Micro by Michael Crichton & Richard Preston

"In 2008, the famous naturalist David Attenborough expressed concern that modern schoolchildren could not identify common plants and insects found in nature, although previous generations identified them without hesitation.

It was ironic that this should be happening at a time when there was in the West an ever greater concern for the environment, and ever more ambitious steps proposed to protect it.

Indoctrinating children in proper environmental thought was a hallmark of the green movement, and so children were being instructed to protect something about which they knew nothing at all."

I agree with Michael Crichton - we should know or strive to know about things we try to protect.

Though we go camping, and my children play outside quite often, we don't know the names of the plants and trees growing in the nearby park. I guess this is something I should work to change. 

When I read a book, especially fiction, I want it to do one thing for me. Just one. Take me to a place or time where I would learn something new. Michael Crichton's books have consistently done that for me, and it saddens me to know that he passed away few years back.

This book follows similar Michael Crichton patterns - where main characters' survival is at stake against a form of advanced technology, surprising ways the complex of nature responds to external stimuli, and the fact that technological advances can be seen as a double-edged sword without a hilt to wield it.

~Spoiler Alert~

The president of Nanigen is interested in hiring promising graduate students and invites seven promising Ph.D. students from the east coast to check out his facility in Hawaii. There one of the grad students learns that the president murdered his brother who had been working at Nanigen as a director. To cover up his crime more completely, he shrinks the grad students and abandons them in the middle of the rain forest in Hawaii. Now, the students must fight the elements, natural predators, and the advanced micro technology that is available in the Nanigen president's arsenal to survive.

The thing I enjoyed most about the book was the minute details of nature seen from the micro inhabitants, rather than larger human view. The surface tension on a raindrop or what the forest floor would feel like to microscopic creatures were awesome. You realize that laws of nature act differently at micro levels and that in itself presents a problem to micro-sized humans.

I have always enjoyed reading Michael Crichton's books, and I'm going to miss him in my reading life very much.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes a good read.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin

I'm at the Dollar Tree a lot because that's where I get most of my science project materials. When I have to buy project supplies 200+ students for very little money, I go where I can get good deals on straws, toothpicks, plastic cups, etc. So, while I'm there, I look around and quite often, find a gem of a book. This is one of them.

What a surprising read! I'm not sure if I would have picked up this book on my own, but I'm glad I did.

~Spoiler Alert~

Known as Mrs. Tom Thumb, Mercy Lavinia "Vinnie" Warren Bump was born a normal infant. But she suffered a pituitary disorder, which led to her proportionate dwarfism. Her family wanted to hide her from the eyes of the world, but she longed for another, more public life which afforded wider interaction with others.

At two feet, eight inches tall, she is small, to say the least. This book highlights Vinnie's life as a part of the circus act of P.T. Barnum, but what I find even more remarkable is that she held her own against village children as a school teacher before she embarked on her circus career. The fact that she can keep a classroom of children, some of whom are much, much taller than her, is a testament to her character and her will.

So, it comes as no surprise to me that she jumps at the chance to join the circus that supposed "family cousin" is running. Sure, she still has her school and teaching, but she chafes against the strict confines of the social norms. If she stays, she's relegated to the life of spinsterhood, a woman to be pitied in the neighborhood and included when occasion called for it. 

Vinnie finally convinces her family to let her go with Colonel Wood to his "floating palace of entertainment," she's ready for an adventure, but what she finds is much more than what she expects. Even after she escapes that situation where she had been in physical danger of being raped or abused, her heart yearns for an adventure. So, SHE writes P.T. Barnum, offering her services in his circus.

There she meets P.T. Barnum and her future husband, Charles Sherwood, aka General Tom Thumb. As her circus act becomes more and more popular, especially after she marries General Tom Thumb (which preempts the coverage of the Civil War), she's in the company of presidents and royalty. However, life is anything but happy. 

Their fame wanes after the dizzying heights and they are relegated to getting back on the trains (not P.T. Barnum's private trains) and going from town to town to perform. And her even smaller sister, Mini, joins her at the circus after being her bridesmaid for the wedding. But Mini is not made of the same stuff as Vinnie, and she doesn't enjoy the public life. All she wants is to return to her normal life, but her desire to stay close to Vinnie keeps Mini at the circus.

Eventually, Mini marries another circus performer, another small-sized man, and while giving birth to a normal sized baby, both the baby and Mini die. This tragic event marks the beginning of the end of a lot of relationships she has people around her - her husband and P.T. Barnum.

This is an epic novel about a woman who refused to be defined by her size and allow others, be it family or strangers, to dictate how she should live her life.

