How to Be Lovely by Melissa Hellstern
 


The result of five years' study of Audrey Hepburn's life and statements, How to Be Lovely is a cool little book. It certainly succeeded in reigniting my interest in Audrey Hepburn's films as I have since watched many of her films I hadn't really looked at since I was a child.  But it will also probably teach you things about Audrey Hepburn you didn't know.  For my part, I had no idea that she was a survivor of the Nazi invasion of Holland during World War II and lived under house arrest for years.  She likened her experience to that of Anne Frank as she was also a young girl during the war.  This early experience seems to have prepared her to keep fame at arm's length and value what is actually important in life (or at least try to).

Mostly this book is comprised of her quotes and occasionally things her friends said about her.  The book is divided into topics- happiness, success, health, love, family, friendship, fulfillment, style, fame, and humanity- each of which Audrey Hepburn offered opinions on during her lifetime.  The author organizes these quotes in an effort to develop what may have been Audrey Hepburn's advice to others on each of these aspects of life.  I cannot say that every section of this novel was mind blowing, but a few in particular (style, health, happiness, and love come to mind) were enjoyable.  I recommend this book and enjoyed it.  

Paint It Black by Janet Fitch

                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       This novel tells the story of a woman, Josie, whose boyfriend commits suicide.  The victim, Michael, is not depicted much at all in this book, which is more concerned with how the living get past such an event.

   While their relationship is rarely depicted, I think somewhat to the detriment of the story, the relationship that emerges between Josie and Michael's mother, Meredith, is central to the novel.  They are both coping with the same struggle of recovering from this loss.  This shared endeavor connects them, but the story reveals how differently they respond to the same event.
 
    This book occasionally reads well and then it drags again.  I think the author took on the challenge of depicting survivors of suicide, but often fails to depict this well.  I do not speak from personal experience only from how the book read.  The author often writes her thoughts with lofty ambitions, but the thoughts end up falling flat.  Personally, I enjoyed White Oleander by this author more than this title.  I might recommend the former to someone who I thought would have an interest in the subject matter; I cannot picture myself recommending this title to anyone.                                                                                            

Stepping into the map...Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel

Stepping into the map...Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel 


"Thus, all the while that Galileo was inventing modern physics, teaching mathematics to princes, discovering new phenomena among the planets, publishing science books for the general public, and defending his bold theories against establishment enemies, he was also buying thread for Suor Luisa, choosing organ music for Mother Achillea, shipping gifts of food, and supplying his homegrown citrus fruits, wine, and rosemary leaves for the kitchen and apothecary at San Matteo" (118-119). 

                                                                                               

This quote is a good summary of the heart of Galileo's Daughter.  While it examines Galileo's public life - the discoveries that made him famous during his lifetime and beyond, the books he wrote, the inventions he pioneered, and his persecution by the Inquisition - its main purpose is to explore the relationship between Galileo Galilei and his daughter, Virginia Gamba (ordained Suor Maria Celeste).  How Galileo fathered the spirit of modern science is known by many, but his profound love for his child is not so well known.  The novel is shaped around Suor Maria Celeste's letters to her father (unfortunately Galileo's letters to Suor Maria Celeste were destroyed).  The author appears to want to revivify the memory of Suor Maria Celeste due to her deep respect for this forgotten historical figure.  

Suor Maria Celeste entered the convent of San Matteo at age sixteen.  She lived the remainder of her life within its walls.  Often her story is the story of the convent itself.  It also reflects the lives of many Italian women of the 17th century who appeared to have one of two choices: marry or enter the Church.  The convent lived in extreme poverty often without any food.  None of the sisters were allowed to leave the convent so it was a life of complete isolation.  

I found learning about the life in the convent was very interesting.  I also didn't know much about Galileo so that aspect of the story was also of interest.  The book also describes Italian everyday life around this period including its social structure, culture, and of course the Vatican.  

Basically, I would recommend this book to those interested in historical biography or perhaps Italian history.  It is a good story and reading Suor Maria Celeste's letters to her father is particularly enjoyable. 


Next up is Paint It Black by Janet Fitch.

P.S. NOVA produced a companion documentary to "Galileo's Daughter" featuring Dava Sobel. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnEH9rbrIkk&index=16&list=PLrBE6bh9hEysNWedoW5T6JcWPsCqRsMPE

Off the Shelf 2013 Reading Challenge

So this is a blog I created to participate in the "Off the Shelf 2013" reading challenge.  The challenge is: read as many as possible of those old books you've had on the shelf for years.  I've named this blog, servants of the map, because reading these books feels like a bit of a journey and because I love maps. 

While I will probably be happy to make it to 15 of these this year, these are all of the possibilities.  Let the trek begin...

1. Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel
2. Paint It Black by Janet Fitch
3. How To Be Lovely by Melissa Hellstern
4. Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
5. Buddhism Plain & Simple by Steve Hagen
6. Capitalism & Freedom by Milton Friedman
7. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
8. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
9. The Body Artist by Don DeLillo
10. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
11. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
12. A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
13. An Open Life by Joseph Campbell
14. Letter to A Child Never Born by Oriana Fallaci
15. Bhagavad-Gita (The Song of God)
16. Dangerous Laughter by Steven Millhauser
17. Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien
18. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
19. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
20. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
21. An Essay on Liberation by Herbert Marcuse
22. Essays in Pragmatism by William James
23. Returning to Earth by Jim Harrison
24. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be by Farley Mowat
25. Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
26. Captains & Kings by Taylor Caldwell
27. Erewhon by Samuel Butler
28. The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway
29. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
30. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
31. Transitions (Making Sense of Life's Changes) by William Bridges
32. A Brief History of Time (From the Big Bang to Black Holes) by Stephen Hawking
33. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
34. Tales From the Secret Annex by Anne Frank
35. Dewey (The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World) by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
36. The Great War & Modern Memory by Paul Fussell
37. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
38. Fuseli: The Nightmare by Nicolas Powell
39. Anthem by Ayn Rand
40. Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
41. Girl Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
42. The Circus In the Attic & Other Stories by Robert Penn Warren
43. The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche
44. The Finest Legends of the Rhine by Wilhelm Ruland
45. Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
46. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
47. Quotations of Martin Luther King Jr. 
48. Persuasion by Jane Austen
49. The Northern Lights by Lucy Jago
50. The Bone People by Keri Hulme
51. Dracula by Bram Stoker
52. The Zimmerman Telegram by Barbara W. Tuchman
53. One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch with John Rothchild
54. Gilgamesh rendered by David Ferry
55. My Brother's Keeper (James Joyce's Early Years) by Stanislaus Joyce
56. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
57. Tess of the D'Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy

58. Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck
59. Duino Elegies by Maria Rainer Rilke 
60. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
61. Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples
62. Haveli by Suzanne Fisher Staples 
63. The Giver by Lois Lowry 
64. A Seal Called Andre: The Two Worlds of a Maine Harbor Seal by Harry Goodridge and Lew Dietz
65. Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron
66. The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, M.D.
67. Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. & John J. Ratey, M.D.
68. The Road Less Traveled and Beyond by M. Scott Peck, M.D.
69. The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
70. How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World: A Short Story of Modern Delusions by Francis Wheen
71. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Lives of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher, Ph.D.
72. Judy Garland: World's Greatest Entertainer by John Fricke
73. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl