Sapphire the Great and the Meaning of Life

Finished November 29
Sapphire the Great and the Meaning of Life by Beverley Brenna, illustrated by Tara Anderson

This children's novel is told from two points of view. One is that of nine-year-old Jeannie. Jeannie's dad has recently moved out as her parents separated, and Jeannie has a lot of emotions around this: frustration, anger, guilt, sadness. She has wanted a hamster for quite a while and her parents finally agreed to let her get one. She's saved money for it, and for the supplies she'll need for keeping a hamster and looking after one.
The other point of view is that of Sapphire, the hamster that Jeannie gets. Sapphire isn't the name that Jeannie originally picks for it, but one that it is more thoughtful later decision. We see Sapphire's experience in the pet store before she gets chosen, as well as on the trip home, at Jeannie's place, and on various adventures. Sapphire is a bit of a philosopher, and has a goal of freedom, but gradually changes what she defines that as.
We watch how Jeannie struggles with her own feelings, sometimes erupting in frustration, anger, or sadness. And we watch how spending time with Sapphire calms her, and others in her household.
The idea of freedom extends beyond Sapphire into others in the story, who are struggling with the freedom to be who they really are, despite how others may react to them. It's about being able to have that freedom to be comfortable in your own skin, to be happy with your life, and to see that life in a positive way. This extends not only to Jeannie's parents, but also to her neighbour, and gradually friend Anna Conda. Jeannie accepts Anna for who she is, and defends her as well, looking for ways to help others find acceptance too.
This book exposes children to a variety of family types, and opens the door to discussion in a positive way of these differences.
A great addition to any library.

Wonderful Audiobook

Finished March 1
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, performed by Edwina Wren
This is a wonderful story following a famous manuscript through time. In 1996, Hanna Heath a young Australian conservator is asked to conserve the Sarajevo Haggadah, a unique Jewish religious book that, unlike most Jewish books, is illuminated. The illustrations are wonderful, portraying the story behind the Jewish seder. Most recently, the book was rescued from the museum in Sarajevo by the librarian. As Hanna carefully conserves the manuscript and notes the special aspects of it, she finds a small insect wing, a hair, some stains on the pages, and other things that might give some hints to where the manuscript has been over time. The book takes us back in time to where the manuscript was when it gained these items. The stories behind the history of the manuscript, its makers, and its various rescues is very engaging and takes us from Spain, to Italy, to Germany and to Sarajevo. The people involved in its history have engrossing stories of their own and as the stories emerge, we also learn Hanna's story and how she came to be who she is, and who she becomes as a result of her work on this manuscript.
This is an utterly engrossing book, that I had to listen to so avidly that instead of listening only in the car as I normally do, I had to bring it into the house and put it on the stereo and just sit and absorb it.
This will be a favourite for the year, I am sure already.

A classic read (or better yet, listen)

Finished December 17
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, performed by Sissy Spacek
Somehow I missed having to read this classic novel during my school years, and thus listened to it for the first time this past week during my commute. It is wonderful and I see why it has become a classic. The issues are still relevant today and this book deals with them wonderfully. The characters come to life and I truly enjoyed Spacek's performance.
I have now borrowed the DVD and am looking forward to watching it.

Lectures

Finished December 5
City of Words by Alberto Manguel
This is the 2007 collection of CBC Massey Lectures, and I had listened to one of the lectures (the second one) on Ideas one evening and was interested to read the entire series.
Manguel brings life to famous literary works, both classic and modern, by showing how they relate to the current world and our issues. He shows the relationship between identity and the "other" as it relates to both the literature and our increasingly multicultural society. He discusses the difficulties: race riots, politically-motivated murders, suicide bombings, and hate crimes. The series had me thinking about the issues in new ways and towards new solutions. I found it fascinating.