The Tao of Pooh (end)

I am now finished reading The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff (I am also completely finished with readers workshop).  In my previous post, I discussed the issues I had with the book.  However, after reading the second half of the book, I can say that many issues were resolved.  I think that the latter portion of the book was much more interesting and moved along more.  One thing I really liked about the book was the example stories that were told.  This is the story here: http://www.thejourneynet.org/tabid/702/Default.aspx
I really like that story, along with many others that Hoff incorporates in this novel.  Another amazing thing that Hoff does is quote directly from Winnie-the-Pooh books.  After he quotes them, he explains how the relate back to Taoism, and it seems as though Winnie-the-Pooh was made specifically for the purpose of explaining Taoism.  That is where I think the reader understands how great of a job Hoff has done with this book.
One odd thing I noticed throughout the book was the capitalization of nouns that normally would not be capitalized.  I mean, it does not interfere with the meaning, but it is weird.  For example, Hoff writes, "In the morning sunshine, in the evening twilight, a small Bear travels through a Forest" (Hoff 153).  It is very abnormal that "Bear" and "Forest" are capitalized.  Just something to point out, I guess.
Another thing that was a bit confusing about this book was the blurring of fiction and nonfiction.  I think this is the perfect example of blurred line between the two genres.  I think that there are definitely characteristics of nonfiction and fiction in this text.  The fiction is pretty easy to identify.  The characters of Winnie-the-Pooh are fictional and any interactions among them is obviously made up.  However, the teachings of the Tao are all considered nonfiction.  There are quotes directly from Laozi which is considered nonfiction.  I truly do not know how to classify this book as either a fiction or nonfiction novel.  With the help of a quick Google search, I know that most websites classify it as  a Philosophy or Religious text, which is under nonfiction.  However, this is one of the books that could really go either way.
I leave you with my favorite quote from the novel, "Tao does not do, but nothing is not done"

The Tao of Pooh (middle)

I am halfway through the book The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.  So far, it has been an interesting read, but nothing really stands out.  I am a little disappointing, I must say.  I thought that the book would be more engaging and creative, but it is not.  Incorporating Winnie-the-Pooh into Taoism is no easy feat, and Hoff does a nice job of it, but it is still not that great of a book.  My main concern is that it is repetitive.  I think that may partially be because of the nature of Taoism, but it is also because of how every time Hoff quotes directly from Winnie-the-Pooh he has to explain it and all the explanations sound the same.  The main information I am learning from the story, though, is fascinating.  I love the concept of Taoism and the theories behind the philosophy.  One of the most interesting things about Taoism I have learned is the concept of Wei Wu Wei, or do without doing.  This is very engaging because the concept is so simple, yet we never think about it in real life.  Basically, it is saying that you cannot try to force things to happen, you have to let things develop on their own and they will always work out. One of my favorite quotes from the story so far is:
“Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything.”
This reinforces the idea that we over think things too often.  We need to start to accept what is happening, and trust in the fact that things will always work out the way that they were intended to.
For some reason, I really enjoy reading Taoist quotes and sayings.  If you are interested, this is a link to a bunch of them, some of which are very cool: http://gj56.hubpages.com/hub/Taoist-Quotes-and-Sayings

The Tao of Pooh (beginning)

For my second free-choice novel and last book overall, I have decided to read the book The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.  I decided to read this for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I know a couple friends who have read this book and said that it was very interesting and a fun book to read.  For that reason alone I am excited to read it.  But I have another reason to read it.  You see, I am not really religious.  I never attend church, synagogue, or any other religious temple.  However, I do celebrate the biggest Christian holidays because my mom is was raised Christian, but she does not really practice it anymore.  With that said, I would consider myself a spiritual person.  I definitely believe that there is a God, but I do not really believe in a Christian God.  There are some more intricacies to my "religion" that I will not get into at the moment, but you get the idea.  When I learned about Taoism in a social studies class, I was intrigued.  I love the theory of "the natural way" and I try to live my life like that as much as I can.  I think that this book, and introduction in Taoism, can show me what true Taoism is like and maybe inspire me to go deeper into that philosophy.  I am extremely excited to read this book and cannot wait to get started.

Pigs in Heaven (end)

I have just finished reading Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver.  As I stated halfway through the book, I was disappointed in the novel, and that holds true throughout the story.  I think that Kingsolver's first book was much better.  However, Pigs in Heaven was still a good read, just not up to the standards of her first novel.  This book was about how the Cherokee Tribe tries to bring Turtle back into Native American life.  Obviously, Taylor objects, but there is nothing that she can do about it.  I think that the oddest thing about this book that the climax was not really apparent until the very end of the book, the second to last page in fact. If this book were a spiritual journey, or a conflict within a person, it would have made sense.  However, this book's main conflict was external, so it is abnormal that the climax is so late in the book.  I think that the rising action was overdone.  Kingsolver made it too long- to the point where it was tedious to read.  There were 354 pages in this book, but I think if it were only 300 pages it would have been much better.  Let's take a look at what I think the story structure is:

If I were to describe this story how Kurt Vonnegut would, I would say it is a mix between "From Bad to Worse" and "Which Way is Up".  I say this because the main character, Taylor, is in a normal situation, but gets thrown into bad situation.  This situation does not get better, however, and it probably gets worse.  This is where it gets tricky.  Many events in the story have an effect on Taylor that is unclear.  For example, she gets shared custody with Turtle.  This could be a good thing because Turtle gets to know her Cherokee culture, or a bad thing be  cause Turtle gets less time with Taylor.  Obviously, things get confusing.