Vinnie's sheer determination to live the life she wants is awe-inspiring, to say the least. How she thought to control a classroom of kids (kids her days may have had more respect for her position as a teacher, but it couldn't have been easy), then go on to the unknown world of performing on "floating palaces" on the Mississippi. She consistently makes bold choices, even though at times, she feels that she has no other choice.

I hope I can live my life the way Vinnie did, with a sense of adventure and determination to follow my dreams, no matter what others say.

Two thumbs up! Way, way up!

Finding Jack by Gareth Crocker

I grew up in Korea, and when I was a child, I didn't see any pet dogs in my neighborhood. However, there was a scary guard dog in our neighborhood, and it became a daily trial to walk in front of the doors of that house. I would tip-toe to the house, then run across as fast as I could because I was so scared of the dog's loud and menacing bark. 

This was the extent of my exposure to dogs until I met my husband to be. Now, we are a family of dog lovers. My favorite quote about dogs - Not everyone knows how to love a dog, but every dog knows how to love a person.

But this book shows the width and the depth of love and devotion one man feels for the dog that not only saves his life and the lives of others on patrol with him, but gives him a reason to live. The extraordinary lengths Fletcher will go to save Jack's life is crazy, stupid, and incredibly inspiring.

~Spoiler Alert~

Fletcher Carson enlists for the Vietnam War for all the wrong  reasons. He had recently lost his wife and daughter, and he didn't want to go on living. At 29, he enlists, and a friend asks him why.

"Our soldiers are being massacred in Vietnam. Most of them are still kids. They've got their whole lives ahead of them. It makes sense that people like me enlist." 

He enlists, but it doesn't mean he has a death wish. He merely goes through motions of doing what he needs to do, but he's not fully engaged in fighting or trying to stay alive until he meets Jack, a yellow Lab. A yellow Lab emerges from the trees already injured, but the soldiers are weary of such encounters. They already heard enough stories of rigged injured animals being blown up as the American soldiers tried to help them. So, immediately, their leader orders Fletcher to "take him out." When Fletcher refuses, another soldier is ordered, and he shoots the dog. The dog is gravely injured, but Fletcher carries the dog back to the base.

At the base, Jack recovers from his injuries and goes out on patrols with Fletcher's group. Many times, Jack saves the lives of Fletcher's group, and eventually the war ends with both Fletcher and Jack surviving the ordeal, even though several from his group had died in battle. By the war's end, Fletcher is convinced that Jack was sent by his dead daughter to let him know that she and her mother, Fletcher's wife are doing OK. BUT the end was anything but what Fletcher had imagined. The dogs that kept so many of the soldiers alive were considered "surplus military equipment," and the plan was to abandon them in Vietnam.

This is not an acceptable solution to Fletcher, and he tries to find a way to take Jack back home with him. But there is no other way but one. Fletcher jumps from a helicopter as it lifts off, and stay on with Jack. Now, he and Jack must find their way out of Vietnam by land (Vietnam to Laos to Thailand). It is a harrowing journey strewn with extreme dangers, both natural and man-made, but together, they overcome them all. In the end, they make it to Thailand, and finally, they are able to come to America together. He even bring out others who have helped him survive his nightmarish ordeal.

I love to learn something new from a book, and though I don't feel that I've learned anything new from this book, it was an enjoyable read. The only complaint I have about this books is that over and over, right people with right equipment came just in nick of time to rescue Fletcher and Jack, especially at the end on their journey out of Vietnam. 

I'd recommend this book to any dog lover, but anyone who is interested in an enjoyable read.

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

One of the teachers I work with at my daughter's elementary school introduced me to this book, and I absolutely loved it. Let me tell you why.

I immigrated to the US when I was ten-years-old from South Korea. Though, at the time, I found consolation in my false impressions that my father spoke English, but I soon found out how little English he actually spoke at the time. Due to lack of English language skills, my brothers and I were teased quite often, but more than anything, our weird names painted big, fat target on our backs.
 
My Korean name is Ryoung Ah. This is enunciated with the silent R, usually, but the correct enunciation rolls the R in front of the y. But how could the kids in my 4th grade have known? They had to make do with a jumble of letters that you just don't see in American names very often. So, my name got butchered from Rye-young-gah to R-youn-gah, to any number of unwieldy sounds. But I didn't have the courage to correct any of them. One of my brother's name is Dong Hwan, but it got changed to Ding Dong. Dong Dong, etc. The other brother's name is Kyung Tai, but it got changed to Kee-young-tie, etc.

Needless to say, changing Korean names to American names sounded like a good idea, and we did. But even in this, my path to finding an American name of my own wasn't smooth. I liked Christine. Christine Kim had a nice ring to it. So, the next day, I went to school and told another Korean girl that beginning next Monday, I was going to everyone to call me Christine. Well, that "friend" had told everyone to call her Christine after the first recess, and I was left out in the cold. I had to start my search for an American name all over again. Finally, by the end of next week, I settled on Jennifer. I don't even remember if I particularly liked the name, but I chose it because I knew no one else named Jennifer.

