What I'm Reading Now:
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
On the Road
Title: On the Road
Author: Jack Kerouac
Pages: 9 discs
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B+
Synopsis: This novel takes place in post-war America, in the late 1940's and early 1950's. It is the story of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty who crisscross the country hitchhiking, in borrowed cars, on buses or in less-than-legally obtained cars of their own. They go from New York to San Francisco, Los Angeles to Chicago, Virginia to Colorado and New York to Mexico, among other trips. All along their way them make friends, meet up with old friends and pick up the ladies.
My Review: This book is known as one of the most popular books of the beat generation or similarly, a quintessential American novel. I didn't really know what to expect when I picked it up (it had been on my list of books to read for probably 6 or 7 years), but I really enjoyed it. It's a bit like a travelogue, but most enjoyable was Kerouac's prose and descriptions. I found that I could really lose myself in the story.
A Confederacy of Dunces
Title: A Confederacy of Dunces
Author: John Kennedy Toole
Pages: 13 discs
Genre: Humor, Fiction
Grade: A
Synopsis: This book is a Picaresque novel (I had no idea what that was) that was published 11 years after the author's suicide. The protagonist is Ignatius J. Reilly, an overweight, eccentric, clever and lazy 30-year-old man who lives with his mother Irene Reilly who is an alcoholic that has coddled Ignatius for years. After an accident where Irene damages a building with her car, Ignatius is forced to get a job, first at Levy pants, then as a hot dog vendor in New Orleans, where he lived.
My Review: This book was awarded the 1981 Pulitzer Prize and a statue of Ignatius J. Reilly stands in the French Quarter in New Orleans. It took me a while to get into this book, but once I had a feel for the author's style of humor, then I really, really started enjoying it. The book is a bit irreverent and frankly quite hilarious at parts.
Disclaimer: There is some swearing, and discussions that are sexual in nature, although not vulgar. As wikipedia puts it: "his masturbatory fantasies lead in strange directions. His mockery of obscene images is portrayed as a defensive posture to hide their titillating effect on him."
Quotes:
"I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip."
--Ignatius J. Reilly
Labels:
A,
A Confederacy of Dunces,
Fiction,
Humor,
John Kennedy Toole,
Pulitzer Prize
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Title: For Whom the Bell Tolls
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Pages: 16 discs
Genre: Classic
Grade: A-
Synopsis: Robert Jordan is an American in the International Brigades and is in the mountains of Spain working with an antifascist guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930's. Robert Jordan is an explosives technician and needs to put together a team of guerrilla fighters that he can trust to help him blow up a critical bridge at the start of a battle. While entrenched in the mountains, Jordan falls in love with the beautiful Maria, a young Spanish girl.
My Review: I love to be pleasantly surprised by a classic novel that I end up really enjoying. I love Hemingway's honest writing that seems to expose the characters. In this book, I really liked the Spanish phrases interspersed with the English writing, even though I don't speak Spanish. It helped to remind me about where this book what set.
Labels:
A-,
Classic,
Ernest Hemingway,
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Title: The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium #2)
Author: Stieg Larsson
Pages: 630
Genre: Thriller
Grade: A
Synopsis: Mikael Blomkvist, the publisher of the Swedish magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story about sex trafficking in Sweden and through the Baltics which will expose a number of high-profile individuals involved. Just before the story and an accompanying book are to be published the two reporters writing the stories are murdered in their apartment. The murder weapon is found in the building with Lisbeth Salander's fingerprints on it, who is Blomkvist's genius hacker friend. Blomkvist embarks on a journey to try and prove Salander's innocence.
My Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was certainly one that I couldn't put down or get out of my mind while I was reading it. Larsson's books are typically more complicated and deeper than many other books in this same genre, which I find to be quite satisfying.
Disclaimer: There is a lot of hard language and violence in this book. Not really and sex, but it is referred to often.
Labels:
A,
Millennium,
Stieg Larsson,
The Girl Who Played With Fire,
Thriller
Blackmoore
Title: Blackmoore
Author: Julianne Donaldson
Pages: 320
Genre: Romance
Grade: A-
Synopsis: Kate Worthington has told her closest friends for years that she will never marry. Her best friend Henry Delafield is a very eligible bachelor, but he has his sights set on somebody else, of whom his mother approves. Kate's mother is pushing her to accept a marriage proposal that she has helped to obtain, but Kate consistently refuses. When Kate asks her mother if she can visit Blackmoore, a large estate on the edge of the moors, they strike a deal where Kate must obtain and reject three marriage proposals from the men at Blackmoore or else she will be bound to follow her mother's wishes.
My Review: I really enjoyed this book. I found myself sitting in my car a little longer when I arrived at my destination and looking forward to my drives in the anticipation of the book. There were parts that were funny, sad and frustrating and I enjoyed the picture the book painted in my mind.
Labels:
A-,
Blackmoore,
Julianne Donaldson,
Julie C. Donaldson,
Romance
The Dark Frigate
Title: The Dark Frigate
Author: Charles Boardman Hawes
Pages: 246
Genre: Historical Fiction, Newbery Medal
Grade: C
Synopsis: A terrible accident in a pub forces young Philip Marsham to run away afraid for his life. More than anything he wants to be on the sea, and ends up signing on with the Rose of Devon, a dark frigate sailing for Newfoundland. After a terrible storm, the Rose of Devon is "Captured by a band of murderous pirates!" as the cover suggests.
My Review: A few things stood out to me about this book. It is an early Newbery Award Medal winner, but I have a hard time believing that children in the 1920's were able to understand this book. It is written in seventeenth century sailor's English and the book was quite difficult for me to understand, which made it a challenge for me to make it through. Of the Newbery Award winners that I've read so far, this one is at the bottom.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Getting Things Done
Title: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Author: David Allen
Pages: 6 discs?
