Book report
Dec. 20th, 2007 06:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormkeeper_lovedorisBook report time again!
-- Practically Perfect in Every Way by Jennifer Niesslein – This book tells us of the author’s two-year quest in taking self-help advice, in an effort to become a better, happier person. With a healthy dose of skepticism but not devoid of earnestness as well, she researches and undertakes improvement projects in the areas of the home, finances, marriage, child-raising, health, and spirituality. I found her account witty, insightful, and tremendously fun to read. I liked hearing about her life, I laughed out loud a few times, and I did get ideas for a few things I might try. Grade: B+
-- Dancing in a Distant Place by Isla Dewar – A novel about a woman in Ireland in the 1960’s who loses her husband and has to build her life anew. She moves to a very remote town and has to deal with small-town life in a community where everybody knows everybody. It wasn’t the most riveting thing I’ve ever read, but it was good; the author really does a great job creating characters who feel real and she also excels in transporting you to the place she describes. The protagonist was a confident lady; I liked reading how she dealt with situations she encountered. One thing I didn’t like about this book is that it employs a technique I’ve encountered in a lot of novels. The first chapter takes place decades after the rest of the novel. So as I read the rest of the book, I knew exactly how things would turn out for the main characters. Perhaps in this novel it wasn’t such a big deal since this book was never designed to be a suspenseful page-turner, but I still felt it detracted from the impact of the story. Grade: C+
More after the cut -
-- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See -- Enthralling novel about women’s friendships and connections with each other, set in 1800’s China. Like “The Red Tent”, this novel explores female friendships in a setting much different from any contemporary one. It makes you think and question what you know about the main characters, and it keeps you turning the pages. The two central characters are complex and real, they misinterpret, they make mistakes, they try to live their lives properly in a very oppressive culture for women, and they struggle to love and feel loved. The novel was beautifully written too. The details of daily life for women in China were mesmerizing, even to someone like me who has read a bit about the subject. I should say that there were times I felt that the pace of the novel was too fast and that I wanted to learn more about the supporting characters, but this is the story of two women’s friendship over the years and the narrative rightly stays focused on the two. My only real complaint - enough with the foreshadowing already! There were way too many times when our narrator tells us what’s going to happen down the line, and I didn’t like it. (Example – she learns that a friend is going to marry a butcher and muses that at least she’ll never go hungry. “I was wrong,” she tells us). We’re constantly learning too early how things are going to turn out. Grade: A-
-- Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don’t Go to School edited by Grace Llewellyn – As the title implies, it is a book of essays by teens who are homeschooled. Homeschooling –at least in the US - is often associated with religious fundamentalism, but this group of teens did not homeschool for religious reasons; many, in fact, became activists in the peace and environmental movements. I have to start out by saying that there were several things about the book that I didn’t care for. First, there was some degree of teacher-bashing. Sure, we’ve all had bad teachers but I’ve also had a few wonderful ones and known many teachers who work for crappy pay because they truly love educating people. Also, a lot of the essayists were just full of themselves and it was a little irritating. I suppose you’d find that among many teenagers, homeschooled or not. But I really didn’t care for lines such as, “I’m one of the proud few in this country who can locate the United States on a map!” Um, granted, most American’s aren’t very good at Geography, but I have to believe that more than “a few” can locate our country on a map, Einstein. Another essay went on for over 30 pages with its teenager author writing in a very condescending manner. I realize that it’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, but too many of the essayists crossed the line, in my book. But when I could make myself ignore the many negatives of this book, the essays were at least interesting and mind-expanding. I liked hearing about the different ways they homeschooled – some had schedules and lesson plans, others simply did whatever they felt like, but most did truly learn.(Most. One of them apparently sat at home and wrote to her pen pals all day). It did make me wonder what my life would have been like had I been able to learn in an unstructured way and just pursue whatever subjects I wanted. Heck, I’m probably so used to having structure and plans that I can’t even imagine what such freedom would be like. One teen went on a bicycling trek around Latin America as part of her learning. The teens in this book all loved being able to decide what to study and decide how to go about doing it, and that was refreshing to read. One thing I would love to see would be a study on how these teens are doing years later. The skeptic in me still wonders if they might have a hard time making a living later on, but I realize I might be dead wrong on that one and that these folks might be very successful (depending on your definition of “success”) as adults. Grade: C. Because as interesting as the subject is, the condescending tone so many of the writers took really left a bad taste in my mouth.
-- Help! Was That a Career-Limiting Move? By Marjorie Brody and Pamela J. Holland – This is basically a “welcome to the corporate world 101” book, with ideas and warnings on etiquette to help you get along in an office environment. Each chapter is very short; you can easily finish this book in a sitting or two. I think it’d be a very good book for someone new to the corporate world and who needs to learn about office dynamics, how to appear promotable, how to avoid blunders, etc. Some of the authors’ tips and cautions were way too basic even for a newbie though (they advise readers not to take someone else’s food from the office fridge “no matter how hungry you are”. No, really?) but there were some useful suggestions too. Grade: B
-- Woman: An Intimate Geograhy by Natalie Angier – An informative investigation into female physiology. I know I sound like a dunce when I say this, but I’ve never been into science. Didn’t do well in it at school and never found it particularly interesting. This book has been on my “to read” list for a while -- I even bought a copy for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nytshd3 as a gift, at her request, years ago. I finally got around to reading it. It was a tough read for me in a couple of ways. I had to overcome my distaste for (ignorance of?) science, I am opposed to testing on animals and I don’t like reading about the results of those tests even if some were enlightening (this may be partly why science turns me off), and then there’s Angier’s prose to deal with. Sometimes it’s poetic and fascinating but more often than not, her writing style is just way over-the-top and even a bit silly. Then again, maybe that’s unfair; she does do a good job making science accessible to non-scientists. When I could get passed the book’s roadblocks, the work was really fascinating. I learned a lot about women’s biology from hormones to the uterus to breasts to the almighty clitoris to the sum of these parts. I also love when she directly states her opinions. Instead of hemming and hawing on the subject of female genital mutilation (twice in my lifetime I’ve heard people actually defend the practice), she condemns it. Definitely a good read. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
Broken Verses by Kamila Shamsie – This might be the weakest reason I’ve ever had for not finishing a book. I started reading this novel, felt it was okay but not really hooking me, and remembered that I regretted finishing “Rain Village” (on my last book report ) since it was so dull and I felt like I’d wasted my time. So I gave myself to page 50 to get hooked on “Broken Verses” and didn’t find it super-compelling, so I stopped. So many books, so little time, and my tendency is usually to finish a book even if I’m not loving it, and I’m trying to sort of reverse that tendency.
-- Practically Perfect in Every Way by Jennifer Niesslein – This book tells us of the author’s two-year quest in taking self-help advice, in an effort to become a better, happier person. With a healthy dose of skepticism but not devoid of earnestness as well, she researches and undertakes improvement projects in the areas of the home, finances, marriage, child-raising, health, and spirituality. I found her account witty, insightful, and tremendously fun to read. I liked hearing about her life, I laughed out loud a few times, and I did get ideas for a few things I might try. Grade: B+
-- Dancing in a Distant Place by Isla Dewar – A novel about a woman in Ireland in the 1960’s who loses her husband and has to build her life anew. She moves to a very remote town and has to deal with small-town life in a community where everybody knows everybody. It wasn’t the most riveting thing I’ve ever read, but it was good; the author really does a great job creating characters who feel real and she also excels in transporting you to the place she describes. The protagonist was a confident lady; I liked reading how she dealt with situations she encountered. One thing I didn’t like about this book is that it employs a technique I’ve encountered in a lot of novels. The first chapter takes place decades after the rest of the novel. So as I read the rest of the book, I knew exactly how things would turn out for the main characters. Perhaps in this novel it wasn’t such a big deal since this book was never designed to be a suspenseful page-turner, but I still felt it detracted from the impact of the story. Grade: C+
More after the cut -
-- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See -- Enthralling novel about women’s friendships and connections with each other, set in 1800’s China. Like “The Red Tent”, this novel explores female friendships in a setting much different from any contemporary one. It makes you think and question what you know about the main characters, and it keeps you turning the pages. The two central characters are complex and real, they misinterpret, they make mistakes, they try to live their lives properly in a very oppressive culture for women, and they struggle to love and feel loved. The novel was beautifully written too. The details of daily life for women in China were mesmerizing, even to someone like me who has read a bit about the subject. I should say that there were times I felt that the pace of the novel was too fast and that I wanted to learn more about the supporting characters, but this is the story of two women’s friendship over the years and the narrative rightly stays focused on the two. My only real complaint - enough with the foreshadowing already! There were way too many times when our narrator tells us what’s going to happen down the line, and I didn’t like it. (Example – she learns that a friend is going to marry a butcher and muses that at least she’ll never go hungry. “I was wrong,” she tells us). We’re constantly learning too early how things are going to turn out. Grade: A-
-- Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don’t Go to School edited by Grace Llewellyn – As the title implies, it is a book of essays by teens who are homeschooled. Homeschooling –at least in the US - is often associated with religious fundamentalism, but this group of teens did not homeschool for religious reasons; many, in fact, became activists in the peace and environmental movements. I have to start out by saying that there were several things about the book that I didn’t care for. First, there was some degree of teacher-bashing. Sure, we’ve all had bad teachers but I’ve also had a few wonderful ones and known many teachers who work for crappy pay because they truly love educating people. Also, a lot of the essayists were just full of themselves and it was a little irritating. I suppose you’d find that among many teenagers, homeschooled or not. But I really didn’t care for lines such as, “I’m one of the proud few in this country who can locate the United States on a map!” Um, granted, most American’s aren’t very good at Geography, but I have to believe that more than “a few” can locate our country on a map, Einstein. Another essay went on for over 30 pages with its teenager author writing in a very condescending manner. I realize that it’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, but too many of the essayists crossed the line, in my book. But when I could make myself ignore the many negatives of this book, the essays were at least interesting and mind-expanding. I liked hearing about the different ways they homeschooled – some had schedules and lesson plans, others simply did whatever they felt like, but most did truly learn.(Most. One of them apparently sat at home and wrote to her pen pals all day). It did make me wonder what my life would have been like had I been able to learn in an unstructured way and just pursue whatever subjects I wanted. Heck, I’m probably so used to having structure and plans that I can’t even imagine what such freedom would be like. One teen went on a bicycling trek around Latin America as part of her learning. The teens in this book all loved being able to decide what to study and decide how to go about doing it, and that was refreshing to read. One thing I would love to see would be a study on how these teens are doing years later. The skeptic in me still wonders if they might have a hard time making a living later on, but I realize I might be dead wrong on that one and that these folks might be very successful (depending on your definition of “success”) as adults. Grade: C. Because as interesting as the subject is, the condescending tone so many of the writers took really left a bad taste in my mouth.
-- Help! Was That a Career-Limiting Move? By Marjorie Brody and Pamela J. Holland – This is basically a “welcome to the corporate world 101” book, with ideas and warnings on etiquette to help you get along in an office environment. Each chapter is very short; you can easily finish this book in a sitting or two. I think it’d be a very good book for someone new to the corporate world and who needs to learn about office dynamics, how to appear promotable, how to avoid blunders, etc. Some of the authors’ tips and cautions were way too basic even for a newbie though (they advise readers not to take someone else’s food from the office fridge “no matter how hungry you are”. No, really?) but there were some useful suggestions too. Grade: B
-- Woman: An Intimate Geograhy by Natalie Angier – An informative investigation into female physiology. I know I sound like a dunce when I say this, but I’ve never been into science. Didn’t do well in it at school and never found it particularly interesting. This book has been on my “to read” list for a while -- I even bought a copy for
nytshd3 as a gift, at her request, years ago. I finally got around to reading it. It was a tough read for me in a couple of ways. I had to overcome my distaste for (ignorance of?) science, I am opposed to testing on animals and I don’t like reading about the results of those tests even if some were enlightening (this may be partly why science turns me off), and then there’s Angier’s prose to deal with. Sometimes it’s poetic and fascinating but more often than not, her writing style is just way over-the-top and even a bit silly. Then again, maybe that’s unfair; she does do a good job making science accessible to non-scientists. When I could get passed the book’s roadblocks, the work was really fascinating. I learned a lot about women’s biology from hormones to the uterus to breasts to the almighty clitoris to the sum of these parts. I also love when she directly states her opinions. Instead of hemming and hawing on the subject of female genital mutilation (twice in my lifetime I’ve heard people actually defend the practice), she condemns it. Definitely a good read. Grade: BBooks I started reading but didn’t finish:
Broken Verses by Kamila Shamsie – This might be the weakest reason I’ve ever had for not finishing a book. I started reading this novel, felt it was okay but not really hooking me, and remembered that I regretted finishing “Rain Village” (on my last book report ) since it was so dull and I felt like I’d wasted my time. So I gave myself to page 50 to get hooked on “Broken Verses” and didn’t find it super-compelling, so I stopped. So many books, so little time, and my tendency is usually to finish a book even if I’m not loving it, and I’m trying to sort of reverse that tendency.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-21 12:37 am (UTC)I've been meaning for years to read "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," though - on your recommendation I'll definitely push it to the top of my list!
no subject
Date: 2007-12-21 01:31 am (UTC)And yes, I can't recommend Snow Flower highly enough, and I think you'll love it too!
no subject
Date: 2007-12-21 02:36 am (UTC)the career book that told people not to each someone else's food was crazy.... tho it DOES happen, i suspect at least some of the time its mistaken identity (you brought in a frozen dinner last week and forgot that you ate it already, see another frozen dinner that's the same as the one you bought, and you eat it). then again, some people just have no boundaries.
thanks for the reviews!
no subject
Date: 2007-12-21 02:47 am (UTC)Have books always been this way or do you think it's a recent trend? 'Cause it seems to be happening more and more in the books I read.
Hi
Date: 2007-12-23 12:02 pm (UTC)Re: Hi
Date: 2007-12-23 01:01 pm (UTC)I've been a vegetarian for 18 years. I'm not vegan because I do eat some cheese, but I do eat very little dairy. I'd like to be 100% vegan but don't know if I ever well be, largely because the restaurants where I live aren't that great and I'm lucky if I can get a vegetarian meal at most of them. But I'd say I'm vegan 90% of the time, and vegetarian the other 10% of the time. You?
Re: Hi
Date: 2007-12-29 08:25 am (UTC)Right now I'm just trying to eat organic as much as possible including with my vitamins. Just trying to live healthy and not cause too much of an impact on the planet which means eventually giving up on leather which, though I'm not a shopaholic, I do love especially leather bound books, and shoes, and coats and purses. You get the picture. Hard to do but one day I will I think maybe buy used items. One day. Hmm, it sounds a little sad I keep saying one day. Well this new year I’ve a ton of resolutions and will try to live up to them.
And speaking of a new year I hope you have a good New Years, a good new year too and had a great Christmas. Thanks for friending me back too, I’m looking forward to reading some of the books you’ve reviewed. How do you find the time to read so many?
Re: Hi
Date: 2007-12-30 01:21 pm (UTC)Thanks for friending me back too, I’m looking forward to reading some of the books you’ve reviewed. How do you find the time to read so many?
I think the reason I can do it is because I don't watch much TV. And I just love to read, and you tend to make time to do the things you love. :)
Re: Hi
Date: 2007-12-30 01:53 pm (UTC)Eta I love your Firefly icons especially Zoe!
Re: Hi
Date: 2007-12-30 07:45 pm (UTC)Can you give me your email address so I can email you the recipe list? Or is your email addy in your LJ profile and I can just take it from there?
I know what you mean about addiction. My personal computer is fried, I'm using my work computer just for a bit, and am really missing having my own!
Re: Hi
Date: 2008-01-05 01:41 pm (UTC)