With all these stories behind how I ended up with my name, I enjoyed this wonderful book and loved the choice she made. I think it was the right choice for her, but I also realize that I made the right choice for me.

I am Jennifer Ryoung Ah Kim.

P.S. I thought I should add this funny story. When we first got here, my brothers and I were desperate to make friends, and wondered why it was so hard to make friends.... Well, before we started school, my Korean-American uncle taught us a phrase that supposed to keep us out of trouble.

The phrase was... I can't speak English. Please, leave me alone.

What?!? I know.

Even now, I have a hard time believing that my uncle actually taught us the phrase thinking it would solve all kinds of problems. And here we were, wondering why we couldn't make any friends.

A free book giveaway on Amazon

Hello everyone. I guess it makes sense that I should love my own book, but this one is particularly personal in regards that it's based on a dream.

I'm running a promotion on Amazon. You can download my latest book, Last Chance Lane by Jennifer R. Kim, for free on 12/3.

I'll tell you about how things are going in my next blog.

Enjoy!

The Lady and the Poet by Maeve Haran

John Donne. Anne Donne. Undone.

I remember reading these lines in high school English class and wondered what would induce John Donne to pen such words. These simple words intrigued me far more than any of his poems (maybe I just don't have a poetic soul, but such is the case), but I didn't do anything to find out what he wrote such words. Then a couple of weeks ago, at a library book sale, I picked up this book because I still remembered these words. And now, after having read this book, I want to read his poems.

Spoiler Alert~

Anne Donne (formerly Anne More) came from wealth and privilege. Her unusual grandfather educated her far beyond what would have been acceptable as a young woman, and she had spirit and fire to match her keen intelligence. It was decided that Anne should come to London and stay with her aunt. She was destined to become on of Queen Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting, resulting in an advantageous marriage. At her aunt's house, she meets John Donne; he was her uncle's secretary.

When they first met, she's thirteen years old, but John Donne mistook her for a servant and propositioned her at their first meeting. At a later meeting, she corrected his error and put him in his place. This was the start of their attraction to one another; however, there were several, almost insurmountable obstacles.

Compared to Anne's esteemed background, John was merely a servant in her uncle's household. Anne's highly status conscious father would never want someone like John, who could offer nothing to him, as his son-in-law. When they met, he was a man of 25 who wrote bawdy poems and had a string of women (both high-born and low-born) at his beck-and-call. She was an innocent girl of 13 who was at the cusp of her womanhood. There was a chance he might be thrown into prison. In the time of Bloody Mary and Elizabeth I reign, he was a Catholic, and she was raised Protestant. This alone could have led to great strife. Most importantly, they knew they would most likely be completely ostracized by all those who knew them and might face financial ruin if they act on their love and affection for one another. Even as they faced all these consequences, they married one another in secret when she was 17 years old.

When John Donne revealed their secret marriage to Anne's father a year later, he's thrown in prison, and Anne's father proceeded to dispute the validity of the marriage. However, their marriage was upheld by the courts. Anne's father refused to pay her dowry, and John lost his position. Now, they were forced to live off the charity of Anne's cousin in the country. Though constantly under financial pressures (Anne's father was rather vindictive and slow in paying out her dowry), John and Anne lived happily.

Anne died at the age of 33, after delivering a stillborn child, her 12th child. John never recovered for Anne's death and lived the rest of his life (another 14 years) alone.

This wonderful book brought forth some very interesting points about John and Anne Donne.

John Donne was a worldly man compared to Anne, with bawdy verses, mistresses and what seems like a great appreciation for the good life. So, what induced him to give up all that for Anne? Anne must have been one remarkable young woman, to intrigue, to attract, and to hold his attention for the rest of her life.

Anne's cousin, who supported her and her family for a long time, must be a very generous man who had an understanding wife (is this too modern way of thinking?). It must cost a lot of money to provide housing as well as some level of necessities for the family (especially when Anne and John had many children). Remember, she died after her 12th baby was stillborn? I'm more used to very demanding and judgmental English upper-crust families (from literature) to cut themselves completely off from a wayward family member. Good thing John Donne and Anne Donne weren't completely Undone.

John must have loved Anne dearly. He became a priest after Anne's death. It must have been hellish for him to wake up and know that he must face another day without her (especially in the beginning). Maybe he did find consolation in God.

Very little is known about Anne Donne. I wish there were more of her from historical sources. She would have been a very interesting person, I bet.

Though I had never been interested in John Donne before, I am eager to get my hands on a volume of poetry.

