Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick. 1968. 224 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: A merry little surge of electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick Deckard. Surprised--it always surprised him to find himself awake without prior notice--he rose from the bed, stood up in his multicolored pajamas, and stretched. Now, in her bed, his wife Iran opened her gray, unmerry eyes, blinked, then groaned and shut her eyes again.

Premise/plot: Rick Deckard, our protagonist, is a bounty hunter. He makes his living hunting down artificial humans--androids--and "retiring" them. His favorite thing to spend money on are artificial animals. (Though he, like everyone else still on planet Earth, likes to pretend that the animals are real. That somehow, someway his animal is one of the very, very, very last living of its kind. Perhaps not completely and totally extinct.)

The book spans a day or two. I'd be surprised if it spanned longer than two to three days max. Regardless of how much--or how little--time passes, Deckard is on one case: hunting down some illegal/rogue Nexus 6 models of androids that have recently come to Earth. (I believe they come from another colony.) He'll be tracking them down and eliminating them. Something new about the Nexus 6 model--one reason why there is a zero tolerance level--is that these new models will definitely KILL. Definitely it's an us or them mentality. 

When the point of view is NOT Deckard, we meet John Isadore, a very lonely man living an isolated existence. He discovers a couple of these dangerous androids and is entirely sympathetic/empathetic to their plight. He joins forces, if you will, with them and tries to hide/protect them.

Empathy--or the lack thereof--is a major plot point. Measuring empathetic responses is part of test (if not the whole test) of determining who is human and who is android.

My thoughts: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a quirky science fiction novel. The plot isn't solely an action/adventure story. This isn't all about the hunt/chase. The world-building has some depth and offers slower moments. 

What do you need to know??? Well, the world is a MESS (and then some). As the result of war (nuclear warfare), earth is almost the last place you'd want to live. Those who can, go offworld to one of the colonies. But not everyone can. Not everyone is allowed. But existence is bleak, bleak, bleakity-bleak. Which leads to some strange sub-plots. 

Collecting artificial animals. Since the real deal are all extinct, collecting artificial animals (that many pretend are real, and you don't call out your friends on the lie) is a huge status symbol. It is a hobby that is expensive, and time-consuming.

Mercerism. Here is where empathy comes into major play in the novel. Mercerism is a religion/world view and it links everyone's emotions/feelings/ together through a box. I'm assuming something along the lines of virtual reality. Wilbur Mercer is the perpetual martyr who is the miserable suffering servant symbol 24/7 forever being hit with stones. 

Our hero mainly works so that he can afford to make payments on his artificial animal(s). It isn't a love of the job; or a personal *need* to kill/destroy. It is a paycheck. He doesn't like the mechanics of the job. Though he goes from slightly disgruntled to VERY disgruntled in the novel. To be fair, to someone who isn't all that thrilled with bounty hunting, killing/destroying/retiring six androids in one day is a lot to ask.

During this one assignment, he spends some time thinking about what it means to be human. He starts realizing that slowly but surely he's becoming too empathetic to these androids--particularly this newest model. How can he keep killing them--hunting them, etc--when he's beginning to think of them as more human than machine?

I read the book. If the book was a five hundred piece puzzle, I'd say I pieced together most of it. Still not sure I grasped the WHOLE big picture. But it made sense. Contrast that with the movie which I finished, which was ALL confusion. I understood nothing; hated everything. I do NOT think the movie Blade Runner resembles the book at all--not even a little bit. It is completely and totally different--minus a few names and the generalized idea of a human bounty hunter (blade runner) killing androids.

Quotes:

"Dial 888," Rick said as the set warmed. "The desire to watch TV, no matter what's on it."
"I don't feel like dialing anything at all now," Iran said. "Then dial 3," he said. "I can't dial a setting that stimulates my cerebral cortex into wanting to dial! If I don't want to dial, I don't want to dial that most of all..."

"Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match or gum wrappers or yesterday's homeopape. When nobody's around, kipple reproduces itself. For instance, if you go to bed leaving any kipple around your apartment, when you wake up the next morning there's twice as much of it. It always gets more and more."---

"No one can win against kipple," he said, "except temporarily and maybe in one spot, like in my apartment I've sort of created a stasis between the pressure of kipple and nonkipple, for the time being. But eventually I'll die or go away, and then the kipple will again take over. It's a universal principle operating throughout the universe; the entire universe is moving toward a final state of total, absolute kippleization."