Genre: Self-help
Grade: C+
Synopsis: This book is a productivity manual, with instructions and ideas of ways to help increase your productivity. Setting goals, email strategies, prioritizing are all topics that are addressed.
My Review: I've heard so much about this book over the years (it was published in 2002), that I was excited to read this book. However, it didn't really sit well with me for a few reasons: I didn't feel like many of the ideas would work or be beneficial in my situation, The book is outdated. The email organization strategies were great circa 2002, but a lot has changed since then. The author actually read the audiobook version that I listened to and I felt that he often came across as condescending. I'm not sure if it was because of his tone, or the tone of the book, or if I'm just too hard-headed to put my heart into his suggestions. Either way, I was disappointed with this one.
Olive Kitteridge
Title: Olive Kitteridge
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Pages: 270
Genre: Fiction, Pulitzer Prize
Grade: F
Synopsis: Olive Kitteridge is a retired schoolteacher in a small town in Maine. She deplores the changes that she observes in the town without noticing the changes taking place in herself.
My Review: Full disclosure: I only completed about 25% of this book. My life is too short for me to spend more time reading books that I don't enjoy. I just couldn't get into this one. It was dry, boring and completely uninteresting.
Labels:
Elizabeth Strout,
F,
Fiction,
Olive Kitteridge,
Pulitzer Prize
Sunday, December 28, 2014
The Johnstown Flood
Title: The Johnstown Flood
Author: David McCullough
Pages: 304
Genre: Non-fiction
Grade: A-
Synopsis: In May of 1889, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania a wall of water came rushing down the mountain and wiped out most of the town and killed more than 2,000 people (exact death tolls are difficult to nail down). The flood came during a fierce storm that overwhelmed a dam upriver from the town. The scandal of the tragedy was that the dam was part of a luxury resort frequented by magnates such as Andrrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Mellon and they had been warned of deficiencies in the earth dam. The book covers the engineering and design of the dam and subsequent modifications and the importance of the railway in these areas and how both impacted the mortality rate.
My Review: This was another fantastic McCullough book. When I picked up the book, I was surprised that I was not familiar with this tragedy, especially considering the scope and death toll from the flood. There is a National Memorial at the site now that I would love to visit someday.
Labels:
A-,
David McCullough,
Non-fiction,
The Johnstown Flood
Friday, December 26, 2014
Nothing to Envy
Title: Nothing to Envy
Author: Barbara Demick
Pages: 316
Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade: A
Synopsis: Barbara Demick attempts to uncover and describe the living situation in North Korea through the stories of 6 North Koreans who were able to make it out of North Korea. The book covers a period of about 15 years, including the death of Kim Il-sung and the rise of Kim Jong-il and a huge famine in the late 90's that wiped out around 1/5 of the population.
My Review: What was most surprising was that nearly everything that I imagined about North Korea turned out to either be true or not as bad as reality. This was a fascinating look at how regular people live their lives, how people are deathly afraid to voice their feelings (even within their own marriage or family) and how difficult it can be to survive if your family is not on the good side of the government (even if you're being punished for indiscretions that happened generations ago). One of the surprising things is that it seemed that most people in North Korea are not unhappy, which can mainly be attributed to the fact that very few people have any idea how things are outside their own country. They do not believe that other people have greater freedom than they do nor do they know about the economic strengths of South Korea or other nations.
From the Book: "(p. 79) At least initially, the relationship took on a nineteenth-century epistolatory quality. The only way they could stay in touch was by letter. In 1991, while South Korea was becoming the world's largest exporter of mobile telephones, few North Koreans had ever used a telephone. You had to go to a post office to make a phone call. But even writing a letter was not a simple undertaking. Writing paper was scarce. People would write in the margins of newspapers. The paper in the state stores was made of corn husk and would crumble easily if you scratched too hard. Mi-ran had to beg her mother for the money to buy a few sheets of imported paper. Rough drafts were out of the question; paper was too precious. The distance from Pyongyang to Chongjin was only 250 miles, but letters took up to a month to be delivered."
"(p. 86) When she first arrived, Mi-ran was impressed. The dormitories were modern and each of the four girls who would share one room had her own bed rather than use the Korean bed mats laid out on a heated floor, the traditional way of keeping warm at night while expending little fuel. But as winter temperatures plunged Chongjin into a deep freeze, she realized why it was that the school had been able to give her a place in its freshman class. The dormitories had no heating. Mi-ran went to sleep each night in her coat, heavy socks, and mitten with a towel draped over her head. When she woke up, the towel would be crusted with frost from the moisture of her breath. In the bathroom, where the girls washed their menstrual rags (nobody had sanitary napkins, so the more affluent girls used gauze bandages while the poor girls used cheap synthetic cloths), it was so cold that the rags would freeze solid within minutes of being hung up to dry. Mi-ran hated the mornings. Just as in Jun-sang's school, they were roused by a military-style roll call at 6:00 A.M., but instead of marching off like proud soldiers, they shivered into the bathroom and splashed icy water on their faces, under a grotesque canopy of frozen menstrual rags."
Sunday, December 7, 2014
How Doctors Think
Title: How Doctors Think
Author: Jerome Groopman, M.D.
Pages: 6 discs?
Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: Dr. Groopman describes the training that doctors receive that helps them diagnose a problem and prescribe treatment. The key is for the patient (and doctor) to keep in mind that the doctor is not infallible and that the patient sometimes needs to ensure that the doctor is considering all symptoms when making decisions. The book also explores errors that doctors had made and the decisions that led to them.
My Review: This was a pretty interesting book. I'm glad that it didn't come across with the feeling that doctors rarely make mistakes and that we (the patients) just need to sit back and let the doctor perform their work. On the contrary, the book stressed the importance of the patient staying involved in the treatment and decisions that are made as they may spot a mistake or be able to help head off a mis-diagnosis.
Labels:
B,
How Doctors Think,
Jerome Groopman,
Non-fiction
Saturday, December 6, 2014
The Fish Can Sing
Title: The Fish Can Sing
Author: Halldor Laxness
Pages: 246
Genre: Fiction (Icelandic)
Grade: B+
Synopsis: A mid-twentieth century novel from Iceland, the story is about an orphan, Alfgrimur who grows up in the home of a generous and eccentric older couple. Alfgrimur dreams of becoming a fisherman, like his adopted grandfather, until he chances to meet Iceland's biggest celebrity, Gardar Holm, who is a world renowned opera singer and national hero. Alfrgrimur tries to cultivate his love of singing, all the while trying to track down the famous singer.
My Review: I enjoyed the flowing prose of the book (which is indicative of a great translation). The author, Halldor Laxness won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955. I think this book was written just after. I had a hard time tracking the book down, but once I found it, I did enjoy it.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
The Prince and the Pauper
Title: The Prince and the Pauper
Author: Mark Twain
Pages: 240
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: Tom Canty is a young boy born in the slums and beaten and abused from a young age. Edward Tudor is the heir to the throne. The two boys were born on the same day and share a striking resemblance to one another. One day Tom and Prince Edward find themselves intrigued by each other on opposite sides of the palace fence. Edward invites Tom into his quarters where they both fascinate each other with tales from their lives. Tom with tales of poverty and need and Edward with tales of great wealth. They trade clothes, get separated and Edward is kicked out of the palace as everybody believes him to be Tom Canty.
My Review: This book was pretty good. It was a fun story about Tom Canty the son of a beggar and thief trying to figure out life as a Prince and Prince Edward struggling to stay alive on the streets. It was interesting to get a glimpse of how Mark Twain viewed the two lifestyles back when this book was published (in 1882).
Monday, November 24, 2014
Amelia Lost
Title: Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart
Author: Candace Fleming
Pages: 118
Genre: Biography
Grade: B+
Synopsis: This book alternates chapters between Amelia's youth and growing up and the extensive search for her and her airplane after it went missing.
My Review: I read this book with Ada and Kate. Kate lost interest pretty quickly, while Ada enjoyed the book although it is probably written for kids a few years older than her. Everybody knows the basic story of Amelia Earhart, but I don't think that I've ever read a biography of her or read much about her exploits prior to her ill-fated last flight.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
The Screwtape Letters
Title: The Screwtape Letters
Author: C.S. Lewis
Pages: 6 discs
Genre: Fiction, Satire
Grade: B
Synopsis: This book is a collection of letters between a wise old devil and his nephew Wormwood, who is a young novice demon trying to tempt a young man and secure his damnation.
My Review: To be perfectly honest, I didn't really care for this book, which is surprising based on how many friends & acquaintances rated it so highly. It was difficult for me to get into it and once I did I found it to be a bit boring, although it was still interesting.
Labels:
B,
C.S. Lewis,
Fiction,
Satire,
The Screwtape Letters
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Title: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Author: Judy Blume
Pages: 4 discs?
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: Margaret Simon is an almost twelve-year-old that moves from New York to the suburbs and is trying to fit in. Her father is a Jew, her mother is Catholic and the friends that she makes in her new place are obsessed with bras, boys and getting their periods.
My Review: Ok, I didn't really know what this book was about when I first started it. In fact, we started listening to the book on a family trip and it started out tame enough. But before long, the subject matter moved into puberty-level stuff and I had to eject the cd and finish listening on my own. That's not to say that Ada (who is 8) wasn't really interested and enjoying the book, but the book is probably more appropriate for girls 10 years old and older (like me, apparently). It's a pretty funny book and it felt like it gave me a decent taste of the issues and conversations that I can expect in my own house in a few years. We will have those discussions while doing pushups as a family and chanting: "We must, we must, we must increase our bust!"
Labels:
Are You There God? It's Me Margaret,
B,
Fiction,
Judy Blume
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Freakonomics
Title: Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Author: Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Pages: 6 discs
Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade: A-
Synopsis: In this book the authors make comparisons between seemingly unrelated topics and attempt to show a relationship between them. For example, some of the questions that are explored are why drug dealers still live with their parents? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rates of violent crime? And what is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? In today's modern world, we have access to a treasure trove of data that can be mined for correlation.
My Review: I found this book to be well-written, enjoyable and frankly, quite fascinating. I especially enjoyed the broad scope of topics that was explored and found the arguments made in this book to be quite convincing. For example, I tended to attribute the huge decrease in violent crime during the Bill Clinton era to his increased funding for police and public safety, but that only gives us part of the story, as this decrease also coincided to when those first aborted fetuses would have been reaching adulthood. It seems that there is often more than one side to every story.
Labels:
A-,
Freakonomics,
Non-fiction,
Stephen J. Dubner,
Steven D. Levitt
Monday, October 20, 2014
Lady Gaga: Critical Mass Fashion
Title: Lady Gaga: Critical Mass Fashion
Author: Lizzy Goodman
Pages: 144
Genre: Fashion
Grade: B
Synopsis: This book was published a few years ago (in 2010) and documents the first couple years of Lady Gaga's stardom through her fashion choices.
My Review: Well, it's a book about the strange things that Lady Gaga wears, with a bit of her back story and history mixed in. If you love Lady Gaga like I do, you might like this book too.
