Thus Concludes 2014

Another enjoyable reading year "in the books."  This post recaps the year and presents what I consider the best of the bunch.

It's harder than you'd think to calculate how many books I read this year, mostly because I don't feel obligated to finish books that don't interest me.  So, according to my spreadsheet, I completed 73 books this year, but read 10%-75% of  11 more works. Those 'partials' totaled 1208 pages read, so I feel obligated to include them- that's a lot of time.  So let's make it 84 books read, and those totaled  20,741 pages- about 57 pages a day.  That takes less than an hour- it's not nearly as imposing as some think, especially when 3,474 of those pages were listened to on my commute into work over the final half of the year.

Of the 84 books, 10 were audiobooks (a new thing for me- see here for thoughts), 5 were eBooks, and 26 came from the library or friends.  I rated 19 a solid 'A' or higher, and 18 a 'C' or lower.  By category, I read 22 graphic novels, 17 history, 8 literature, 7 religion, 7 Arthurian/Robin Hood, 4 historical fiction, 4 leadership, and a smattering of other genres.  I created an American Reading List (similar to what I did in Britain (here, here, and here)), and read 12 works on it.

Here are my top ten reads from this year:

Alexandre Dumas: The Count of Monte Cristo (review)
Wilson Rawls: Where the Red Fern Grows (review)
Barbara Tuchman: The Guns of August (review)
Erich  Maria Remarque: All Quiet on the Western Front (review)
Tom Reiss: Black Count (review)
Alfred Lansing: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage (review)
Marc Morris: The Norman Conquest (review)
Rosemary Sutcliff: The King Arthur Trilogy (review)
Tedd Tripp: Shepherding a Child's Heart (review)
Candice Millard: Destiny of the Republic (review)

Of these ten, five were pure history.  I'm noticing that my trips to the library and bookstore are increasingly focused on the history section.  A good history book can be as thrilling/interesting as fiction, and informative to boot.

Happy reading in 2015!

A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

I assume most people know the story of A Christmas Carol- how Ebenezer Scrooge, the stingiest man in town, changes his life after a visitation by four spirits.  It's been re-told countless times, in countless ways.  I had seen several movie/TV versions (my favorite being the animated The Stingiest Man in Town; a sample picture is shown below), but never actually read the book by the incomparable Charles Dickens.  As I expected, it was great, and the illustrations by P.J. Lynch in this particular edition are similarly outstanding.  May we take the tale's lesson to heart, and "God bless us, every one."

Rating: A+

The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is one of my favorite Christmastime stories.  Most are familiar with the ballet, first performed in 1892 with famous music by Tchaikovsky.  What I didn't realize until recently (shame on me) is that, like many things, the book came first.  Written in 1816 by E.T.A. Hoffman in Germany, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King tells the tale of toys that come to life and do battle with the evil mouse king, ultimately hoping to restore the nutcracker's previous princely form (he was transformed by a spell after saving Princess Pirlipat from the same condition, wrought on her by the mouse king's mother).  Alexandre Dumas wrote a French version of the tale in 1844, and the aforementioned ballet was based on this edition, and thus differs from the original.  It's been a while since I've seen the ballet; the primary difference from the original appears to be a lesser emphasis on the nutcracker himself, and addition of things like the sugarplum fairy.  Below are two versions I've read recently.

The Nutcracker (E.T.A. Hoffmann, illustrated by Maurice Sendak)

The original tale translated and illustrated by the same artist who drew Where the Wild Things Are, this is a good version of the story, and perhaps the best starting point.  At 100 pages, it won't take you long.

The Nutcracker (Michael Hague)

This version combines elements of the original story and of the ballet (but gives preference to the former).  A very well-done 'hybrid' between the two.  At 50 pages, Hague condenses the original tale well, and this is the best version for young children.  The author also has a nice note in the back explaining some history of the tale.

Fall of Giants (Ken Follett)

After penning many successful thrillers, in 1989 author Ken Follett turned to historical novels and published Pillars of the Earth- a tale about a village building a cathedral in Medieval England.  It was extremely successful; he returned to thrillers, but in 2008, Follett wrote a sequel of sorts (set 100 years later) called World Without End, also well-received.  Perhaps encouraged by these successes, he decided to produce a "century trilogy"- three historical novels that follow generations of five families (Welsh, American, English, German, and Russian) throughout the course of the 20th century.  The first, Fall of Giants, is the subject of today's review.

Not surprisingly, Fall of Giants focuses on World War I.  It also, however, gives considerable time to women and workman in England fighting for rights in a society dominated by aristocracy, the revolution in Russia which overthrew the Czar and installed the Bolsheviks as the ruling elite, and touches on American society, prohibition, and President Woodrow Wilson.  We learn about these situations and issues primarily through the eyes of the following characters, whose stories are intertwined throughout the book:
- Ethel Williams, Welsh house-servant to the Fitzherbert family
- Billy Williams, brother to Ethel, Welsh miner and sergeant in WWI
- Earl Fitzherbert, English aristocrat, member of the House of Lords and officer in WWI
- Maud Fitzherbert, sister to the Earl and ardent supporter of women's rights
- Walter von Ulrich, friend of the Fitzherberts, German aristocrat and spy/officer in WWI
- Gus Dewar, American White House worker, originally from Buffalo
- Lev Peshkov, Russian immigrant who settles in Buffalo
- Grigori Peshkov, brother of Lev, who remains behind in Russia and gets plays a prominent part in the Revolution after fighting in WWI

I loved both Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, so I was quite excited to experience Fall of Giants.  I was mildly disappointed.  Fall of Giants suffers in part from trying to tackle a lot of history and interleave a thriller element into the narrative at the same time.  As a result, some situations seemed implausible/unrealistic (like friends on opposite sides meeting on the western front), and some dialogue felt forced/contrived (some characters seemed to be impossibly well-informed about world events, probably for the reader's sake).  Characters were largely stereotypical, and history was simplified (WWI is extremely complex, to be fair).  Follett did his homework, and he's a good writer; I don't want to take that away from him.  This book was pretty good- it just wasn't great, and that's what I was expecting.  Perhaps it was just too much material for one volume.

