Yes, it’s true… I’ve turned the last page, and I’m onto a new chapter in life: the chapter where there are no more books about dear, dear Kingsbridge. Oh, how I LOVED Pillars of the Earth! An amazing book! To even think that World Without End would compete was ridiculous… but it did. Boy, it did! It took Ken Follett 18 years to write World after Pillars, and I have an ache in my heart thinking that there won’t be a third.

I’ll miss Kingsbridge… dear, dear Kingsbridge. Those books have been gifts to my soul. Thanks, CA, for recommending them in the first place.

YAY! New books!! (Don’t worry – they were all SEVERELY on sale!) I desperately want to start reading them now, but I have to finish Searching for Life first. Sigh.

Well, I love Alice Sebold – I read Lovely Bones first – and it was amazing, then I read Lucky. And although I appreciate, or LIKE, her style, and I tend to like darker stories/tones, this one… I just don’t know.

She left you wondering too much this time; and with the story she told, I didn’t want to wonder. I wanted a clear, concise ending. I wanted finality. And I didn’t get it. I started pulling away about mid-book… something just didn’t feel right. Something seemed off. Not that it was becoming more intense or more desperate, but more disconnected, maybe. I won’t blame it on poor writing, not at all… but the story in Almost Moon left me disjointed. Uncomfortable.

I like the book. I’d recommend it for the quality of writing, but this isn’t what I wanted. I wanted something tighter, cleaner, more obvious. I wanted something more final. And this time, Alice Sebold just left my soul hanging.

So I was chatting with a friend of mine today about a number of TV shows, and it occurred to me that I’ve wanted to create a few lists: a list of books to be read, a list of TV Series already watched, and a list of TV Series to be watched. Yes, I realize I’m lame, and that, in order to find the love of my life, I’ll have to look for someone who is willing to stay home randomly and watch entire serieseseses of TV shows… ugh. Hopeless. I get it.

Anyway… on to the lists.

Book List
The Secret Girl by Molly Bruce Jacobs – IN PROGRESS!
Searching for Life: The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the Disappeared Children of Argentina by Rita Arditti
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody
A Ship Made of Paper by Scott Spencer
1984 by George Orwell
The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
Getting Stoned with Savages by J. Maarten Troost

Series’ Watched
The Sopranos (All Seasons) – DONE
OZ (All Seasons) – DONE
Arrested Development (whole series) – DONE
The Hills (Seasons 1-3) – DONE
Dexter (Season 1) – DONE THIS WEEK
Wonderfalls (All Episodes) – JUST FINISHED!

Series’ To Be Watched
The Hills (Seasons 4-?) – starts August 18th
Dexter (Seasons 2-?) – Season 2 DVD releases August 19th; Season 3 starts September 28th
Firefly (All Seasons)
Six Feet Under (All Seasons)
Deadwood (All Seasons)
The Wire (All Seasons)
Battlestar Galactica (Seasons 1-?)

So… it’s a lot. And if anyone has any of the “Series’ To Be Watched” shows on DVD so that I can borrow them… all the better. (Yes, JWER. I’ll return yours soon – almost done.)

Oh my. How do I review this book? Fish is one of the most graphic and disturbing books that I’ve ever read. As many of you know, I tend to read darker topics, so, naturally, this book is dark. But Fish is the story of a boy sentenced to time in prison, and “dark” doesn’t even begin to describe the brutality that is recounted in this book. Fish has been on my book list since last fall, and after the author (I believe) left a comment on my blog, I felt even more compelled to take on this story.

Here’s a summary:
When seventeen-year-old T.J. Parsell held up the local Photo Mat with a toy gun, he was sentenced to four and a half to fifteen years in prison. The first night of his term, four older inmates drugged Parsell and took turns raping him. When they were through, they flipped a coin to decide who would “own” him. Forced to remain silent about his rape by a convict code among inmates (one in which informers are murdered), Parsell’s experience that first night haunted him throughout the rest of his sentence.

In an effort to silence the guilt and pain of its victims, the issue of prisoner rape is a story that has not been told. For the first time Parsell, one of America’s leading spokespeople for prison reform, shares the story of his coming of age behind bars. He gives voice to countless others who have been exposed to an incarceration system that turns a blind eye to the abuse of the prisoners in its charge. Since life behind bars is so often exploited by television and movie re-enactments, the real story has yet to be told. Fish is the first breakout story to do that.

So did I like the book? Yes. Did I enjoy the book? No. This is not a story you read for enjoyment. It is not entertaining, nor relaxing. It’s horrifying, but… at the same time, inspiring. It’s a story you read because it reminds you that you’re human, you’re vulnerable, and that there are injustices in life that far outweigh the day to day problems or inconveniences that people like you or I face.

Fish is a story of youth, of consequence, and of exploitation. It is also a story of grace, but this is not it’s sole purpose. Fish exposes a side of humanity that we live in ignorance of, or that we choose not to acknowledge.

We are all representatives of the causes that we support. For me, it’s the Christian Children’s Fund. For others, it’s Child’s Play, the Red Cross, or some other association. TJ Parsell, the author of Fish, has chosen prison reform, and his is a first hand account of the mistreatment he suffered under the “protection” of the prison system. Fish is a terrifying record of Parsell’s experiences, but his story is one that should be heard, and one that is definitely worth the read.

Okay… so Cherylann was right. This book rocks. At 989 pages, this book is truly epic, and because I still don’t consider myself an official “reader,” an epic novel was quite a challenge for me.

A summary from the author’s website:
In a time of civil war, famine and religious strife, there rises a magnificent Cathedral in Kingsbridge. Against this backdrop, lives entwine: Tom, the master builder, Aliena, the noblewoman, Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge, Jack, the artist in stone and Ellen, the woman from the forest who casts a curse. At once, this is a sensuous and enduring love story and an epic that shines with the fierce spirit of a passionate age.

Admittedly, the first 50-100 pages were hard. It’s not that the book wasn’t interesting – it was – but I’m not used to reading fiction, so it took me awhile to get into the rhythm of the story. This book is incredibly detailed, with a slew of main characters. Tons! Off the top of my head: Tom Builder, Philip, the Bishop, William, Jack, Aliena, Ellen, the church… I wonder if the writer is really just that great at character development, or if epics, by their very complex nature, allow for better development. Thoughts? Discuss amongst yourselves.

As I told Cheryl, I found a lot of the book very graphic… it’s not that I’m a prude, but some of the language just makes me uncomfortable. On top of that, some of the violence was really hard to read. I’d like to think that some of this could have been avoided, but that might not be true. The time period of the book is Old English/Medieval, and the violence and barbarian-like nature of the events play into that. Was it necessary? In all likelihood, probably.

What I loved about the book was its fabulous character development (which I mentioned), it’s rich detail, and most importantly, that it wasn’t any one kind of novel. It was all novels. It was a mystery, a drama, an adventure, and a love story. The story surpassed period constraints in the telling of it, yet leaned heavily on the details of the time period for atmosphere. It’s just incredible, it really is. And it’s really worth your while to pick it up and give it a try.

At the end of the novel, there was no more than a three page sneak peak into the sequel, World Without End. I know Cheryl started it , and she probably finished it, but after reading those three pages I knew I’d have to read it. I’ll read a few books in between, of course, but there’s no doubt that World Without End is making it onto my 2008 reading list.