Labels:
B,
Fashion,
Lady Gaga: Critical Mass Fashion,
Lizzy Goodman
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
The Lost Symbol (Illustrated Edition)
Title: The Lost Symbol
Author: Dan Brown
Pages: 513
Genre: Thriller
Grade: A-
Synopsis: I already reviewed this book once: http://tysquibooklist.blogspot.com/2009/10/lost-symbol.html
My Review: I was so excited when browsing at the DI when I found this book. I haven't yet read Dan Brown's newest novel (Inferno) and I thought this was it. I got about 50 pages into the book when I realized that I had already read this book, so I decided to buy a used copy of the Illustrated Edition of the book and continue reading that version. I love reading Dan Brown novels when three are pictures and diagrams of the artwork and symbolism that is described in the book.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Bannon Brothers Trust
Title: Bannon Brothers Trust
Author: Janet Dailey
Pages: 352
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: RJ Bannon is a detective on paid administrative leave for a previous injury when he comes across a cold case about an abducted three-year old child that has sat dormant for nearly twenty-five years and was never solved. Ann Montgomery was abducted from her family's historic mansion and it tore her notable family apart, although they never gave up hope.
My Review: This book was ok. I enjoyed it, but it was fairly shallow and run-of-the-mill. But with that hunk on the cover, how could I not pick it up?
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Candy Bomber
Title: Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's "Chocolate Pilot"
Author: Michael O. Tunnell
Pages: 120
Genre: Children's Non-Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: After World War II, Germany was divided between the East (Russia) and the West (US & Britain). Berlin is located in East Germany and was also divided. For nearly a year, Russia blockaded the United States and other western powers from supplying Western Berlin in the hopes that the US would abandon West Berlin. Instead, the US and their allies provided support and supplies to the people of West Berlin by airplane. It was an immense undertaking by the Western Allies who made over 200,000 flights delivering more than 4700 tons of food and supplies during the blockade. As all supplies were brought by air, candy and sweets were in very short supply as they are not high on the necessity list. US Air Force Lt. Gail S. Halvorsen started dropping chocolate and candy from his plane in little parachutes over the city to the great excitement of the children and other residents of the city.
My Review: I read this book to Ada and Kate. Kate's interest didn't last too long (the book is written for a target audience of 4-7 grades), but Ada seemed to enjoy it. It's a great story of somebody (from Salt Lake City) who saw a need and went hard to work fulfilling it.
Labels:
B,
Candy Bomber,
Children's Non-Fiction,
Michael O. Tunnell
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Fablehaven Series
Title: Fablehaven Series
Author: Brandon Mull
Books: 5
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: A-
Synopsis: Read my synopses of all 5 books here.
My Review: I just finished reading this series to Ada last night, and she just loved it. Kate would show some interest off and on, but generally did not listen to me read. I think the books were just a bit above her level. This is one of those series that we were both sad to be done with. Luckily for us both, I'm going to start reading Harry Potter to the girls next. Hopefully Kate will find them enjoyable.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Don't Know Much About History
Title: Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned
Author: Kenneth C. Davis
Pages: 20 discs?
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Grade: B
Synopsis: Yes, this is a history book. It essentially covers US history from Christopher Columbus and the modern discovery of America up to the first few years of Obama's Presidency. Originally published during Bush I's presidency, it was updated a couple of years ago to include the Clinton years, 9/11 and the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars.
My Review: For me, this was more of a refresher course on American history as I'm fairly familiar with our nation's storied past. However, just as the author claims, this book was written in a much more easy to digest and enjoy fashion than your typically history book. There were times where the writing style grated against me a bit, but there were plenty of other portions of the book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Labels:
B,
Don't Know Much About History,
History,
Kenneth C. Davis,
Non-fiction
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
Title: Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
Author: Richard Lyman Bushman
Pages: 768
Genre: Biography
Grade: A-
Synopsis: This book touts itself as "a cultural biography of Mormonism's founder" and highlights many of the external factors that influenced Joseph Smith as he tried to respond to his call from God to restore His church upon this earth. The book is setup chronologically and follows Joseph from his birth in Vermont, to the First Vision in New York, marriage in Pennsylvania, building a temple in Kirtland, Ohio, extermination in Missouri and city-building, arrest and murder in Nauvoo, Illinois. Everything that we know about Joseph Smith is on the table in this book, from fortune hunting to Masonry, secret polygamy to his presidential candidacy and him leading the Nauvoo Legion and running from the law. He sealed his testimony with his death.
My Review: There is a lot of information in this book, based upon testimonies, journals and writings of Joseph and his contemporaries. The information is presented as fact (i.e. that Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and Jesus Christ in the grove in 1820) and the author leaves it up to the reader to discern between truth and fiction. A couple of things stood out to me: 1) If I didn't already have a testimony of Joseph Smith, there were some things that I may have struggled with. 2) Joseph Smith is human, a flawed mortal being who was called upon to do a great work. He had his faults, as do all of us here on this earth and 3) I'm not without my faults either, but thanks to Joseph Smith, we now have the opportunity to be sealed with our families for eternity again on this earth through Priesthood power, along with many other restored gospel truths.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Les Miserables
Title: Les Miserables
Author: Victor Hugo
Pages: 48 discs
Genre: Classic
Grade: B
Synopsis: Jean Valjean is a convict working in the chain gang. Upon his release he is shunned and treated poorly due to his low status as an ex-con. A priest takes compassion on him and lets him stay the night in his house. Valjean seizes this opportunity to rob him, but is caught and returned to the priest for identification. The priest claims the items were s gift, which inspires Valjean to change his life and live honestly.
