The Jungle

The Jungle
by Upton Sinclair

"The Jungle" opens with the wedding of Ona and Jurgis, a young couple from Lithuania in search of a better life. They have brought Ona's family with them. On the way to America, they lost most of their money when an agent swindled them. On arrival they find a filthy, cheap boarding house to stay in.

Once the adults get jobs, they buy a house. But interest and repairs cause the oldest child to have to go to work. And it's all down hill from there. Jobs are lost, injuries occur, deaths, Ona's brother deserts the family. And things just keep getting worse.

"The Jungle" tells of the corruption that was in the food industry at the turn of the century. The stories of what was done to the meat were horrifying. Among other things Sinclair claimed diseased animals were put into distribution and people who fell into meat grinders were sold as beef. Public reaction to the book helped passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

I enjoyed most of the novel. I've had it in the house about 3 years but I didn't realize it had such a tragic story in it. The story of the lives of the family is compelling, if not a little exaggerated. But still. My only problem was the three chapters Sinclair devoted to the joys of Socialism. Snooze time there.

Ricochet

Ricochet by Sandra Brown

Another mystery from my sister. This one is pretty good.

Detective Duncan Hatcher is trying to nail big, bad Robert Savich. The book opens with a murder trial. Judge Cato Laird calls a mistrial and Hatcher mouths off and gets contempt jail time.

Next thing you know, Hatcher is called to Lairds house because his trophy wife, Elise has shot and killed an intruder. But the evidence doesn't fit in Hatcher's opinion. And then Elise comes to Hatcher with the theory her husband hired someone to kill her. But Hatcher doesn't believe it. So now he's sifting through the facts trying to find out what is going on.

I had very few complaints with this book. There's a couple of iffy situations involving police procedure that I don't think a good cop would pull. But the mystery was strong. It fed you enough facts to keep you guessing and the resolution wasn't predictable but it didn't come out of left field either.

Booking Through Thursday-Volume

Booking Through Thursday

Would you say that you read about the same amount now as when you were younger? More? Less?
Why?

I think I read the same amount, but I'm reading better books these days. I used to read alot of romances and mysteries. Today I reading classics and bestsellers.

A Widow for One Year

A Widow for One Year by John Irving

This is the story of Ruth and the people around her. At the age of four her mother left her and her father. The mother, Marion, had been planning to leave her father, Ted, when her two brothers were killed in a car wreck. But she put it off and had
Ruth instead. But Marion was scared of loving another child and decided to leave rather than risk losing another child.

So, Ruth grows up afraid of commitments. She's in her late 30's before she finally marries and has a child.

"A Widow for One Year" is about missing persons, whether a person is missing or someone is missing a person. The book explores how absence affects people, whether it's Ruth missing her mother, Marion and Ted missing their sons, or other people in the book who have lost people.

Love in the Time of Cholera

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

Florentino and Fermina loved each other as teenagers. However, they had to keep their young romance a secret. But her father found out anyway and took Fermina on a trip for several years. And, lovestruck as only teenagers can be, they kept up a secret correspondance until she came home. Upon her return, Fermina took one look at Florentino and dumped him.

But Florentino continued to love her. Fermina married a rich doctor. Florentino had 622 lovers. That's right. 622-he kept a detailed list. But 51 years, nine months and 4 days later, he is once again declaring his love to her. But being a recent widow, she is not pleased.

The novel tells the story of their lives. First together, then separately, then back again. It's a lovely book about the power of love and the dreams we dare to have.

Booking Through Thursday-Oh, Horror

What with yesterday being Halloween, and all . . . do you read horror? Stories of things that go bump in the night and keep you from sleeping?

I thought about asking you about whether you were participating in NaNoWriMo, but I asked that last year. Although . . . if you want to answer that one, too, please feel free to go ahead and do both, or either, your choice!

I'm afraid my horror has been King and Koontz. But my last visit to B&N they had a display of alot of horror books I was interested in. But my TBR pile is too big for me to take on anything else. Next year I have 8 Steven King slated for the 888 challenge. I chose him as one of my categories.

Middlesex

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

"Middlesex" is the story of a family. From the grandparents' early life in Asia Minor to the sexually misidentified Cal/Callie born in Detroit. The grandparents were siblings who fell in love. After fleeing a war, they moved to Detroit where a cousin lived. Free of the people who knew them, they married. The cousin had secrets of her own and kept theirs.

Because of a genetic defect, Cal/Callie is intersexed and must figure out which sex is the best fit.