Books of the Year 2007

Here is the much-promised review of books for 2007. Thank you so much to my guest bloggers for both their time and intelligence. All brilliance I jealously acknowledge comes from them. If there are any mistakes, be assured that they belong to me alone.

NB

Politics, Poverty, the Irish
Given the buzz of primaries in Iowa, NH, and elsewhere building up steam now, it seems almost impossible to escape reading some sort of politi-tome. So I choose as best The Dragons of Expectation by Robert Conquest . Conquest examines the corruptive aspects of utopian marxism on the modern age, providing a contrary (and often controversial) conversation in an age of self-righteous declamation. While I do not always agree, I am always challenged to think.
The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier and Hunger: a modern history by James Vernon are two books that have something to say about the state of our less fortunate fellow humans and the societies that create their predicament. They both look at our selfish society, and they both look at the unspeakable corruption within impoverished nations.
The finest novel of the year was Joseph O’Conner’s Star of the Sea, a multi-narrative frolic imbued with humanity, wit, and suspense. Masquerading as a mystery, Star of the Sea follows characters aboard a ship bound for America, mingling accounts and colorful language of poor refugees with their upper class, embittered peers. Wonderful.

KN

This year has been a scholarly one for me, with little time spent on recreational reading. I was lucky enough, however, to have a majority of my classes covering works that would have been somewhere on my rec-reading list (if not on top) even if not required. First and most beloved to me was the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. I have read this collection numerous times, tho never straight through, and it has yet to fail to amaze me. The language is beautiful, the wit razor sharp, and the sheer artistry required of Chaucer to have written in so many genres and forms at the time of its creation is impossible for me to enumerate or describe. My favorite literary disclaimer can be found in the Tales, in the prologue to “Miller’s Tale”:

3167 What sholde I moore seyn, but this Millere
3168 He nolde his wordes for no man forbere
3169 But tolde his cherles tale in his manere.
3170 M’athynketh that I shal reherce it heere
3171 And therfore every gentil wight I preye,
3172 For Goddes love, demeth nat that I seye
3173 Of yvel entente, but for I moot reherce
3174 Hir tales alle, be they bettre or werse,
3175 Or elles falsen som of my mateere.
3176 And therfore, whoso list it nat yheere
3177 Turne over the leef and chese another tale;
3178 For he shal fynde ynowe, grete and smale,
3179 Of storial thyng that toucheth gentillesse,
3180 And eek moralitee and hoolynesse.
3181 Blameth nat me if that ye chese amys.
3182 The Millere is a cherl; ye knowe wel this.
3183 So was the Reve eek and othere mo,
3184 And harlotrie they tolden bothe two.
3185 Avyseth yow, and put me out of blame;
3186 And eek men shal nat maken ernest of game.
(as taken from http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/teachslf/milt-par.htm#PROLOGUE)

Non-scholastic also-reads include Anne Fadiman’s At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays, Neil Gaiman’s M is for Magic, the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, A Book of Bees by Sue Hubbell, The Secret by Petrarch, Medieval Women’s Visionary Literature by Elizabeth Petroff, and numerous true crime and forensic investigation books, with the more pictures the better. I know that the last items in the list are not for everyone, but those who know me will hopefully understand that, despite my finding death the most effective lullabye, I am truly a non-violent sort.

KS

Valuable (wonderful) babies take up valuable reading time. That said, and in that spirit, here are my picks for 2007:

What to Expect When You’re Expecting
Relied on the Barnum principle, it seemed no matter what symptom or subject I looked up, it either could happen or it didn’t necessarily happen. Just goes to show that each and every pregnancy is different and very individualized. I did not find this source helpful.
The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two
This is a wonderful resource. It is part of the Dr. Sears library and I do find this helpful, and refer upon it often, especially the first few months.
Comprehensive Pharmacy Review
Pharmacy Practice and the Law
Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Chapter 151, 152 and Miscellaneous Statutes
Quick Review Pharmacy
All quite helpful preparing for the NAPLEX & MPJE.
Now the important stuff
Picture Book of Saints Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik S.V.D.
A great book to read a passage on a daily basis. Provides the background story, date, and what each saint is a patron of. It is quick, concise and CC would sit in my lap just long enough to hear about one saint.
Olivia Ian Falconer
All of the Olivia books are a great hit with CC. The board books are best at this stage. CC gets a little too excited when it comes time to turn the page. A favorite is Olivia’s Opposites. It has wonderful black and white pictures with splashes of red. Olivia is a pig, and she poses in different situations, be it up then down or quiet then loud. Olivia Counts is another wonderful board book with similar black and white pictures, this time using splashes of red to have then numbers stand out as well as the items being counted.
Gossie & Gertie Olivier Dunrea
A wonderful story about two ducks who are “friends, best friends,” it spends the day with them. It teaches that you don’t always have to follow, you can still be your own person (or duck in the case) and still be friends.
Time For Bed Mem Fox
A very nice board book, a bit larger than most board books we have with wonderful illustrations by Jane Dyer. Although the title usually gives the forthcoming activity away, CC tends to disagree. Again, she loves to turn these pages. Each page informs a certain baby animal that it is time for bed, each verse rhymes, the last page wishes CC sweet dreams, to sleep well, and a good night, however it’s merely a suggestion, for CC has other plans for the evening.
Do Princesses Count? Carmela La Vigna Coyle
We couldn’t resist the author name and the title. Great interacting counting book with glittering numbers and great illustrations by Mike Gordon & Carl Gordon.
Bear Snores On Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman
A wonderful tale of a hibernating bear and the party that ensues while he “snores on.” A great opportunity to use voices and sound effects. CC especially likes the sound of the snoring bear.
Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown
A classic bed time story, lots of pictures (Clement Hurd) with a few lines guiding your eyes to find what’s described. The lines also rhyme making this bed time story soothing, however as the last pages of the book close by saying “Goodnight” to all, saying “Goodnight” to CC is another story all together.
Moo Baa, La La La Sandra Boynton
By far this is CC’s favorite book of all time. All we have to do is open the book and start “A cow says” and she’s already giggling. We’ve read this book so many times we’ve got it memorized. Another great opportunity to make sounds fun. She enjoys this book so much Santa brought more Boynton books for Christmas.
The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior Chris Elphick, John B. Dunning, Jr.,
David Allen Sibley
I have not finished this book, but it sits on my bedside. It’s absolutely brilliant. It discusses bird behavior, flight, evolution, and lots and lots of other bird topics. Many birds are just beautiful to watch, this book provides information you can’t see. It’s truly amazing how much is involved in a bird’s life; it just looks simple.

RS

My best book of the year has to be A. D. Nuttall’s Shakespeare the Thinker. The recent deluge of stultifying books on the Bard has not detracted from the publication of this gem, a book that might be considered as one of the finest examinations of Shakespeare in the last 100 years. Abandoning the recent trend in attempting to analyze political or religious motivations, this is a close reading of each play, showing how Shakespeare dealt with intellectual problems within the plays, and how these problems and solutions matured with each new play. Nuttall died while the book was at press, a true loss for every reader. Plaudits should be tossed about with extreme judiciousness; an amazing work.
My other best book is neither new nor newly read. Tom Stoppard has dazzled for years, and Arcadia may be one of the finest plays to come out of the 20th century. Sad, funny, haunting, we are shuffled back and forth through time, observing the quiet tragedies that play out in a country house. Academic in tone and poetic in language, Arcadia examines the power of love and, destructively, of sex, “the attraction that Newton left out.”
Finally, I must give a nod to two works by Oliver Taplin, Greek Tragedy in Action and The Stagecraft of Aeschylus. They were not only a joy to read, but have shaped a major portion of my current research and thought on Greek tragedy.