My Review: Most people know the story of Les Miserables (between the musical and the movie), which do a pretty good job of capturing the main points. What I really enjoyed about the book was the extra depth that was included in the text (which is expected in a book of this length). The characters are so well developed and the story is so intricate, that I felt like I was really getting to know these characters. I could have done without the lengthy diatribes and tangents. Typically I am staunchly in favor of only reading non-abridged books, but in this case, an abridgment might actually improve the book (i.e. removing Hugo's tangents). Generally the book was enjoyable.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
The Great Gatsby
Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pages: 180
Genre: Classic, Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: Jay Gatsby is fabulously wealthy, owns a home on Long Island and hosts huge parties nearly every weekend in the summer. Gatsby is trying to catch the eye of Daisy Buchanan, his love and obsession, but who is married to the rich and snobbish Tom Buchanan. Imagine Gatsby's luck when her cousin moves into a small bungalow next to his mansion. He befriends her cousin, Nick Carraway, in an effort to lure Daisy back into his life.
My Review: Alison and I watched the new Gatsby movie which inspired me to re-read this classic, which I had last read in High School. The movie followed the book fairly well and did a good job for me of visualizing the excesses of the Jazz Age and Roaring 20's here in the US. The book is great, some classics are hard to identify with, I don't think that this is one of them.
Labels:
B+,
Classic,
F. Scott Fitzgerald,
Fiction,
The Great Gatsby
Saturday, September 6, 2014
The Disneyland Story
Title: The Disneyland Story - The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream
Author: Sam Gennawey
Pages: 336
Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade: A-
Synopsis: This book runs through the history of Disneyland, starting with its inception throughout Walt Disney's early life, then through design and construction of the park. As anybody who has visited Disneyland more than once knows, the park is nearly always changing, and the book also outlines these changes and the concepts and decisions behind making them.
My Review: This book was just fascinating. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Disneyland and this book did not disappoint. In Walt's early years he was obsessed with trains and Disneyland kind of grew out of that obsession. He was very meticulous in the design and planning and to some probably came across as a micro-manager. The speed and scope of construction was amazing. Construction started in August of 1954 and the park opened in July of 1955. All of that construction included a 12,000 stall parking lot, Main Street, Fantasyland, the castle and moat (even though Sleeping Beauty would not come out until 1959), Adventureland (including the Jungle Cruise and River and Frontierland (including the River of America). I found that amazing!
From the Book: "(p. 40) Evans [the landscape architect] took a transparency of the master plan and placed it over an aerial photograph of the property at the same scale. He marked all the trees that were not in the middle of the street or in the Rivers of America and tried to work around them. Evans tagged trees that were to be saved with green ribbons, and he tagged trees to be removed with red ribbons. His efforts were futile. As it turned out, the bulldozer operator was color-blind and they lost dozens of trees that were 50-100 years old. More than 12,000 orange trees were removed."
"(p. 53) Disney archivist Dave Smith said, "Disneyland's true appeal, we admit now, is to adults. Children don't need it. Their imaginations are enough. For them, Disneyland is only another kind of reality, somewhat less marvelous than their own fantasies."
"(p. 61) Using the castle to transition between lands was a visual trick Walt called a weenie. According to Disney historian Jim Korkis, during the development of Disneyland, Walt would come home late at night and usually enter his house through the kitchen, which was closer to the garage. He would walk into the kitchen and grab two uncooked hot dogs, or wieners, one for himself and one for his dog. Korkis said, "By wiggling the treat, Walt could get his dog to go from side to side, around in a circle, jump up and more. Both Walt and the dog loved the game and she was finally rewarded with the tasty and satisfying treat."
"Each of the gateways into the lands offered weenies. The spinning carousel through the portal leading through Sleeping Beauty Castle called guests into Fantasyland. The stockade gates, the steam bellowing from the Mark Twain stern-wheeler, and the seeming infinite horizon beckoned guests to visit Frontierland. Over in Tomorrowland was the clock of the World and the TWA Moonliner ready for launch. Only Adventureland lacked a weenie. It was thought that if guests knew too much, it would not be much of an adventure."
Monday, July 28, 2014
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
Title: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
Author: Hugh Lofting
Pages: 270
Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Award
Grade: B
Synopsis: In this second book about the life and travels of Doctor Dolittle, young Tommy Stubbins joins him on his voyage that takes him to Spidermonkey Island after a perilous shipwreck. Doctor Dolittle becomes friends with the natives on the island, before escaping back to home in the Mysterious Great Glass Sea Snail.
My Review: This Doctor Dolittle book was not much better than the first, and it also won a Newbery medal! I can't help but think the available candidates for the medal in these early years must have been fairly weak... Once again, it's a kids book, a little ridiculous and very outdated (i.e. racist by today's standards). The book was published in 1922.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
The Story of Doctor Dolittle
Title: The Story of Doctor Dolittle
Author: Hugh Lofting
Pages: 176
Genre: Children's Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: Doctor John Dolittle just loves animals and his home is always overflowing with animals of all kinds.He has a dear parrot, Polynesia, who teaches the doctor how to speak to the animals. After this, Doctor Dolittle becomes quite famous in the animal kingdom as he travels the world helping animals in need.
My Review: This book was ok. It's a kids book, a little ridiculous and very outdated (i.e. racist by today's standards). The book was published in 1920.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Good Omens
Title: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Authors: Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
Pages: 412
Genre: Fiction, Humor
Grade: B-
Synopsis: This is a difficult book to describe because it is very strange... Basically, there is a book that was written in the seventeenth century by a witch, Agnes Nutter and she predicts that the world will end on a Saturday. She has never been wrong, so everybody expects her to be correct on these counts as well. The armies of good and evil are gathering together in preparation. However, there is a demon and an angel who have lived on the earth since Adam and have grown rather fond of their lives here. They're not ready for Armageddon quite yet. Not to mention, who they thought was the anti-Christ was misplaced at birth.