1356 by Bernard Cornwell

I have always loved action adventures. In fact, action adventure books (The Three Musketeers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Black Night, Ivanhoe, Quo Vadis?, Arsene Lupin books, Sherlock Holmes books, etc.) have kept me sane in the first couple of years of immigration when I felt so alone and lost. These books were my friends, and they helped me keep my spirits up. They taught me never to give up and keep on fighting for what I believed in. 

These are some of the most-treasured books I own (especially since they were from a 100 Masterpiece in the World young adult collection in Korean that my parents brought with us when we immigrated to the United States). Some of my favorite modern action adventure writers are Clive Cussler, Micheal Crichton, Daniel Silva, Sharon Kay Penman, etc. And now, I have another to add to the list - Bernard Cornwell.

What I love about these books is that for a short span of time, they take me on a fantastic adventure. I'm so busy keeping my wits about me that I forget to worry about such mundane things as learning English and finishing my Language Arts homework.

Now, on to the review - I love the books I love in this genre for the same reason. They take me to a very exciting place and give me a great roller coaster ride. However, I have yet to write a review about any of the books I love reading on this blog because at the end of the day, they don't linger in my head, making me think about it for a long time, until this book. 

I loved the details of medieval life in this book. I can feel the damp chill in the crypt. I can smell the acrid smoke wafting up to the sky. I can feel the blood pounding in my veins with every sword thrust and axe swing. I can share the profound grief in losing love ones so needlessly. All this is wonderful enough, but in the heart of this story is a man driven by his own moral code in the time when a sense of righteousness and moral authority was hijacked by the nobility and Catholic Church and used for their gain rather than for God's justice and mercy.

~Spoiler Alert~

In the time of relic collecting, when a notable relic not only made or broke the church that housed it, but the whole region, Sword of Saint Peter was one of the most sought after relic. Saint Peter purportedly used the sword to slice one of the soldier's ear when they came to take Jesus away to Pontius Pilate. This sword was believed to have mystical powers, and it supposedly granted certain victory to whoever possessed it. With another war between the English and the French looming ahead, the race was on from all sides to find it at all cost.

As the relic hunters drew close, those who were responsible for keeping it safe were forced to move it, and this movement created more upheaval in times of chaos.In these troubling times, Sir Thomas Hookton is busy sacking a castle for a French Count whose wife ran away with the lord of the castle. Sir Thomas Hookton is a very successful mercenary known as Le Batard, and he leads a troop of archers and men-at-arms to serve whoever pays him the most money. Though he meets his end of the bargain, the Count in question, even after having retrieved his errant wife and exacted gruesome revenge on the lord of the castle, short-changes Le Batard. Before Le Batard could collect his just payment from the Count, he is called back by his British liege lord and sent on an important mission to find the Sword of Saint Peter.
 
Here are some excerpts - 

"Bernard Cornwell does the best battle scenes of any writer I've read, past or present."
- George R. R. Martin (author of Game of Thrones)

"His characters are vividly drawn, betrayals lurk around every corner, the humor is as sharp as swords, and the action is nonstop."
- Sharon Kay Penman (one of my personal favorites) 

"Cornwell's cinematically detailed battle pieces are literal tours de force."
- Washington Post

Now, on to why I really loved this book.... As I was reading it, everything seemed so unfair. Those who had rank and money could do anything they wanted to do. And the Catholic Church, with its supposed moral righteousness behind it, did everything it wanted to do. A priest's word was all the society needed to find someone guilty of consorting with the devil or some other crime (by the way, how do you fight such a claim? Where can anyone begin?). Then this person would be executed, in very cruel way for that crime. There was very little anyone could do to save a person who had been label thus (especially in places far away from large towns). When I thought about what it would be like to watch my loved one jailed, tortured, then executed for no crime greater than a crime of expediency for the powerful, the impotence of the situation horrified me.

A couple of night ago, I was laying down with my little daughter who called for me in the early morning. Just as I was holding her, a stream of sunshine fingered into her room and illuminated the side of her face where she has a small mole close to her hairline. That mole sent a chill down my spine as I was transported back to the world of 1356. My daughter could have been wrenched away from my arms for that mole alone, jailed and tortured, and maybe even executed for no other reason than someone accused her of a crime. 

How does anyone live with that kind of loss and injustice? 

I gleefully think about Le Batard taking revenge on the culprits for us.

I think about committing acts of sheer foolishness that would cement my death as well. Do I want to live without my precious child?

But I think the worst possible answer could be that I just have to live with it. I have no other choice. I have to wake up the next day and live my life as if nothing had changed since there was nothing I can do to change anything.  Not even for the next victim.

Even though I didn't know it, this book held me under its spell well after I finished the book. My mind made associations I never realized (I'm not sure if there were moles or consorting with the devil actually in the book) and forced me to put myself in the place of these people who lived so long ago. For that alone, I recommend this book.