Rating: A-

The Hobbit (The Battle of the Five Armies)

Another year, another Hobbit movie.  The conclusion of the one-book-made-trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies completes what An Unexpected Journey (reviewed here) and The Desolation of Smaug (here) started: the tale of a band of dwarves seeking to reclaim their homeland and the riches therein, and a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who accompanies them.  Picking up where film two left off, the dragon is out and about, wreaking havoc on Laketown; the dwarves are in Erebor, and looking for the Arkenstone; Gandalf is in Dol Guldur.  I can summarize the plot for this movie rather easily: the dragon falls, armies of all types converge on Erebor for riches, renown, or ruin, and Gandalf is assisted from unexpected quarters.

I gave the first two films high marks despite notable additions to (and departures from) Tolkien's book; I expected the final film to bring it all together, and fully planned on forgiving the embellishments and alterations after viewing (what I hoped would be) a tight conclusion that weaved everything together and proved the changes, if not necessary, at least understandable, interesting, and valuable.  Alas, alas.  It pains me to say that I was quite disappointed.

The bulk of this movie is just one big fight, the titled battle (understandably) taking center stage.  Parts were stretched and overdone (not unexpected- this is, after all, one-book-made-trilogy), but other parts were glossed over and underdeveloped (which seems inexcusable given the circumstance).  The action and scenery/CG were astounding, as in the first two films, but some sequences were so over-the-top that I laughed out loud more than once.  The characters weren't nearly as well developed as in the Lord of the Rings movies, and some of them, as well as certain plot elements, seemed just plain ridiculous.  It seems that much was sacrificed for the sake of action . . . which is far from the spirit of the book.

The six Middle Earth movies now being complete, they are alike only in that they all offer impressive fantasy worlds and effects.  They differ in most other ways- the Lord of the Rings wins for character development, dialogue, story integrity, and overall value.  The Hobbit could have- and in hindsight, should have- been done in two movies.  I don't know if the rumors are true- that the studio insisted on three to milk the franchise- but it sure seemed like it.  Too much of a good thing is a bad thing; we see that here.

Rating: C

Austria

Our four visits to Austria (4/08 to Innsbruck, 6/08 to Salzburg, 1/09 to Lech, and 5/11 to Ehrenberg) weren't nearly enough.  The country is dominated by the Alps, and the beauty is striking.  It also has an Eastern European flavor to it, though I think it's technically part of 'the west' (it narrowly avoided becoming a Soviet state after WWII- some country crests denote an eagle with broken shackles around talons which are holding a hammer & sickle, respectively, to commemorate the escape, as shown below.  Other country crests drop the shackles and have a scepter and orb instead.  It's a minor difference, but interesting).

Salzburg
Without verifying, I believe Salzburg is the tourism capital of the country, with good reason.  Gardens and beautiful architecture abound, and the impressive castle commands a wonderful view of the amazing countryside.  There's even a statue of (what appears to be) a Nazgul.

Innsbruck
A nice place, it can be seen easily in a day.  The drive to it from the north (Germany) is harrowing in places, due to precipitous highway grades.

Ehrenberg Castle
Our route on frequent trips to Garmisch (in Germany) took us through a slice of Austria, and there the ruins of Ehrenberg, situated on a commanding Alpine perch, always impressed me.

Lech
A ski town in the western panhandle, Lech is gorgeous in winter- and undoubtedly in summer as well.

Conclusion
Austria is perhaps mildly ignored due to its more famous neighbors (Germany, Switzerland, Italy), but it really shouldn't be.  It's a wonderful place well worth a visit- or ten.

Tarkin (James Luceno)

Tarkin is the second book to be released that 'counts' as part of Disney's new canon, and the first to deal with characters we saw in the movies.  As the title implies, it follows the story of the Grand Moff as he rises in power and position in the new-found Empire, and delves into his upbringing on Eriadu.  Taking place between Episodes III and IV, we see the workings of an Empire in infancy- Palpatine forming ruling councils, generals and admirals from the Republic jockeying for position in the new regime, and a band of malcontents who believe the Empire must be stopped before it gets started.  To get Palpy's attention, they steal a stealth ship and unleash attack after attack on targets of Imperial importance; can Vader and Tarkin stop them before it's too late?

I read this book mainly because I was curious to see how much material Disney would add to (or remove from) the previous canon.  I was surprised to see just how little changed- most of the planets, species, and ships mentioned were well-established in prior stories and appeared to mesh well with them.  Perhaps Disney wanted to 'ease' into the new world.  Whatever the case, it didn't feel much like a new direction.  In addition, I was disappointed to see just how little this book added to the universe.  The main theme was showing how Tarkin rose in power and established a good working relationship with Darth Vader.  It was mostly background that was completely unnecessary, giving the reader no further insight into the movies, and didn't appear to set up further stories.  While pretty well-written and interesting in that it focused on the bad guys (even generating sympathy for them at times), the largely uninteresting and unimportant plot was enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Rating: C+