but she's determined to live the celibate life, while Adam has fallen for her cousin Hetty.

There is a full helping of quotable quotes so far. It'll take a week to read this one, so I'll try to grace the blog with something beyond my normal claptrap.

Adam and Evil pt. 2

Wow. Lots of action in a short period of time. I certainly can't say that this book was believable, but when I read mysteries, I don't need them to be. Our hero, Amanda Pepper came out of the experience alive and found the murderer before the innocent suspect was caught.

There were a few loose ends I would have liked to follow. Like, will Adam's parents finally see how desperately in need of psychiatric help he is? Will the girls in Ms. Pepper's class get to release their expose about the criminal activity within the school?

Well..it is fiction. So the answer to these questions is NO. Because none of this exists. I liked this book. The cast of characters was small enough that it was easy to suspect the real killer at least some of the time. But the subplots were a delightful distraction. I wouldn't call it great literature, but that designation is incredibly rare in mystery fiction.

I'll grace it with a 3

Adam and Evil pt. 1

Sounds daunting, doesn't it? Today's book is Adam and Evil, a mystery novel by Gillian Roberts, another female mystery novelist.

The main character is Amanda Pepper, English teacher at Philly Prep and girlfriend of a homicide policeman. The book opens with her sharing suspicions of one of her students, Adam Evans. So far, Adam fits the description of your typical, teenage sociopath. During a class trip to the library (YAY!), a woman is strangled to death. Adam is suspect (and conveniently disappears), but it could also be the woman's ex-husband, ex-lover, or sister who are involved.

I don't know who done it yet, but I'd sure love to find out. Roberts is an enjoyable read, and she does stick to writing what she knows: a character who loves literature. Unlike some mysteries, the clues are obvious to spot so far. It's just a matter of putting them together and learning more.

Ada Byron Lovelace

Ada Byron Lovelace: the lady and the computer by Mary Dodson Wade is short and sweet. This biography of Lord Byron's daughter is perfect for the curious person (like me) who wants to know who this woman is without having to wade through a 600 page bore fest.

The book tells of Ada's amazing aptitude for mathematics in a time when women were discouraged from in depth study of any kind. The jacket makes the claim that it's her intelligence and imagination that led to the creation of the first computer, but the book ends with her death and doesn't let us understand where the connection is made between her ideas and the eventual success of them. She is depicted as brilliant but rather despicable in her self importance and apathy toward her family.

If you're in high school and need to write a brief biographical essay, pick up this book. Otherwise, this book only earns a 2

Ada Blackjack

In case anyone's curious, and I know you are, I haven't been lazy at reading lately. Just lazy at blog posts.

My latest book is called Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival In the Arctic by Jennifer Niven. I was unfamiliar with the history of Ada Blackjack before reading this book, so it was easy to get into the suspense. The book is about the early 1920's expedition by four men and one Eskimo woman to the unexplored Wrangell Island. Using personal diaries, news reports of the time, and letters exchanged between family members, Niven pieces together a well-told story of the experiences of the crew and the famous arctic explorer who funded them, Vilhjalmur Stefansson. In the book, no one is fully hero, victim, or responsible for the troubles experienced.

At first, I thought the book was ill-titled because Niven tells a lot of background about the men on the expedition, but upon reading more, I discovered why that was important. I'm not one who romanticizes the Arctic, and I've never had much desire to visit, but this story was suspenseful and interesting. In case you don't know the ending, I won't be the one to break it to you because I think this book is well worth the read to find out.

A strong 4