My Review: This book took me more than a month to get through. It just wasn't holding my interest. Although I seemed to carry it with me nearly everywhere during that month, there were many things that I would rather be doing than reading Good Omens. Which, by the way, kind of surprises me. The book has a bit of a cult following and appears to be very popular in some circles. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy portions of the book. It is written as a humorous noel and while some of the jokes are a stretch, generally the humor is wrapped very tidily in with the rest of the book.
From the Book: "(p. 306) I got another bath," she announced to her fellow telephone salespersons. She was well in the lead in the office daily Getting People Out of the Bath stakes, and only needed two more points to win the weekly Coitus Interruptus award."
"She dialed the next number on the list.
"Lisa had never intended to be a telephone salesperson..."
Labels:
B-,
Fiction,
Good Omens,
Humor,
Neil Gaiman,
Terry Pratchett
Friday, July 25, 2014
Physics of the Impossible
Title: Physics of the Impossible
Author: Michio Kaku
Pages: 7 discs?
Genre: Non-fiction, Science
Grade: B
Synopsis: Over the last 100 years, there have been many technological advancements that physicists prior would have deemed utterly impossible. The author, Michio Kaku, explores many science fiction ideas and categorizes them in three categories: possible in the next 100 years, next 1,000 years, or that our understanding of the physical and atomic world would need to change in order for an idea to be possible. He examines ideas ranging from invisibility and telekinesis to teleportation, space travel and time travel.
My Review: While the book was interesting, I've never been that enthralled by some of the science fiction ideas that were being explored, so the book didn't grab me like it may others. There were parts that were more interesting than others, and I think the content is pretty solid (Kaku is a Theoretical physicist with degrees from Harvard and Cal, and now teaching at the City College of New York). That said, there is a lot of interesting advancements that may take place over the next 100+ years.
Labels:
B,
Michio Kaku,
Non-fiction,
Physics of the Impossible,
Science
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Abandon
Title: Abandon
Author: Meg Cabot
Pages: 8 discs
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Pierce is involved in an accident that caused her death and sent her to the underworld. While there, she met the caretaker of that portion of the underworld but was able to sneak away and return to her body. When she moved to a new place and started attending a new school, she thought she had been able to escape the caretaker. When he started showing up more often, Pierce knew she wouldn't be able to get away from him. The entire trilogy is a re-imagining of the Persephone myth.
My Review: This was an interesting book. Every once in a while I enjoy picking up a book that I know nothing about (and it's often one that I never would have selected had I known more about it...). This book straddled the line between normalcy and the supernatural, but presented it in a way that almost made it believable. This is the first book of a trilogy, at this point I would read the other books in the trilogy as well.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Ship Breaker
Title: Ship Breaker
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi
Pages: 9 discs?
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: In some strange future version of the United States, Nailer works on the Gulf Coast on a light crew stripping old oil tankers of their copper wiring. He and the rest of his crew must meet quota every day to earn the food and stay on the crew. When Nailer, who lives with his alcoholic, abusive father finds a brand new and very expensive clipper ship he must decide whether or not to save the beautiful rich girl or to strip the ship of all its worth in order to become a rich man.
My Review: The premise for this book is very unique and was surprisingly interesting. It takes a little while to understand the society and how it is different from the one that we live in, but I gathered that the book is set in some future time after global warming and rising seas have changed the world and the United States forever.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
The God of Small Things
Title: The God of Small Things
Author: Arundhati Roy
Pages: 333
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: This book is set in the latter half of the twentieth century, generally in a small town in India. There is a lot of political unrest in the country. The book follows an affluent Indian family and explores how their lives were changed forever by one fateful day in 1969.
My Review: The writing and prose in this book is excellent. At least at the beginning of the book, I found that I needed to review a more detailed synopsis to fully understand what was going on. Part of that was probably due to the fact that I found myself only able to read the book in bits and pieces and that I was unable to immerse myself in the book.
From the Book: "(p. 162) She had short, thick forearms, fingers like cocktail sausages, and a broad fleshy nose with flared nostrils. Deep folds of skin connected her nose to either side of her chin, and separated that section of her face from the rest of it, like a snout. Her head was too large for her body. She looked like a bottled fetus that had escaped from its jar of formaldehyde in a Biology lab an unshriveled and thickened with age.
She kept damp cash in her bodice, which she tied tightly around her chest to flatten her unchristian breasts, Her kunukku earrings were thick and gold. Her earlobes had been distended into weighted loops that swung around her neck, her earrings sitting in them like gleeful children in a merry-go-(not all the way)-round. Her right lobe had split open once and was sewn together by Dr. Verghese Verghese. Kochu Maria couldn't stop wearing her kunukku because if she did, how would people know that despite her lowly cook's job (seventy-five rupees a month) she was a Syrian Christian, Mar Thomite? Not a Pelaya, or a Pulaya, or a Paravan. But a Touchable, upper-caste Christian (into whom Christianity had seeped like tea from a teabag). Split lobes stitched back were a better option by far.
Kochu Maria hadn't yet made her acquaintance with the television addict waiting inside her. The Hulk Hogan addict. She hadn't yet seen a television set..."
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Grimpow: The Invisible Road
Title: Grimpow: The Invisible Road
Author: Rafael Abalos
Pages: 10 discs?
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B-
Synopsis: Grimpow lives in the Alps during the dark ages when he comes across a dead man in the woods. In the dead man's pouch Grimpow finds a stone that grants him visions of places that he has never been and grants him understanding of secrets and mysteries of the world. In possession of the stone, Grimpow embarks on a journey to unlock the full mysteries behind the mysterious stone.
My Review: This book was interesting and quite enjoyable, but the writing (possibly only the translation from Spanish) left something to be desired. Along with that, the story was a bit unbelievable and the characters felt too scripted.
Labels:
B-,
Fiction,
Grimpow: The Invisible Road,
Rafael Abalos
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
The Appeal
Title: The Appeal
Author: John Grisham
Pages: 496
Genre: Legal Thriller
Grade: B+
Synopsis: There is a small town in Mississippi where the water is undrinkable and scores of people have died from cancer or have cancer. In a related court case, a Mississippi jury hands down a huge verdict against a chemical company for polluting the ground, groundwater and contaminating the area, causing a huge cancer cluster. The owner of the chemical company is a multi-billion dollar executive living large in Manhattan, who will appeal the verdict to the Mississippi Supreme Court. His next task is to get a judge elected to the Supreme Court who will overturn this verdict.
My Review: This Grisham novel has generally not received very good reviews, although I found that I enjoyed it. It preyed on the fact that many of our elected officials have to answer to the big money that gets them elected. There probably are companies out that that act similar to the chemical company in this book, if there are, then they make me sick (both figuratively and literally).
Monday, March 24, 2014
The Sex Lives of Canibals
Title: The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
Author: J. Maarten Troost
Pages: 11 discs
Genre: Humor, Travel
Grade: B+
Synopsis: When the author, Troost, was 26, he packed up with his girlfriend and moved for a couple of years to the remote country of Kiribati (pronounced Kir-i-bus). They would live on the small Tarawa Atoll, where the majority of the residents of Kiribati live. This book chronicles the authors adventures and misadventures throughout their stay on the small atoll. The book was quite funny, although there were a few times when the humor was a bit forced. I did find myself laughing often.
My Review: Contrary to the promise of the title, there is very little about sex in the book although there are times when the author's humor gets a little crass. For example, the atoll is so flat that there really isn't a good sewer system. Some of the nicer homes have septic tanks, but the majority of the population is left to take care of business wherever they see fit. This means that the residents (who are often plagued with dysentery-like diseases) will typically stick their booties out over the water and let it rip, which, of course, is the basis for many of the funnier parts of the book.
Labels:
B+,
Humor,
J. Maarten Troost,
The Sex Lives of Cannibals,
Travel
Sunday, March 23, 2014
tuesdays with Morrie
Title: tuesdays with Morrie: an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson
Author: Mitch Albom
Pages: 5 discs
Genre: Non-fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: Mitch Albom hears that his old, most-favorite professor from college is sick with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (i.e. ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). His health is declining quickly as the disease attacks his extremities and he is confined to a bed and requires assistance to do just about anything. Mr. Albom works for a newspaper in Detroit that is on strike, so he decides to make a visit to his professor in the Boston area. His professor invites him back the following week and this quickly becomes their Tuesday tradition until the end of Morrie's life. Morrie was a strong positive influence on many people and always had thoughts about how to live life to its fullest. This story and Morrie's thoughts are recorded in this book.
My Review: Not a bad book, and Morrie had some great thoughts, but the book was a bit of a love-fest with the old professor. That's not to say he didn't have a lot of great thoughts and excellent aphorisms. Ted Koppel visited with Morrie and interviewed him a few times on Nightline. You can see a few of the Nightline clips on youtube.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Mr. Vertigo
Title: Mr. Vertigo
Author: Paul Auster
Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: Young Walter is a street boy living in St. Louis in the early part of the 20th century when he is approached by Master Yehudi, a Jew of Hungarian descent who promises the boy that he will teach him to fly. The boy agrees to be taught by Master Yehudi and is taken to the master's farm in Kansas where he will eventually learn how to control his mind and body in order to levitate.
My Review: This was a really interesting book. It read more like a historical non-fiction book than anything fictional. In fact, when I finished the book, in my mind I had serious doubts that the story wasn't true. That to me is a sign of a well-written book of this style.
Author: Paul Auster
Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B
Synopsis: Young Walter is a street boy living in St. Louis in the early part of the 20th century when he is approached by Master Yehudi, a Jew of Hungarian descent who promises the boy that he will teach him to fly. The boy agrees to be taught by Master Yehudi and is taken to the master's farm in Kansas where he will eventually learn how to control his mind and body in order to levitate.
My Review: This was a really interesting book. It read more like a historical non-fiction book than anything fictional. In fact, when I finished the book, in my mind I had serious doubts that the story wasn't true. That to me is a sign of a well-written book of this style.
Monday, January 6, 2014
The Thirteenth Tale
Title: The Thirteenth Tale
Author: Diane Setterfield
Pages: 406
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Synopsis: Margaret Lea is an amateur biographer who spends most of her time helping her father run their antique bookstore or reading. Imagine her surprise when she receives a letter from one of the most prolific writers in England inviting her to come and write her story. This writer, Vida Winter, has never really opened up to anyone and Margaret is afraid that Miss Winter will not tell her the truth either. As she gets into the story, she realizes that there is a lot more to the story that Miss Winter is leaving unsaid.
My Review: I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. There were a lot of names and intricacies that I had a hard time keeping track of. This may have also been due to the fact that I read the bulk of this book while spending time with family (Hi family, sorry I ignored you during Christmas...) and there were always lots of distractions.
From the Book: "(p. 58) I shall start at the beginning. Though of course the beginning is never where you think it is. Our lives are so important to us that we tend to think the story of them begins with our birth. First there was nothing, then I was born.... Yet that is not so. Human lives are not pieces of string that can be separated out from a knot of others and laid out straight. Families are webs. Impossible to touch one part of it without setting the rest vibrating. Impossible to understand one part without having a sense of the whole."