All of this said, Pigs in Heaven was still a fun book to read.  It was engaging and another example of how Kingsolver writes effectively.  One of the main motifs in this novel was luck.  The reason that Taylor and Turtle got into this whole mess was because they were put on national television for saving a man named Lucky Buster.  The book states, "Lucky and Turtle are asleep in the backseat" (Kingsolver 30).  The concept of luck and chance are tied with Turtle throughout the novel.  Another more examples are when Taylor and Turtle are in Las Vegas (obviously luck is apparent here) and they find $50 on their car. 

One thing that I love about how Kingsolver writes is the way she ends chapters.  There is almost always and interesting, thought-provoking quote that can be applied in many different ways.  Some examples of great ending sentences are: "Something like that is as bad or as good as a telephone ringing in the night: either way, you're not as alone as you think" (Kingsolver 9), "One by one the birds emerge from the desert and come back to claim their tree" (Kingsolver 81), "This man in ordinary jean, whose thoughts she believed she knew, opens his mouth and becomes a foreigner.  It occurs to her that this one thing about people you can never understand well enough: how entirely inside themselves they are" (Kingsolver 180).  There are many other great quotes throughout the novel.  I'd bet you could make a book with just those quotes. 

Pigs in Heaven (middle)

I have now finished half of Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver.  This book is about the story of a girl named Taylor Greer and her adopted daughter Turtle.  Many of you probably know their story because you have been reading my blog.  The Bean Trees was the prequel to this book and I loved it.  In the story, Turtle saves a man's life and becomes a national hero.  Because of this publicity, a Cherokee lawyer finds out that Turtle is not legally adopted by Taylor.  Taylor freaks out and does not want to give up Turtle so she takes Turtle and her Mother on an adventure throughout the country.
So far, it has been decent, but not spectacular.  As I said in my previous post, I thought that since there is more adventure (than the Bean Trees) I would enjoy it more, but I must say that is incorrect.  I do not find Pigs in Heaven bad, but it is not nearly as good as the Bean Trees, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I think the main reason is because the character development is not as good.  In this case, the amount of action and and adventure actually hurts the novel because there is not enough time to really get to know the characters and have them be part of your life.  I think that character development was the best quality of the Bean Trees and without it, the book is not that great.  I do not think the plot is unbelievable entertaining, and really all other aspects of the book are average.  The character development made Kingsolver's writing great and when she lacks it, the books are only okay.  An example of this sub par character development is the introduction of a character named Gabe.  Granted, this is not a very important character, but it still displays the development.  A woman named Annie states, " 'Dellon hates when I bring up Gabe'... 'He hates when you bring up Gabe, because he's the oldest and he thinks he should have done something to keep the family from getting torn up' "(Kingsolver 59).  That is the only instance of Gabe being mentioned early in the book, but he is brought back up again later and no more knowledge is given.  Somehow, Kingsolver expects the reader to put the puzzle together, but we only have half of the pieces. 

Pig in Heaven (beginning)

The next book I have chosen to read for my free choice is Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver.  For those of you who read my previous posts, you will know that I read my first Kingsolver novel as my fiction choice.  This book is the sequel to the book I originally read (The Bean Trees).  From what I have read about this novel, it figures to be a little more exciting, with more action and adventure rather than a slow, internal conflict.  You see, the first book was about the journey that Taylor Greer takes emotionally.  However in the second novel, there seems to be a true adventure and external conflict.  I think this will make the book more enjoyable to read.  While I appreciate the depth and symbolic nature of The Bean Trees, I think that more conflict on a physical side will make for a more exciting read.  I am very happy I am able to read this novel and look forward to it greatly.  The main conflict that is going to happen is that Taylor may lose custody of Turtle so she goes on an adventure in order to escape the people trying to take Turtle away.  It will probably be a fantastic book.

Animal Farm (end)

I have just finished reading Animal Farm by George Orwell.  This was a good book throughout, but the ending was absolutely phenomenal.  It was one of the best endings to a book I have ever read, no exaggerations.  The main theme I saw throughout the book is how easily a government can become corrupt.  In the beginning, the animals hated the corrupt government which was the humans.  So, they overthrew their leaders and became their own government.  They lived in prosperity for a few years, but then the leader's of the animal's government became corrupt and turned into the same corrupt government that was there before.  One of the best parts about this novel is how the reader can see the transformation from the good government to a bad one in a short span.  It is truly marvelous how Orwell paves this change and makes it seem natural, almost to the point where it surprises the reader when he/she actually realizes how bad the government now is.  Now, back to this terrific ending I was talking about.  When the animal government was first created, they never wanted to be like the humans.  Their motto: "Four legs good, two legs bad".  When the government is fully corrupted, however, they change their motto to "four legs good, two legs better".  At the very end, the animals in power (who are corrupted) have humans over to their farm to eat dinner.  They are playing cards, but then it is realized that at least one person is cheating.  They start a huge fight, and, for the animals looking in through the window, " [they] looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which" (Orwell 141).  Talk about a good ending, right?  For some reason, that ending sentence really stuck with me, and I think that is the biggest take away from this novel.  Basically, it is the danger of corruption and the power of money.  It is saying that greed, wealth, and power will turn someone of goodwill into someone selfish and dangerous.  There are many real world examples, but this book was especially meant for Stalin of communist Russia.
This is a few letters between Orwell and Peter Davison talking about the moral of Animal Farm: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/jul/11/animal-farm-what-orwell-really-meant/
I think that this article is very interesting, especially that Orwell says that violent conspiratorial revolutions always only end up with change in masters.  Fascinating.  Anyway, check it out, it is pretty neat.
If you are thinking about reading Animal Farm, I definitely recommend it. 
I will leave you with a quote from the novel:
“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself."