The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew, Book 1)

The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew, Book 1) by Carolyn Keene

This is the first Nancy Drew book. Nancy is the daughter of a lawyer and has a bad relationship with some snobbish girls. She helps uncover a robbery ring in the city and then leads to the discovery of the missing will of a rich man in town. Previously, the family of the snobs was set to inherit all. However, with the new will, the wealth is spread around to many people in town as well as charitable organizations. The snob family gets only a small pittance, leading to their ruin. The story is slow moving at first, and feels like it is trying to be a teen drama. Then it eventually shifts to detective mode and reaches a decent conclusion.

The Little Engine That Could

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (Author), George Hauman (Illustrator), Doris Hauman (Illustrator)

In this original Little Engine story, a train with toys and other goodies breaks down. A few engines give various excuses for not pulling the train. The little engine pulls the train. "I Think I Can. I think I can". He makes it. He thought he could. The simplicity and the toys asking for help make this better than the many imitations.

Number: The Language of Science

Number: The Language of Science by tobias dantzig

Numbers are a basic part of our lives today. Where did they come from? This book was originally written almost a century ago. However, many of the topics covered date back millenia. Numbers and language evolved and became more complex. While people have some innate number sense, the adoption of linguistic numbers was a significant breakthrough. We still use base-10 today because we have 10 fingers. Concepts like 0 and the use of algebraic variables had a significant impact on the use of numbers, but didn't come into place until much later. Rational, irrational and imaginary numbers came about only after significant work. Infinity was an interesting concept that took a while to come about. Primes and other components also played a key role and gradually came about. Many of the basic concepts we think of today were centuries in the making.

The 42nd Parallel

The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos

The narrative of 42nd Parallel is interspersed with "newsreals" and biographies of historical figures. At times I'm not sure if I am learning about a person from the story or somebody from history. The focus is on "working people". They are enticed by socialism. However, they also need to work jobs, and will not let ideology get in the way of work. There are various struggles that they run into in living in the society. One of the primary characters works primarily in print shops. The industry is changing, and there are different opportunities. He ends up in Mexico where he gets employment, but also gets caught up in the revolution. Along the way, plenty of people are willing to offer advice, some of it good. Everyone is struggling to find their place in the world and among other people. I did enjoy the style of the book, and was able to follow it most of the time.

Faulkner Audio Collection

This Faulkner audio collection includes a selection of short stories read by various narrators as well as some excerpts and a Nobel Acceptance speech read by Faulkner himself. The stories are told with a bit of a southern twang and are understandable. Faulkner's bits, however, might as well be in a different language. The thick, soft-spoken southern accent strains the ear to hear. The stories themselves typically spend a long time with people in a southern culture and then have a gothic twist (often at the ending.) For example, in "Rose for Emily", Emily is a recluse that has recently passed away. Only at the end of the story do we discover the dead body that was stored in a room. It is interesting to ponder that at the time of the writing of some stories that the Civil War was more recent than the Korean War is to us today.

Stories included are:
Rose for Emily
The Evening Sun
Spotted Horses
Barn Burning
Wash

Luzhin Defense

The Luzhin Defense is one of Nabakov's earlier novels, originally published in Russian in 1930 and not translated into English until 1964. The title character, Luzhin is an awkward, likely autistic man who is an excellent chess player. As a youth, he does not have friends, but develops a passion for chess after he has been introduced. He reaches grandmaster level and becomes engaged to a girl (much to her parent's chagrin.) However, during a high level tournament, he has a nervous breakdown. Chess appears to be the cause of his problems, and he must ween himself from it to be healthy again. He does, and soon makes a recovery. However, he later encounters people and events from his past, eventually having his mental health fade again.
In the introduction, Nabakov claims he structured the novel like a chess match, complete with surprises and rapid turns. It does have a focus on chess, yet understanding of the game is not required to understand the novel. Nabokov does seem to enjoy picking something external (like a chess game or literary criticism) as a vehicle for structuring novels. In the Luzhin defense he is successful in creating an accessible story out of a chess match.

As I Lay Dying

I've realized that I just don't like Faulkner. I want to like his work because of the style in which in writes. However, I just don't like the content. The characters are mostly dysfunctional southerners who live a type of life I can't relate to. The language of some can be even more annoying. I just can't get arouse much sympathy or even hatred for the characters - just annoyance.

In this novel, the characters plan on the fulfil the wishes of burying mother in a nearby town. Each chapter is told from the view of a different character, and each seems to have their own ulterior motives. This leads to all sorts of bizarre and comedic things happening as they try to get mother to her proper burial spot.