Book Report

 Verbal Judo by George Thompson and Jerry Jenkins  - This book has been on my “to read” list for a while, and Doris listened to it on audio once. We were talking about feedback at work I’d received about needing to influence others more, and she recommended I read this book. I was kinda disappointed though. It feels like the book is the same advice over and over again. There probably are a few good communication tips in here though. Interesting that it was published in 1993 and the author, a former police officer, uses lots of examples from his work. I don’t think most of us would view cops as role-models in communication nowadays. Grade: 4

 

The Book of Atlantis Black by Betsy Bonner – This is a very personal memoir. The author’s sister, Atlantis Black, has always been a bit of a lost soul. She has struggles with depression and drugs, she moves a lot and seems to keep company that is dangerous or at least untrustworthy. But the two sisters keep in touch, until Atlantis goes to Tijuana and is soon said to have died under sketchy circumstances. Bonner tries to uncover what might have happened to her sister. It’s an intriguing read. At some points I wondered whether Bonner might be an ‘unreliable narrator’ as she is clearly mired in grief and dismay at the loss of her sister. Grade: 6

 

Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens – I got this one from a Little Free Library, and it’s a memoir about a husband and wife team of researchers. In the early 1970s they are both eager to learn about the animals of the Kalahari. They have about $5,000 to their names and no big grants or funders, but they set off for the Kalahari to follow their passion. They live there for 7 years, far away from any other humans as they study lions and brown hyenas. I was more interested in hearing about their day to day survival in the harsh desert than the animals. They had to face things like extreme heat, plus cold seasons too, lack of fuel, lack of food, equipment not working the way the manufacturer said, struggling to get grants, etc. At one point they realize they need a plane to really track the animals, so Mark gets a pilot’s license and they get a grant – gotta admire their devotion! Side note about the sexism of our culture. Writing a bit about mating, they said that female hyenas have “a pseudo-penis (actually a clitoris)”. Can we just laugh that scientists or anyone would use the term “pseudo-penis”, especially when the organ is, as the authors tell us, clearly a clit? Let’s instead call the penis a “pseudo-clitoris”. On another note, I wonder what the Kalahari is like now. These researchers were there around the time I was born, and sadly within my short lifetime, the climate has changed so drastically and wildlife habitant has been decreased so much. And final note – I had to do some googling afterwards and it looks like the authors have since divorced, and Delia Owens wrote the acclaimed novel “Where the Crawdads Sing”. Grade: 7

 

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna – A fantasy. The main character becomes an outcast in her village when it becomes clear that she has special powers. I wanted to love this book so much!! But it got really, really boring. After the first couple of chapters, it was hard to even turn the pages. Loved the characters and the setting, but I can never get into a novel where the plot drags. Grade: 2

 

Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean P. Sasson – I got this from a Little Free Library, and it was published about 30 years ago. The author states that this is a true story, as told to her by a woman she calls “Sultana”, a Saudi Princess. So I got no idea how much of this is true, and the exact details can’t be verified – but on the other hand, plenty is known about life in Saudi Arabia and this book seems to align with it. Sultana lives in “a gilded cage” – her family is grotesquely wealthy (weekend trips to Europe where they just go buy what they want), but she and all the women in it are virtual prisoners. She provides tons of examples and stories, and many are harrowing. And don’t get me started on how the servants and slaves from other countries are treated. The book was really sad but also a page-turner. Grade: 7