"You mean old books?"
"Stories written before space travel but about space travel."
"How could there have been stories about space travel before--"
"The writers," Pris said, "made it up."
"Based on what?"
"On imagination. A lot of times they turned out wrong. For example, they wrote about Venus being a jungle paradise with huge monsters and women in breastplates that glistened." She eyed him. "Does that interest you? Big women with long, braided blond hair and gleaming breastplates the size of melons?" "No," he said.

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Necklace of Raindrops and Other Stories. Joan Aiken. Illustrated by Jan Pienkowski. 1968. 108 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: A man called Mr. Jones and his wife lived near the sea.

Premise/plot: A Necklace of Raindrops and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Joan Aiken. Most--if not all--of the stories have a fantastic fairy-tale feel to them. The stories include "A Necklace of Raindrops," "The Cat Sat on the Mat," "There's Some Sky In This Pie," "The Elves in the Shelves," "The Three Travellers," "The Baker's Cat,""A Bed for the Night," and "The Patchwork Quilt."

In "A Necklace of Raindrops," the North Wind becomes godfather to a newborn baby. He gifts her with a necklace of three raindrops. Each year on her birthday he visits her and gives another raindrop. Each year the necklace becomes more magical.

"The Three Travellers" stars three men who work for the Railway and live in the desert. One is a signalman, one is a ticket-collector, and the third is a porter. No one ever, ever, ever, ever stops at their station. Their lives are relatively boring...until....they decide to do something.

"The Patchwork Quilt" is a fun story about a grandmother making a magical quilt for her grandson.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this collection. Some stories I absolutely loved, loved, loved. Other stories I merely liked. But here's the thing--I don't usually like story collections at all. So the fact that I found stories that excited and thrilled me so much is really saying something. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Corduroy. Don Freeman. 1948/1968. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Corduroy is a bear who once lived in the toy department of a big store.

Premise/plot: Corduroy is a toy bear wearing overalls with a missing button. He didn't exactly realize his button was missing until it was pointed out to him. That night, he searches for his missing button unsuccessfully. Fortunately, the next day a LOVELY little girl buys him and takes him home.

"You must be a friend," said Corduroy. "I've always wanted a friend." "Me too!" said Lisa, and gave him a big hug.

My thoughts: I loved this one as a child. It doesn't really get any sweeter. The ending is just about perfect.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10


© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The House on the Strand. Daphne du Maurier. 1968. 352 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: The first thing I noticed was the clarity of the air, and then the sharp green colour of the land. There was no softness anywhere. The distant hills did not blend into the sky but stood out like rocks, so close that I could almost touch them, their proximity giving me that shock of surprise and wonder which a child feels looking for the first time through a telescope.

Premise/plot: Richard Young, the hero of Daphne du Maurier's The House on the Strand, becomes a guinea pig for his scientist friend, Magnus, while vacationing in Cornwall. Magnus has concocted a hallucinogenic drug that allows the user to time travel, though not physically. While Dick's first 'time-travel' experience has its downsides, he enjoys it just enough to keep taking the drug in different locales. Why different locales? Because location matters. Your body may stay in the present, but, your consciousness is far, far away. And your body-and-mind act together. Your mind sees the world as it was. Your body experiences it as it is. Whatever you're doing in the past, you're doing in the present--sitting, standing, walking, running, etc. Readers DON'T see this, of course, just the results and consequences. You may sit down and take the drug in one place, and come back to reality hours later miles and miles away with no real idea of how you got there.

The past is the fourteenth century. The 1320s through the 1340s. Dick is an invisible presence in the past. He can "spy" on the past and follow people around, seeing and hearing plenty that interests him. He becomes very caught up in the lives of Isolda and Roger. (They are not a couple.) The past is full of soap opera like DRAMA.

The present is the 1960s. Dick is married to a woman, Vita, who has two sons. His wife and two stepsons join him on his vacation. He's not excited about that. Why? He really, really, really, really likes taking this mind-altering drug. And he fears that if he's surrounded by his family he might have to be responsible and stay in the present.

The drama isn't all in the past, a few things happen in the present that are just as exciting. Particularly when Magnus comes to visit his friend...

My thoughts: Dick isn't the smartest hero. Perhaps he trusts his friend a LITTLE too much. Or perhaps the sixties were so truly different that taking mind-altering drugs was something you did without blinking--without giving it a second thought. What am I doing to my mind? what am I doing to my body? Are there any side-effects? Are the side-effects longlasting? Is this a good idea?