Author: Diane Setterfield
Pages: 406
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Synopsis: Margaret Lea is an amateur biographer who spends most of her time helping her father run their antique bookstore or reading. Imagine her surprise when she receives a letter from one of the most prolific writers in England inviting her to come and write her story. This writer, Vida Winter, has never really opened up to anyone and Margaret is afraid that Miss Winter will not tell her the truth either. As she gets into the story, she realizes that there is a lot more to the story that Miss Winter is leaving unsaid.
My Review: I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. There were a lot of names and intricacies that I had a hard time keeping track of. This may have also been due to the fact that I read the bulk of this book while spending time with family (Hi family, sorry I ignored you during Christmas...) and there were always lots of distractions.
From the Book: "(p. 58) I shall start at the beginning. Though of course the beginning is never where you think it is. Our lives are so important to us that we tend to think the story of them begins with our birth. First there was nothing, then I was born.... Yet that is not so. Human lives are not pieces of string that can be separated out from a knot of others and laid out straight. Families are webs. Impossible to touch one part of it without setting the rest vibrating. Impossible to understand one part without having a sense of the whole."
Labels:
B,
Diane Setterfield,
Mystery,
The Thirteenth Tale
Sunday, January 5, 2014
How to be Alone
Title: How to be Alone: Essays
Author: Jonathan Franzen
Pages: 278
Genre: Essays
Grade: B
Synopsis: This book is a collection of essays, all by the same author. The essays cover a huge range of topics from the fate of the American novel to supermax prisons in Colorado and from the story of his short time as an Oprah book-of-the-month author to the workings of American post offices in big cities such as Chicago.
My Review: This collection was published in 2002 and I would be interested to read Franzen's writings on more recent topics. His writing has a liberal slant (don't let that scare you) that gave me plenty of food for thought as I read. Most of the essays were easy to read and didn't digress into too much babble, although there were a couple that could have been trimmed by a few pages. I was reading this book during a late lunch break at Rich's Mighty Fine Burgers and Grub (which is one of my favorite SLC restaurants) and the cook that brought out my food saw me reading this book and mentioned that it was one of his favorite collections of essays. Needless to say I was surprised.
Author: Jonathan Franzen
Pages: 278
Genre: Essays
Grade: B
Synopsis: This book is a collection of essays, all by the same author. The essays cover a huge range of topics from the fate of the American novel to supermax prisons in Colorado and from the story of his short time as an Oprah book-of-the-month author to the workings of American post offices in big cities such as Chicago.
My Review: This collection was published in 2002 and I would be interested to read Franzen's writings on more recent topics. His writing has a liberal slant (don't let that scare you) that gave me plenty of food for thought as I read. Most of the essays were easy to read and didn't digress into too much babble, although there were a couple that could have been trimmed by a few pages. I was reading this book during a late lunch break at Rich's Mighty Fine Burgers and Grub (which is one of my favorite SLC restaurants) and the cook that brought out my food saw me reading this book and mentioned that it was one of his favorite collections of essays. Needless to say I was surprised.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Little Bee
Title: Little Bee
Author: Chris Cleave
Pages: 288
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B+
Synopsis: Little Bee is a refugee from Nigeria in Africa who has been a stowaway on a cargo ship and is now in a refugee detention center in Great Britain. While in the detention center she learns how to speak the Queen's English and works hard to put the atrocities of the past behind her.
My Review: This is a heart-wrenching book, with some disturbing parts that I won't soon forget. Although a difficult story to swallow, I still enjoyed it and the writing was well done.
Author: Chris Cleave
Pages: 288
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B+
Synopsis: Little Bee is a refugee from Nigeria in Africa who has been a stowaway on a cargo ship and is now in a refugee detention center in Great Britain. While in the detention center she learns how to speak the Queen's English and works hard to put the atrocities of the past behind her.
My Review: This is a heart-wrenching book, with some disturbing parts that I won't soon forget. Although a difficult story to swallow, I still enjoyed it and the writing was well done.
Friday, January 3, 2014
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larsson
Pages: 644
Genre: Thriller
Grade: A-
Synopsis: Originally published in Swedish, this book is about Mikael Blomkvist who as a financial reporter got suckered into writing an article for which he was sued for libel and lost. After taking a leave of absence from his magazine, he is hired to look into the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, who is the daughter of the very wealthy, long time CEO of the Vanger Corporation. Blomkvist, along with Lisbeth Salander, a young genius hacker, take on the assignment of trying to figure out what happened to Harriet many years before.
My Review: Once again this was an excellent book to read while on vacation. In fact, as I've purchased this book twice from the DI, I left a copy in Jamaica for the next traveler to enjoy. The story is engrossing and unusual, the translation into English is excellent and while the book is long, it was easy to follow along with the story.
Disclaimer: There's a lot of lovin' in the book as well as some rape/abuse, although it was mildly uncomfortable I don't recall it ever being explicit.
Labels:
A-,
Millennium,
Stieg Larsson,
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
Thriller
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
The Great Train Robbery
Title: The Great Train Robbery
Author: Michael Chrichton
Pages: 329
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade: B+
Synopsis: Edward Pierce fits in well in high-society in Victorian England, while also being able to navigate the slums of poverty. Pierce has a grand scheme to rob the train that is carrying the gold from the bank to pay for England's involvement in the Crimean War. Over the course of many months he concocts a complicated scheme to get his hands on the money.
My Review: I'm not sure where I picked this book up, but it was the perfect book to read on a vacation (I did my reading in Jamaica). It was fast-paced and easy to follow. The details of the story have been filled in by Crichton, but the overall story is true and based on lots of testimonies from a court trial.
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