Book Report
Jan. 23rd, 2012 08:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormkeeper_lovedorisYikes, a lot of grade “C” books in this crop!
The Kid by Sapphire – This novel describes what happens to the son of the main character in Sapphire’s previous novel, the best-selling “Push”. (“Push” was turned into the acclaimed movie “Precious”, in case you didn’t know). “The Kid” is told through the eyes of nine-year old Abdul and it opens with his mother’s funeral; unexpectedly she has died young, of AIDS. On one hand, I was really intrigued to see what would happen to Abdul – without family or money, he falls into the foster system. But I have to say that by about halfway through, the novel starts to drag, and the last third or so of the book really falls apart. I felt as though Sapphire was trying to throw too much in there and taking us on tangents by the side characters instead of sticking to Abdul’s story. It took me a while to finish this one and picking it up became a chore. It’s too bad; “Push” is one of my all-time favorites. Grade: C-
Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman – I guess that for me, the bottom line here is that there’s nothing wrong with this book except for the fact that it covers ground that’s been well-explored in a lot of other books I’ve read lately: “Drive” by Daniel Pink, “Freakonomics”, and the work of Malcolm Gladwell. It uses numerous studies and interesting anecdotes to describe and explain instances when humans don’t always act rationally, and what can be done about it. Worth reading but I think I need a break from books like this for now given how much I’ve already read on the topic. Grade: C
More behind the cut.
Something to Declare: Good Lesbian Travel Writing, edited by Gillian Kendal – The sub-title should’ve been “Okay Lesbian Travel Writing”. Grade: C
The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai - Given the number of mediocre books in this batch, I am glad to say that I loved this audio book! It’s a novel told in first-person by a twenty-something librarian named Lucy. One of the library’s most regular visitors is a nine-year old boy, Ian, who is presumed by most of the staff to be gay. Lucy receives word that Ian’s religious fundamentalist mother is placing him in a program run by an “ex-gay” minister, designed to “cure” young people of homosexuality. When Ian runs away from home, Lucy helps him get out of town and their road-trip ensues. It was believable and charming, and the many supporting characters enhanced the book rather than detracted from it. (My favorite was Lucy’s Russian dad and his many tales of the homeland). The voice actor for this audio book was absolutely spot-on perfect too. And yes, I have always wanted to be a librarian. One minor complaint/observation – all the important people in Lucy’s life are male. Realistic? For some women, yeah I guess. Just kinda a bummer. Grade: B+ (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nytshd3, if you want to borrow this one, just yell – I own it).
Tongue First: Adventures in Physical Culture by Emily Jenkins – This is a somewhat unusual book but basically, the author is trying to explore how the body is both a prison and a vehicle for adventure. So she undertakes a lot of unusual experiments – taking heroin, shaving her head, going to a public bath, getting a tattoo, Rolfing, sleep deprivation – so she can explore this paradox of the body. I liked it. Jenkins makes you think, she tries things out and writes about her conclusions. I don’t always agree with them, but it’s nice to read a thought-provoker, and I liked her unpretentious style. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
I started on the best-seller “The Zookeeper’s Wife” and I just couldn’t get into it at all. Which made me feel bad because I felt like I should love it.
The Kid by Sapphire – This novel describes what happens to the son of the main character in Sapphire’s previous novel, the best-selling “Push”. (“Push” was turned into the acclaimed movie “Precious”, in case you didn’t know). “The Kid” is told through the eyes of nine-year old Abdul and it opens with his mother’s funeral; unexpectedly she has died young, of AIDS. On one hand, I was really intrigued to see what would happen to Abdul – without family or money, he falls into the foster system. But I have to say that by about halfway through, the novel starts to drag, and the last third or so of the book really falls apart. I felt as though Sapphire was trying to throw too much in there and taking us on tangents by the side characters instead of sticking to Abdul’s story. It took me a while to finish this one and picking it up became a chore. It’s too bad; “Push” is one of my all-time favorites. Grade: C-
Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman – I guess that for me, the bottom line here is that there’s nothing wrong with this book except for the fact that it covers ground that’s been well-explored in a lot of other books I’ve read lately: “Drive” by Daniel Pink, “Freakonomics”, and the work of Malcolm Gladwell. It uses numerous studies and interesting anecdotes to describe and explain instances when humans don’t always act rationally, and what can be done about it. Worth reading but I think I need a break from books like this for now given how much I’ve already read on the topic. Grade: C
More behind the cut.
Something to Declare: Good Lesbian Travel Writing, edited by Gillian Kendal – The sub-title should’ve been “Okay Lesbian Travel Writing”. Grade: C
The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai - Given the number of mediocre books in this batch, I am glad to say that I loved this audio book! It’s a novel told in first-person by a twenty-something librarian named Lucy. One of the library’s most regular visitors is a nine-year old boy, Ian, who is presumed by most of the staff to be gay. Lucy receives word that Ian’s religious fundamentalist mother is placing him in a program run by an “ex-gay” minister, designed to “cure” young people of homosexuality. When Ian runs away from home, Lucy helps him get out of town and their road-trip ensues. It was believable and charming, and the many supporting characters enhanced the book rather than detracted from it. (My favorite was Lucy’s Russian dad and his many tales of the homeland). The voice actor for this audio book was absolutely spot-on perfect too. And yes, I have always wanted to be a librarian. One minor complaint/observation – all the important people in Lucy’s life are male. Realistic? For some women, yeah I guess. Just kinda a bummer. Grade: B+ (
nytshd3, if you want to borrow this one, just yell – I own it). Tongue First: Adventures in Physical Culture by Emily Jenkins – This is a somewhat unusual book but basically, the author is trying to explore how the body is both a prison and a vehicle for adventure. So she undertakes a lot of unusual experiments – taking heroin, shaving her head, going to a public bath, getting a tattoo, Rolfing, sleep deprivation – so she can explore this paradox of the body. I liked it. Jenkins makes you think, she tries things out and writes about her conclusions. I don’t always agree with them, but it’s nice to read a thought-provoker, and I liked her unpretentious style. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
I started on the best-seller “The Zookeeper’s Wife” and I just couldn’t get into it at all. Which made me feel bad because I felt like I should love it.
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no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 02:28 am (UTC)None of the other ones really sound all that interesting, maybe The Borrower but meh. I always like your book reviews!
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Date: 2012-01-24 02:41 am (UTC)Thanks for reading. :)
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Date: 2012-01-24 03:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 11:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 02:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 04:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 05:35 am (UTC)I didn't like Push that much because of the whole understanding-teacher-saves-the-day storyline, but I did root for Precious for the entire book. And I liked that there were other parts of the story that were very realistic, such as Precious realizing that she needed to stay away from her mother. I was sort of hoping that with The Kid Sapphire would make her be a long-term survivor of AIDS and show that she was doing well despite the illness. It's more realistic that she didn't live, but still.
Do they ever tell you what happened to Little Mongo in this book?
no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 11:05 am (UTC)They passingly reference Little Mongo once or twice, saying that Abdul's great-grandmother took care of her for a period of time. But we really never learn what became of her. On the other hand, I was pretty bored during much of "The Kid" so it is possible at some point they spelled out what happened to her but my mind was drifting then!!
no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 07:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 05:49 am (UTC)Hm, I've never read anything from "Push" series...
no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 11:08 am (UTC)"Push" and its follow-up are very, very bleak but I loved "Push". It was tight, fast, and heart-wrenching.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 09:25 pm (UTC)I might add "Push" to my already-too-long To-Read list.