Reading Tai-Bo

This was a marvelous week for reading. I conveniently forgot to work on our families photo book (aaargh!), we’re on Christmas vacation so I can stay up until 10:00pm (don’t have to write until 5:00am) and the Hunky Hubby was super busy with camp, so what is a girl to do…READ that’s what. I read The Lost World by Sir Arther Connan Doyle. And completely loved it. A marvelous adventure story, fast paced, lot’s of action and a fascinating setting. The only drawback…much racism and imperialism abounded. The sad thing was that you could tell he wasn’t trying to be mean. I remember reading some NeoNazi material for a report in collage and that had a completely different tone. No, Sir Arther simply though that this was how life was and didn’t think that anyone else would think differently. People of color were granted only two possible personalities: loyal or treacherous. Who they were was completely determined by how they acted toward the white explorers. On one occasion they counted how many men were in the jungle, and he only counted four even though they had 3 native luggage toters, 2 “half breeds”, and a negro slave on the expedition as well. Then I was amazed at little glimpses into the cultures views on war. There was always supposed to be some sort of war going on. And it was exciting, not because evil was held at bay or whatever, no war was just exciting. And of course the characters participated in slaughtering a race of ape men into extinction. And they felt that they were doing a service to the evolutionary chain. Painful, and yet man what a marvelous book. I highly recommend the story it was a fast and fun read, but tread with a thick skin if you are Brazilian, of mixed heritage, African American or English. For if you are a person of color you may be insulted and if you are British it might be mortally embarrassing. I was able to somehow separate things in my mind and read the story totally enjoying it, while at the same time analyzing all of the horrendous attitudes of the day. Then I read Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident, and Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code. These books are so very fun and you read through them so quickly because of their fast pace and witty dialogue. I absolutely love them. Completely written for Jr. High boys with all of the over the top action and gross dwarf gas. Very fun.