Book Review: The Passage

The Passage by Justin Cronin

This was just a great read.  I picked it up, started reading, got engrossed in the story, and was sorry when it ended.  (In that regard I'm glad it's the first part of a trilogy, because I know there will be more ... eventually!)  The story starts out by detailing a scientific event that derails society as we know it and gives the background on several people involved in that event.  Then it jumps ahead a couple of generations to a time when people have adjusted and adapted to life post-event.  The story continues from there with a (mostly) new cast of characters.  

Overall, I loved this book.  Storytelling at its best.

Note:  I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 5/17/10) as part of its Early Reviewers program.

Book Review: Talking Tails

Talking Tails: The Incredible Connection Between People and Their Pets by Ann Love

This was a very cute and very informative book about pets.  I thought it might be more of a picture book, but it's a bit older than that.  There was great information, stories, and illustrations.  I also enjoyed the running timeline at the bottom of each page showing pet-related events throughout history.

Very enjoyable!

Note:  I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 5/17/10) as part of its Early Reviewers program.

Book Review: The Spirit Level

The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger by Richard Wilkinson

The book is broken into different chapters, each showing how a particular social issue is impacted by the level of equality in society.  It compares different countries as well as different US states.  The premise is that countries (or states) with higher levels of equality are better off than those with lower levels.  I can't speak to how valid the research methods are or whether data was accurate, as other reviewers have.  I did find myself skimming over much of the data and details and just glancing at the graphs ... especially as I got further into the book.  In that regard it seemed very repetitive ... different topic, same analysis, same result ... the same countries (or states) ranking poorly each time.  

Overall, it was a worthwhile read and raised some very interesting points, but it took me a while to finish it.

Note:  I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 5/17/10) as part of its Early Reviewers program.

Book Review: Half Moon

Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage That Redrew the Map of the New World by Douglas Hunter

This is the history of Henry Hudson's voyage where he discovered the Hudson River. While the story was interesting, ultimately I found it buried too deeply for me to enjoy. The details on ship construction, sailing, and navigation were just too distracting for someone (like me) with no background in these areas. The narrative also often jumped from the main story to a description of a previous or even a subsequent voyage, which interrupted the flow.

Overall, it was a worthwhile read, but it took me a long time to get through it because I kept losing interest. I must say that the second half of the book seemed to move along much more smoothly than the first half.

Note:  I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 3/9/10) as part of its Early Reviewers program.

Book Review: Wake Up Dead

Wake Up Dead by Roger Smith

This is a fast-paced book set in Cape Town, South Africa. It starts out as the story of Roxy Palmer but quickly expands to include two car-jackers ... then drug dealers, cops, former cops, and numerous innocent bystanders. The story is very fast and very violent. In a way it reminds me of A Simple Plan (by Scott D. Smith) ... where the action starts with a single decision and then spirals quickly out of control.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and finished it in only a couple of sittings. The blood and violence get to be a bit much at times ... but ultimately I wanted to know how it ended.

Note: I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 1/18/10) as part of its Early Reviewers program

Book Review: The Klezmer Bunch

The Klezmer Bunch by Amalia Hoffman

This is a charming book about klezmer musicians traveling to play at a wedding ... complete with instruments and a runaway baby carriage. The pictures are wonderful! There is even a glossary at the back to translate the Yiddish words.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 11/29/09) as part of its Early Reviewers program

Book Review: A Supremely Bad Idea

A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All by Luke Dempsey

This book is kind of a travel memoir around the author's birding trips with his friends. He gives some of his personal background, some local history of the areas he visits, and lots of information about the birds he sees. He and his traveling partners run into some colorful folk along the way that make for entertaining stories.

The writing is light-hearted and humorous but I didn't find myself getting carried away by it. It was entertaining but not a "must read." I never got caught up in the birding aspect either although I do find myself paying a bit more attention now when a bird flies by.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 10/13/09) as part of its Early Reviewers program

Book Review: Guardian of Lies

Guardian of Lies by Steve Martini

This was my first Steve Martini book in about 10 years, featuring attorney Paul Madriani. This time around Paul meets a young woman in a grocery store and gets mixed up in a terrorist plot ... complete with a Soviet scientist, nuclear weapons, and escapees from Guantanamo. At times the technical details of the weapon got to be a bit much for me, but skimming over them didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the story. There were also several references to previous Paul Madriani novels that regular readers would understand, but, again, nothing that kept me from following the storyline.

