Book Chatter

Happy Mother’s Day! I had a lovely day. The Hub and kids took me out for a Mexican feast and then we headed to Ojai, California which is only about 45 minutes from where we live. We visit often but we’ve never been able to find a decent bookstore there. However, a co-worker of mine reminded me of Bart’s Books. I went looking for this store once before but I never found it. Well, I found it today!

This store is very unique. Can you see why? Most of the collection is housed out in the open! Doesn’t that blow your mind? Apparently, Richard Bartinsdale’s book collection was getting out of hand so he installed bookshelves outside and asked people to drop money into a coffee can if they saw a title that caught their eye. It’s been around since the 60’s and is actually quite large. It was a house at one point, complete with kitchen and living space. They carry a large selection of used titles but I do believe they had some new books as well. If they weren’t new, they were in very good condition.

If you look carefully, you can see the Hub and kids standing on the corner. We thought that was pretty much it for the collection but we were wrong! There is quite a bit to look at inside.

Check out the History section above. Notice the corrugated roof? This is actually in part of a courtyard. I was amazed at the number of books available.

The picture above shows part of the open courtyard, complete with fireplace! This is part of the Fiction section and only a sampling of what they have to offer in the way of Fiction.

This is the other side of the courtyard. There are wrought iron tables and umbrellas all around. Makes it a nice place to spend some time. I wonder if they hold book group meetings there. That would be a nice place to meet, gathered around the fireplace, sipping a favorite beverage.

Check out the kitchen! Guess what was housed in the kitchen? Cookbooks! How completely appropriate! As I walked around, the wooden floors creaked and it really felt as if I was walking around in someone’s personal library.

My kids and Hub were great. They hung out in the children’s section and allowed me to wander aimlessly. It was wonderful! The only downside is that I left my book list at home so I had a hard time remembering the titles on my TBR list. Note to self, need a Blackberry 🙂 Actually I would love an iPhone but I detest AT&T. I digress…

Here I am at the cash register. When the store is closed, they ask that you buy on the honor system and just place your money through a slot in the door. Isn’t that wild? See that tree in the background? Another reminder that I am outside! They also sell soft drinks and coffee for those that want to linger awhile. Special note: the restroom is not a public restroom so be sure to stop at a local convenience store beforehand or you might find yourself hopping from one foot to the other after drinking about 50 ounces of iced tea at lunch. Trust me, it’s not comfortable!

Since I didn’t have my list I ended up with The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff. This is a book club pick for later in the year so that one was easy to remember. I also picked up a copy of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I read it a long time ago and loved it but did not own a copy. On top of my small stack, is a Brighton bookmark that I bought at a different store. I lost my other one last week so I decided to replace it.

All in all it was a fabulous day and I am so excited to have found this store. If you ever visit Ojai be sure to check it out. It’s at the corner of Matalija and Canada. Click here to check out their website.

Note from Ti: I am going to try something new with this review. My reviews will have three parts now: the summary, something that I am calling “the short of it” and then a section for my thoughts.

The “short of it” will be a few sentences about the book. Basically these brief sentences will indicate whether or not I enjoyed the book. Some readers like to know up-front if a book is worth reading so there you go! Consider it a mini-review of sorts.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Publisher: Random House Inc
Pub. Date: September 2007
ISBN-13: 9781400095209
528pp

Here’s the blurb from Barnes and Noble:

“With astonishing empathy and the effortless grace of a natural storyteller, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie weaves together the lives of three characters swept up in the turbulence of the decade. Thirteen-year-old Ugwu is employed as a houseboy for a university professor full of revolutionary zeal. Olanna is the professor’s beautiful mistress, who has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos for a dusty university town and the charisma of her new lover. And Richard is a shy young Englishman in thrall to Olanna’s twin sister, an enigmatic figure who refuses to belong to anyone. As Nigerian troops advance and the three must run for their lives, their ideals are severely tested, as are their loyalties to one another.

Epic, ambitious, and triumphantly realized, Half of a Yellow Sun is a remarkable novel about moral responsibility, about the end of colonialism, about ethnic allegiances, about class and race—and the ways in which love can complicate them all. Adichie brilliantly evokes the promise and the devastating disappointments that marked this time and place, bringing us one ofthe most powerful, dramatic, and intensely emotional pictures of modern Africa that we have ever had.”

The Short of It:

Tightly woven, character driven novel about the fight for Biafra’s freedom. Although this novel is fiction, it is based on historic events and achingly real at times. I could not put it down.

My Thoughts:

There are so many things to say about this novel. I was completely swept away to another time and place while reading it. It basically follows the lives of three main characters during the Nigerian-Biafran War (1967-1970). This was a brutal war where the Igbo or Ibo (eebo) were slaughtered just for being Ibo. As the world falls apart around them, Olanna and Odenigbo who have become accustomed to the finer things in life, are stripped of all their worldly possessions and forced to focus on survival.

Ugwu, the boy servant who works for Olanna and Odenigbo, ended up being my favorite character. His innocence and boyishness is so well drawn. There were times where I just wanted to shake him and say, “Silly Ugwu! What were you thinking?” We really get to know Ugwu and his thoughts as he cares for Baby, Olanna and Odenigbo’s young daughter. Ugwu is a constant reminder of the class differences within Nigeria. Although he is often considered part of the family, he quietly takes his place as the houseboy and never questions his place within the household.

There are other characters within the novel that I enjoyed as well. Richard, the Englishman that falls in love with Olanna’s twin sister, Kainene. Richard is a misfit of sorts. A struggling writer who believes in the freedom fight and will do anything to win Kainene over. Although educated, he struggles with his place in the world.

Adichie’s portrayal of a war-torn state is vividly real at times. There are some violent scenes within the book and depictions of rape. I do not have a strong stomach when it comes to rape but these scenes accurately depict the horrors that the Ibo people were forced to live with during their quest for freedom.

My book group met last night to discuss the book and it was a good discussion. Most fell in love with the characters and found the writing quite easy to follow. Although the novel is 500+ pages, you do not notice its length as you are reading it. Although it deals with a heavy subject matter, there are moments of hopefulness and even humor at times. I highly recommend this novel.

To read more about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, click here to visit her website. Also, Jill over at Fizzy Thoughts recently reviewed this book as well. She and I are on the same reading kick right now. Click here to check out Jill’s review.

Chatting with friends about books and life…