The book chronicles Dick's adventures in past and present. And the world-building is strong in both. Characterization. I can't say that the characterization was super strong. This is more premise-driven than character-driven. But there's enough drama and mystery to keep you reading.

Science fiction doesn't come to mind when I think about Daphne du Maurier, but, I must say that you can definitely see her unique style in all of it. Especially the ending.

Did I like it? I didn't LOVE it, but, I definitely am glad I read it.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Birthday for Frances. Russell Hoban. Illustrated by Lillian Hoban. 1968/1995. HarperCollins. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It was the day before Frances's little sister Gloria's birthday.

Premise/plot: It is Gloria's birthday. And Frances decides--a bit reluctantly--that she should buy something for her baby sister with her allowance. She decides on one Chompo bar (chocolate bar) and four gumballs. But it isn't easy for Frances to keep her mind made up. The more she thinks about it, the more she thinks that she should keep the Chompo bar for herself. The gumballs, well, they already met their fate. By accident, Frances claims. Will Gloria receive a Chompo bar for her birthday? Or will Frances be selfish and eat it herself?!

My thoughts: I just LOVE and ADORE A Birthday for Frances. It is so quotable.

Mother and Gloria were sitting at the kitchen table, making place cards for the party. Frances was in the broom closet singing: Happy Thursday to you, Happy Thursday to you, Happy Thursday, dear Alice, Happy Thursday to you. "Who is Alice?" asked Mother. "Alice is somebody that nobody can see," said Frances. "And that is why she does not have a birthday. So I am singing Happy Thursday to her." "Today it is Friday," said Mother. "It is Thursday for Alice," said Frances. "Alice will not have h-r-n-d, and she will not have g-k-l-s. But we are singing together." "What are h-r-n-d and g-k-l-s?" asked Mother. "Cake and candy. I thought you could spell," said Frances. "I am sure that Alice will have cake and candy on her birthday," said Mother. "But Alice does not have a birthday," said Frances. "Yes, she does," said Mother. "Even if nobody can see her, Alice has one birthday every year, and so do you. Your birthday is two months from now. Then you will be the birthday girl. But tomorrow is Gloria's birthday, and she will be the birthday girl." "That is how it is, Alice," said Frances. "Your birthday is always the one that is not now."

This book has the delightful Chompo Bar song in it:

Chompo Bars are nice to get.
Chompo Bars taste better yet
When they're someone else's.

I would definitely recommend this one. Do you have a favorite Frances book?

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Foot Book. Dr. Seuss. 1968. Random House. 36 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence:

Left foot
Left foot
Right foot
Right
Feet in the morning
Feet at night
Left foot
Left foot
Left foot
Right

Premise/plot: Does The Foot Book have an actual plot? Probably not. It's a rhyming celebration of all sorts of feet, I suppose.

My thoughts: Probably not my favorite Seuss title. Not that I actively dislike it, mind you. It's just not going to make my top thirty.

Have you read The Foot Book? Did you like it? love it? hate it? I'd love to know what you thought of it!

 If you'd like to join me in reading or rereading Dr. Seuss (chronologically) I'd love to have you join me! The next book I'll be reviewing is I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today and Other Stories.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Just how thankful should 'Cousin Kate' be to Aunt Minerva (Lady Broome)? Should receiving her aunt's "gifts" of shelter and clothes, obligate her in anyway to MARRY her cousin Torquil?! Kate Malvern is exceedingly thankful and quite patient considering the circumstances. She's accepted the fact that her "new" family has eccentricities, their own way of doing things, their own idea of what "normal" looks like. She even likes her cousin Torquil, in small doses when he isn't throwing a tantrum. But she likes someone else more! Someone who isn't losing it. Someone who doesn't aim guns at her all the while making excuses. Kate is falling in love with Philip. (Philip is the nephew of Sir Timothy; Aunt Minerva is Sir Timothy's SECOND wife.) And Philip is falling in love with her. He thinks that Kate will need rescuing, that his aunt (by marriage) is NOT to be trusted.

Cousin Kate is gothic and creepy. It doesn't quite match the intensity of Rebecca or Jane Eyre. But it's close.