Overall, it was an entertaining read. A great way to escape for a few hours.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 8/9/09) as part of its Early Reviewers program

Book Review: Soldier's Heart

Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point by Elizabeth D. Samet

This was an interesting book by a civilian English teacher at West Point. She shares her initial impressions of the school and how she adapts to the military lifestyle ... gives some history of the school and its alumni ... and shares her experiences getting to know her students, both while they are at school and also after they have entered active service.

It was interesting to see which books she chose to teach and how she connected the themes in them to the experiences of the cadets, the military, and current events. In addition, she includes insights shared with her via email by former students serving in Iraq. I also loved that she included discussions of classic movies as well as books. (I added several titles to my Netflix queue as I read!)

Overall, it was a good read although it dragged in parts for me. I never quite clicked with her writing style and found myself somewhat annoyed at having to stop and re-read sentences that just didn't "flow" for me.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 6/20/09) as part of its Early Reviewers program

Book Review: Beat the Reaper

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

This is the story of Dr. Peter Brown ... a former mob hitman, now in the witness protection program, and a hospital intern. His former life and his current life collide when a former mob associate comes into the hospital as a patient. While the story moves along in the current day, we also learn through flashbacks about his early life in the mob and his search for answers to his grandparents' murder.

It is an incredibly violent story at times but it was a fun read. I had to suspend disbelief through much of it, because one person could not possibly experience all this ... but it was certainly entertaining.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 6/20/09) as part of its Early Reviewers program

Book Review: Tell Me Where It Hurts

Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr. Nick Trout

This was a very engaging book about a composite "day in the life" of an animal surgeon at Boston's Angell Animal Medical Center. I enjoyed Dr. Trout's writing style and sense of humor. Although it is written as if it chronicles a single day, we get a glimpse of his own background, previous cases, and current issues in veterinary science.

He also tried to show the deep connection between people and their animals. His descriptions of people's attitudes and reactions was pretty good and covered a wide spectrum. I think, though, that if you aren't already an "animal person" you would still not understand how much animals mean to some people. It is a hard thing to describe to someone who just doesn't get it ... like the daughter of the elderly man in the book, who kept referring to her father's beloved dog as "it."

Overall it was a charming read that had me smiling at points and teary eyed at others.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 5/11/08) as part of its Early Reviewers program

RIP: George MacDonald Fraser

One of my favorite authors died yesterday ... George MacDonald Fraser. He wrote the wonderful Flashman series of books which my friend Dennis just introduced me to last year.

I just got one of his non-fiction books for Christmas, Quartered Safe Out Here. I stumbled across this book while shopping for my Secret Santa as part of LibraryThing's SantaThing. From my Secret Santa's library I knew (1) he reads tons of military history and biography and (2) he'd listed George MacDonald Fraser as a favorite author. Quartered Safe Out Here is Fraser's autobiographical account of serving in Burma during the latter part of World Ward II. A perfect match!

In reading about the book, I decided to add it to my own LibraryThing tbr/wishlist and to check it out some time. Then, lo and behold, a few days later my sister sent me Quartered Safe Out Here for Christmas! (She is known for prowling through my tbr/wishlist and is very generous about sending me books from it.)

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/01/george_macdonald_fraser_1925_2.html

http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2234527,00.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/arts/03fraser.html

Book Review: There's No Place Like Here

There's No Place Like Here by Cecelia Ahern

This is the story of Sandy Shortt, who searches for missing persons and things ... and then goes missing herself. The story is told from Sandy's perspective with flashbacks to tell us about her childhood and background. We also learn about Sandy through a secondary storyline told by Jack, who hired Sandy to find his brother and who then goes looking for Sandy.

I wasn't so much taken with the story of Sandy's going physically missing as I was with her going emotionally missing. Ever since childhood she had removed herself from ordinary human interaction and kept herself at a distance from other people. I felt bad for the people in her life who had to put up with her disappearances.

Overall, it was an entertaining read but not something I couldn't put down. I actually enjoyed Jack's portion of the story a bit more than Sandy's. He seemed more "real" to me.

Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 1/2/08) as part of its Early Reviewers program

Book Review: Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

This series of short stories revolves around life in a small town. There is no single viewpoint (some stories are told from Olive Kitteridge's point of view, some told by other residents) ... there is no set time frame (some take place when Olive is an old woman, some while she is still teaching junior high) ... and there is no central action (each story stands on its own and tells a different tale). The only unifying thing is the setting (Crosby, Maine) and Olive Kitteridge, who makes an appearance (or at least gets a mention) in each story.

Despite all this, it works. I enjoyed the book and felt that author Strout had at times really captured the essence of everyday human life with all its struggles. Life is messy and confusing (even when it's going well), and she didn't shrink away from that. She just wrote about it simply and honestly.

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Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 12/22/07) as part of its Early Reviewers program

Early reviewer copies

I got notified by LibraryThing that I will be getting 2 books through their Early Reviewers program. I got one a few months ago, but I lucked out to get 2 in this round.

• There's No Place Like Here by Cecelia Ahern
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

The requests for each book far outnumber the available copies, so many people go empty-handed each month. I'm not sure what I did to be so fortunate, but I'm looking forward to reading (and reviewing) them both.

Book Review: A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
As performed by Jonathan Winters

This audio adaptation of A Christmas Carol was done for NPR, I believe. (The cover blurb said that this version is a special performance edition created by Dickens himself.) It's well done, and I enjoyed listening to it. I admit I got distracted, though, whenever I noticed that the story line skipped over something.

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Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 12/4/07)

Quirky Blogs

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite "quirky" blogs. I still marvel at the myriad of topics that people find to blog about!

Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians ... http://menwholooklikeoldlesbians.blogspot.com/... The name says it all, I think.

Passive Aggressive Notes ... http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/ ... Be careful about leaving notes for people who annoy you. They may get posted online!

Post Secret ... http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ ... Read the secrets that people share via anonymous postcards.

Book Review: Rethinking Thin

Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss--and the Myths and Realities of Dieting… by Gina Kolata

I really enjoyed her book on the flu, so I had great expectations for this book. But it took me a while to get through this because I kept putting it down. It didn't always grab me, but when it did I thought it was good.

I liked the perspective that there are many factors involved in America's obesity rather than just "eat less, exercise more." There are many people (myself included!) for whom eating better and exercising more would make a huge difference. But that is not the whole picture for all people.

Overall, an informative read.

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Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 9/27/07).

Book Review: Gifted

Gifted: A Novel by Nikita Lalwani

This is the story of Rumi, a mathematically gifted child, at ages 10, 14, and 15. Her parents emigrated from India to Wales, and Rumi has lived in Wales her whole life with a couple of trips back to India. Her whole life revolves around her father's efforts to get her admitted to Oxford early (strict study schedules, practice exams, etc.). Her mother meanwhile tries to uphold traditional cultural values and roles within the home and is resentful of having to leave India.

I never really connected with any of the characters, and I found myself not really caring what happened to them. Outwardly Rumi seemed to struggle both with her parents' expectations and with normal adolescent nightmares, but I never got a clear sense of what she was feeling or thinking ... just how she reacted to a series of somewhat disjointed situations. I got much more of a picture of the mother's feelings and frustrations throughout the book than Rumi's.

It took me forever to finish the book because I kept putting it down ... and I'm not sure I would have picked it up again if it weren't an Early Reviewer copy. The last section of the book flowed much easier, though, and had me reading right along until the end.

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Review originally posted to LibraryThing (LT review, 8/15/07) as part of its Early Reviewers program.

Naming the Presidents

Can you name all the U.S. Presidents?

I ran across this article about forgotten Presidents, and it reminded me of the time several years ago when a friend and I tried to name all the Presidents. We couldn't do it. And I'm not just talking about getting the order wrong. We couldn't even come up with all the names. That bothered me, so I make an attempt (albeit shortlived) to learn them all.

Then about a year ago the same conversation come up with a co-worker. I did pretty well, but once again I couldn't come up with all the names.

Is naming the Presidents something you can do? Should you be able to? Or maybe it's just a nifty thing to know but not necessary in this day and age?