Book report
Aug. 9th, 2011 05:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormkeeper_lovedorisTime to recap the last several books I read (or listened to). A good crop this time:
Radio Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli -- I’d been looking forward to a book like this. It is an account of an American who received a rare chance – an offer to live and work in Bhutan for an extended period of time. Bhutan is a little-known Asian country that has a reputation like Shangri-la among those who do know of it. Somewhat isolated, but also somewhat of a paradise. The country has a Gross National Happiness Measure instead of GNP, free health care, genuine Buddhist spirituality, and dedication to environmental conservation. Napoli is intrigued. Her book tells us that Bhutan, while clearly not a utopia (the food is terrible, there are unscrupulous clergy, and the monarchy doesn’t grant true freedom of the press), it is also a truly happy place and she shares with us the insights she learned while there. I definitely acknowledge that Bhutan isn’t paradise but it is good to know that places like this do exist – even though its entire population is smaller than LA’s public school enrollment! Also, I like that Napoli shares enough about herself to keep the book interesting but doesn’t weigh us down with tons of irrelevant details of her life. Grade: B+
The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass – My preferences for novels lean heavily towards historical fiction, and if it’s not historical fiction, it had better have a hard-driving plot. This one takes place in contemporary times, and although it does have a plot, it’s not that fast-moving – but I still enjoyed it a lot. I listened to it on an audio book and it really brightened my commute. It is about a widower (as the title suggests), his adult daughters, his Guatemalan gardener friend, his girlfriend, his grandson, the gay teacher who teaches his girlfriend’s son, and on and on. I loved the interplay of the characters’ lives. I loved that all the characters felt fully-formed and realistic. I really got a sense of the lives of these fictional people. I enjoyed our opinionated but loveable narrator, and there were a few laugh-out-loud moments at his antics. Also, the voice actor did a great job. Grade: B+
More behind the cut.
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn – This book was on my “to read” list forever, and I shouldn’t have let it sit for so long. I was put-off because my library categorized it as Mystery, and I’m just not into that genre (or thought I wasn’t). I would say this book is both historical fiction and a mystery. The husband of a young, wealthy woman in 19th century England dies suddenly, and our protagonist – his widow - begins to suspect foul play. It was riveting; I was glued to all 500 pages, eagerly wanting to know what would happen next. There were a few great plot twists, just the right amount of supporting characters, and the novel was so well put together - just plain fascinating. I also like that the author had gay and lesbian characters in there too. (I know that one could argue that the gay male characters in this novel are portrayed as a bit too tragic, but on the other hand I think it was an accurate reflection of the times). Raybourn has several other novels published and I can’t wait to read them! Grade: A-
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink – This was a good book, mostly applicable to the business world but with some insights that you could use elsewhere. The author convincingly argues that traditional workplace rewards don’t work in every situation and especially not in today’s workplace. He provides a lot of evidence from research and keeps the book interesting. Grade: B
Behind the Bedroom Door, edited by Paula Derrow - this is an anthology about women candidly sharing information about their experiences with sex and how it shaped their lives. The essays are really not just about sex though. Mostly they are about love-and-sex, which makes sense since many women don’t separate the two. I wanted a little bit more info about the actual sex in here – the mechanics of it, what gets you hot, what gets you off, what doesn’t, etc. But still, these essays were really good and definitely held my interest. The editor did a pretty good job getting some diversity in terms of her contributors. Grade: B+
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
None this time
Radio Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli -- I’d been looking forward to a book like this. It is an account of an American who received a rare chance – an offer to live and work in Bhutan for an extended period of time. Bhutan is a little-known Asian country that has a reputation like Shangri-la among those who do know of it. Somewhat isolated, but also somewhat of a paradise. The country has a Gross National Happiness Measure instead of GNP, free health care, genuine Buddhist spirituality, and dedication to environmental conservation. Napoli is intrigued. Her book tells us that Bhutan, while clearly not a utopia (the food is terrible, there are unscrupulous clergy, and the monarchy doesn’t grant true freedom of the press), it is also a truly happy place and she shares with us the insights she learned while there. I definitely acknowledge that Bhutan isn’t paradise but it is good to know that places like this do exist – even though its entire population is smaller than LA’s public school enrollment! Also, I like that Napoli shares enough about herself to keep the book interesting but doesn’t weigh us down with tons of irrelevant details of her life. Grade: B+
The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass – My preferences for novels lean heavily towards historical fiction, and if it’s not historical fiction, it had better have a hard-driving plot. This one takes place in contemporary times, and although it does have a plot, it’s not that fast-moving – but I still enjoyed it a lot. I listened to it on an audio book and it really brightened my commute. It is about a widower (as the title suggests), his adult daughters, his Guatemalan gardener friend, his girlfriend, his grandson, the gay teacher who teaches his girlfriend’s son, and on and on. I loved the interplay of the characters’ lives. I loved that all the characters felt fully-formed and realistic. I really got a sense of the lives of these fictional people. I enjoyed our opinionated but loveable narrator, and there were a few laugh-out-loud moments at his antics. Also, the voice actor did a great job. Grade: B+
More behind the cut.
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn – This book was on my “to read” list forever, and I shouldn’t have let it sit for so long. I was put-off because my library categorized it as Mystery, and I’m just not into that genre (or thought I wasn’t). I would say this book is both historical fiction and a mystery. The husband of a young, wealthy woman in 19th century England dies suddenly, and our protagonist – his widow - begins to suspect foul play. It was riveting; I was glued to all 500 pages, eagerly wanting to know what would happen next. There were a few great plot twists, just the right amount of supporting characters, and the novel was so well put together - just plain fascinating. I also like that the author had gay and lesbian characters in there too. (I know that one could argue that the gay male characters in this novel are portrayed as a bit too tragic, but on the other hand I think it was an accurate reflection of the times). Raybourn has several other novels published and I can’t wait to read them! Grade: A-
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink – This was a good book, mostly applicable to the business world but with some insights that you could use elsewhere. The author convincingly argues that traditional workplace rewards don’t work in every situation and especially not in today’s workplace. He provides a lot of evidence from research and keeps the book interesting. Grade: B
Behind the Bedroom Door, edited by Paula Derrow - this is an anthology about women candidly sharing information about their experiences with sex and how it shaped their lives. The essays are really not just about sex though. Mostly they are about love-and-sex, which makes sense since many women don’t separate the two. I wanted a little bit more info about the actual sex in here – the mechanics of it, what gets you hot, what gets you off, what doesn’t, etc. But still, these essays were really good and definitely held my interest. The editor did a pretty good job getting some diversity in terms of her contributors. Grade: B+
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
None this time