Quotes starring Torquil and Kate:

He gave a low chuckle, and released his painful grip on her arm. ‘Strong, aren’t I?’ He flexed his long fingers, regarding them with an admiring smile. ‘I could strangle you one-handed, you know. Wouldn’t think it, to look at me, would you?’ ‘No, but as I haven’t had occasion to consider the matter there’s nothing wonderful in that!’ she retorted, rubbing her arm. His chagrined face stirred her sense of fun; she broke into laughter, and said: ‘Cry craven, Torquil! You have the wrong sow by the ear: I’m not so easily impressed!’ That made him echo her laughter. ‘Kate, Cousin Kate, do you call yourself a sow? I should never dare do so! You are the most unusual girl!’

She followed him down the steps to the stone bridge which was flung across the narrow end of the lake. He went ahead of her to the middle of the bridge, and stood there, leaning his arms on the parapet, and watching her with a mocking smile. ‘Come along!’ he coaxed. ‘I won’t throw you in!’ She laughed. ‘No, won’t you?’ ‘Not if you don’t wish it!’ ‘I most certainly do not wish it!’ ‘Don’t you? Not at all? I often think how pleasant it would be to drown.’ ‘Well, it wouldn’t be in the least pleasant!’ she said severely. ‘Are you trying to make my flesh creep? I warn you, I have a very matter-of-fact mind, and shall put you to a non-plus! What lies beyond the lake?’

Quotes starring Philip and Kate:

‘So I should hope! For God’s sake, Kate – ! I’m not flirting with you! I’m trying to tell you that I love you!’ ‘Oh!’ uttered Kate faintly. Mr Philip Broome, indignant at being given so little encouragement, said in goaded voice: ‘Now say you’re much obliged to me!’ ‘I don’t know that I am,’ responded Kate, almost inaudibly. ‘I – I don’t know what you mean!’ With all the air of a deeply reticent man forced to declare his sentiments, he said: ‘Exactly what I said! I LOVE YOU!’ ‘You needn’t shout! I’m not deaf !’ retorted Kate, with spirit. ‘I was afraid you might be! I could hardly have put it more plainly! And all you can say is Oh ! As though it was a matter of no consequence to you! If you feel that you can’t return my – my regard, tell me so! I’ve dared to hope, but I was prepared to have my offer rejected, and although it would be a severe blow, I trust I have enough conduct not to embarrass you by persisting!’ ‘You – you haven’t made me an offer!’ said Kate. She added hurriedly, and in considerable confusion: ‘I don’t in the least wish you to! I mean, I would far, far liefer you didn’t if you are trying to – Oh, dear, how very awkward this is! Mr Broome, pray don’t offer me a carte blanche !’ ‘A carte blanche ?’ he exclaimed, apparently stunned. By this time she was crimson-cheeked. She stammered: ‘Is – isn’t that the right term?’ ‘No, it is not the right term!’ he said savagely, drawing his horses in to the side of the lane, and pulling them to a halt. ‘What kind of a loose-screw do you take me for? Offer a carte blanche to a delicately bred girl in your circumstances? You must think I’m an ugly customer!’ ‘Oh, no, no! Indeed I don’t!’ He possessed himself of her hands, and held them in a hard grip. ‘I am proposing to you, Kate! Will you marry me?’ Her hands instinctively clung to his; a happiness she had never known before flooded her being; but she said foolishly: ‘Oh, no! Don’t! You can’t have considered – Oh, dear, how improper this is!’ Mr Philip Broome, after one swift glance round, dragged her roughly into his arms and kissed her. For a delirious moment Kate yielded, but every precept that Sarah had drummed into her head shrieked to her that she was violating every canon of propriety, and behaving without delicacy or conduct. She made a desperate attempt to thrust him away, uttering an inarticulate protest. He released her with unexpected alacrity, ejaculating: ‘I might have known it!’ and set his horses in motion again. ‘That’s what comes of proposing in a curricle!

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Caroline the Queen. Jean Plaidy. 1968. 415 pages. [Source: Library]

Caroline, The Queen was my first introduction to the historical writer Jean Plaidy. (It is the third book in the Georgian Saga.) The novel opens shortly before the Prince of Wales, George Augustus, learns that his father (whom he REALLY hated) has died and he is now king. Caroline, his Queen, may be the main character of this one, but she is not our only point of view--far from it. This novel tells many stories from many different points of view.

Husband and wife. The novel spends some amount of time with George II and his wife, Caroline. She is presented as being oh-so-clever. Readers are never allowed to forget for a moment that Caroline is smarter and wiser than her husband. George is presented as a complete fool: short, ugly, boring, bad-tempered, easily flattered. Caroline loves being married to him because she can rule through him. But she has absolutely no respect for her husband. Caroline is presented as noble because she tolerates her husband's many mistresses.

