I'm done with The Years of Rice and Salt. Hmm. Hmm. It's a hard book to pin down a reaction to. I'd give it three stars, average, how's that? It wasn't the epic journey I was expecting, it's more a novel of ideas, like Isaac Asimov's Foundation. Most of the ideas are about people of a different culture, Chinese, Sufi, Tibetan Buddhist, might come to philosophical and scientific conclusions about the universe. It's sort of reinventing civilization's wheel without Christianity and white people, in eight or nine different stories, which are more like novellas, though they aren't structured as stories -- they're like those "what if?" alt-history rewrites you might come across on a history forum or newspaper article. Any of the novellas might have made a complete novel in itself if they were fleshed out. They didn't hang together IMO all that well.
There was a concurrent story to the novellas of a group of eight characters who died together in Ancient Tibet who are reincarnated over the eons into the setting of each separate story. In between stories, they hang out in the bardo (Tibetan Buddhist Limbo) discussing their adventures before reincarnating again. As every good Buddhist knows, the goal is to overcome one's karma and rise through the eight worlds to reach Bodhisattva status and finally nirvana. As a former Buddhist I had to chuckle at their reactions to each setback and triumph in the bardo and their very real complaints. But the stories didn't show them progressing or regressing, making the choices that would determine their fate. The choices that would lead them to overcome their Lower Worlds - Hell, Animality, Hunger, Anger. I felt that the author was telling their stories, not showing them. For the life of me he couldn't write an engaging conflict or a character arc. The book wasn't painful to read, I enjoyed it for the most part, even the long-winded bits which were reminiscent of discussions I'd had with my fellow Buddhists. But it overstayed its welcome by a good third. I was going to rate it two and a half stars, but I really did enjoy the last chapters, which tied up the various philosophies and plotline in a way that I thought made sense.
Now I will start on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which promises to go somewhat quicker.
4. What you will read to your grandchildren: A children's book (middle grade or younger).
A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeleine L’engle
Picked because it's been hanging around here for a while and I want to see what's going on with the Murry kids. DONE
5. East meets West: A book taking place in Asia (Turkey to Japan, Siberia to Vietnam)
The Last Samurai, the Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori, by Mark Ravina
Japanese history. DONE
6. Just the (alternative) facts, Ma’am: An alternate history.
The Years of Rice and Salt, Kim Stanley Robinson
What if all of Caucasian Europe had died during the Great Plague? DONE
9. Best friend: A book with a dog on the cover.
Being a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz
Loved her previous book, Inside a Dog. DONE
14. Crossing the (color) lines: A book about a person of color (PoC), any variety, written by an author of the same variety.
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemison
Wanted to read this author for a while. DONE
+ Extra Credit: Tales from La Vida, A Latinx Comics Anthology, ed. Frederick Luis Aldama. DONE
17. Back in the day: A historical of any genre.
A Murder in Thebes, Anna Apostolou
Alexander the Great turns amateur detective! DONE
18. Do you deliver?: A book where food, cooking, restaurants, chefs, etc. play a major role.
American Pie, Pascale Le Draoulec
Apples of Uncommon Character, 123 Heirlooms, Modern Classics, and Little Known Wonders, by Rowan Jacobsen DONE
25. Flights of fancy: A book in which airplanes figure prominently.
Jet Age, Sam Howe Verhovek.
The rivalry between the British Comet passenger jet and the Boeing 707. DONE
28. Keep up with the Joneses: A book everyone else seems to have read but you have not.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson
I don't know what I will find in here. WORKING ON
39. Tuesdays with Balaam’s Ass: A book with a non-human (animal or fantastic creature) main character.
Tales from Watership Down, Richard Adams
Talking rabbits. DONE
48. Matryoshka books: A book mentioned or discussed inside another book.
Reading Lolita in Teheran, Azar Nafisi
Self-explanatory. DONE
49. What you read: A book you loved as a child.
A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin
How did this one hold up through my adult eyes? DONE