King and mistresses. The novel mentions George II having many mistresses both in England and Hanover. His mistresses are presented as a necessary, oh-so-expected habit. Kings have mistresses, he is now king, therefore, to show how kingly he is, he must have mistresses, the people will love him even more because he is acting like other kings. Future kings must have mistresses as well. To be Prince of Wales gives you freedom to gather as many mistresses as possible and put them on display. Some of George II's mistresses are quite "old" by the time he is king. He visits them on schedule not out of desire but out of habit. The last half of the novel focuses on the King acquiring much younger, much prettier mistresses.

Family. The glimpses we get of Caroline and George as parents is disturbing, at least in my opinion. Frederick, the prince of Wales, is DESPISED by both of his parents. He is their oldest son, but both of his parents HATE him and wish that he'd never been born. Neither wants him around. And he knows it. He hates them both. At one point he's shown as hating his mother even more than his father because he feels his father is just being ruled. Some time is spent on their other children. But I can't say that Caroline and George were extraordinarily good parents to any of their children. Anne, the oldest girl, is given some time in the novel.

Prince of Wales. Some time is spent with Frederick and his friends and mistresses. Readers see people trying to get close to him so they can use him, people trying to get favors. Some spy on him and tell all to the powers-that-be.

Politics. Caroline has several politician friends--notably Sir Robert Walpole and Lord Hervey. She loves power and politics and manipulating things behind the scenes so that George does precisely what they want without being wise to the fact that he's being manipulated. 

The novel was quite interesting and very readable. The characters were all believably flawed; I found no one sympathetic, however. I liked this one.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey. Margaret Powell. 1968/2012. St. Martin's Press. 224 pages. [Source: Library]

Below Stairs is one of two memoirs by Margaret Powell. As a young teen--fifteen, I believe--she entered service. (She left school to begin working to support her family a year or two earlier however.) Her first positions in service were as a kitchen maid. She later promoted herself to cook and sought out other positions with other families. The book tells of her experiences and shocks. One shock, for example, was when she found out she was to iron the shoe laces every morning in addition to polishing the shoes. It's a detailed look at work. Work as a maid is anything but fun, glamorous, exciting. Dreary, repetitive, exhausting comes more to mind. This memoir does not focus on any particular wealthy family; it is not a dramatic romance like Downton Abbey. 

I enjoyed reading Below Stairs. I found it to be a quick read. I liked that Powell enjoyed reading and tried her best to read what she could, when she could, even though there wasn't always a lot of free time. She worked very long hours, had very little time to herself, and was at times discouraged from seeking out books and wanting 'more'.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Star Trek Reader. Twenty-one Novelized Episodes Based on the Exciting Television Series Created by Gene Roddenberry. James Blish. 1968, 1969, 1972. Dutton. 372 pages.

This is the first volume in the book series of adaptations by James Blish. It contains three books, "Star Trek 2," "Star Trek 3," and "Star Trek 8." It was a great introduction to Blish's work. It features stories like, "The Trouble with Tribbles," "The City on the Edge of Forever," "Friday's Child," "Tomorrow is Yesterday," etc.

What surprised me is that I found myself liking the short story adaptations even when I didn't particularly remember liking the episode it was based on. (Though Spock's Brain didn't exactly improve.)

For anyone who loves the characters, the stories, the friendships, the themes of Star Trek The Original Series, this is a MUST. I enjoyed it very much. There is definitely something comforting and satisfying about it. I definitely want to reread it!

Read The Star Trek Reader

• If you enjoy vintage science fiction
• If you enjoy Star Trek The Original Series
• If you enjoy short stories

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Cat Who Turned On and Off. Lilian Jackson Braun. 1968. Penguin. 265 pages.

In December the weather declared war. 

I believe this is the third mystery in the Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Braun. Unfortunately, my library did not have the second book in the series. So it is still a mystery to me how Jim Qwilleran came to have a second Siamese cat. (Koko and Jim became good friends in the first novel, The Cat Who Could Read Backwards. The second cat is named Yum Yum. As you'd expect, both cats have PERSONALITY.)

Jim Qwilleran, our human hero, is in search of a heartfelt story with the potential to win a contest at the paper. It's Christmas time, and, well, his cats have gourmet taste in food. And at the start he's living in a hotel room. So does he need the extra money? Of course he does! So he has a moment of inspiration. Why not do a series of articles about Junktown? This neighborhood has become a bit shabby looking in recent years, though to hear things from the residents' point of view, it's because they can't get treated fairly. They would rebuild and repair--if they were allowed to. (But that's a whole other story.) So this district has more than its fair share of antique stores. And so even though Jim Qwilleran isn't especially fond of antiques, he's going to do everything it takes to win this prize. Visiting these stores, talking with their owners, attending their auctions, it's not quite enough. He decides to live there, to see this community from an insider perspective. And this leads him into yet another mystery! For he discovers that the previous tenant of his new apartment was murdered in his antique shop. So he's curious and then some!

I liked this mystery. I am just loving the Cat Who series. I know it's only the second novel I've read in the series, but, well, it feels like love to me!

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

True Grit. Charles Portis. 1968. Overlook Press. 224 pages.

People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father's blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day. 

Last week I reviewed The Virginian by Owen Wister, this week I'm reviewing True Grit. Could it be that I'm not as allergic to westerns as I thought? Or have I just found two exceptions to the rule?!

What's the word that best describes our heroine, Mattie Ross? Spunky? Stubborn? Strong-willed? No-nonsense? Independent? She's all those things, it's true, but it goes deeper than that perhaps. She does not back down. If Mattie has made up her mind, then there's no changing it. There's no arguing with her...and winning. It just can't be done. She may be a kid--a girl--but she can hold her own in a world of men.

When her father is murdered by Tom Chaney, a man her father had half-way trusted--at least trusted enough to give him a job, a place to live, and a "second" chance at life--then Mattie Ross decides then and there that he will pay for his crime. She'll see that justice is done, even if she has to pay for that justice herself.

Mattie hires a marshal with grit--Rooster Cogburn. The Fort Smith sheriff tells Mattie that Rooster Cogburn "is a pitiless man, double-tough, and fear don't enter into his thinking. He loves to pull a cork" (23). She promises a $100 for a job well done. But she doesn't tell him--at least not at first--that she has every intention in the world of going with him on his search. Yes, this fourteen-year-old girl is going to ride side by side with him on his dangerous mission--hunting outlaws is always dangerous, you know. And then there is the third companion, a Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf. He wants to find Chaney/Chelmsford too. There's money to be find in bringing him to justice. While LaBoeuf's motivation is more monetary, perhaps, for Mattie this is purely personal.

And it was the fact that this was a personal story--though don't expect it to be sentimental or weepy, Mattie is no Elsie Dinsmore--that touched me the most. It is my connection with Mattie that made me love this one. Her character, her personality, her strength as a narrator. I think Mattie is unforgettable.

While I can't say that I loved every scene in this one--especially the one with the poisonous snakes--I have to admit that I did enjoy this one very much. I found it very compelling!

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2001 A Space Odyssey. By Arthur C. Clarke. 1968. Penguin. 320 pages.

The drought had lasted now for ten million years, and the reign of the terrible lizards had long since ended.

I'm not quite sure what to say, what to share about this one. This is my first Arthur C. Clarke novel. And I am glad I read it. But. I also found it a bit confusing in places. I found it hard to connect with in some ways. Most of the novel concerns David Bowman and his life aboard the Discovery. As his ship--mostly controlled by the computer Hal--heads towards Saturn. Things don't go according to plan--Bowman's plan that is. And not quite according to Earth's plans either. Knowing that rescue or return is futile, Bowman sets out to explore to the last.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

To be a slave. To be owned by another person, as a car, house, or table is owned. To live as a piece of property that could be sold--a child sold from its mother, a wife from her husband. To be considered not human, but a "thing" that plowed the fields, cut the wood, cooked the food, nursed another's child; a "thing" whose sole function was determined by the one who owned you.

To be a slave. To know, despite the suffering and deprivation, that you were human, more human than he who said you were not human. To know joy, laughter, sorrow, and tears and yet to be considered only the equal of a table.

To be a slave was to be a human being under conditions in which humanity was denied. They were not slaves. They were people. Their condition was slavery.

They who were held as slaves looked upon themselves and the servitude in which they found themselves with the eyes and minds of human beings, conscious of everything that happened to them, conscious of all that went on around them. Yet slaves are often pictured as little more than dumb, brute animals, whose sole attributes were found in working, singing, and dancing. They were like children and slavery was actually a benefit to them--this was the view of those who were not slaves. Those who were slaves tell a different story.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews