Book Report
Oct. 14th, 2012 02:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormkeeper_lovedorisHow to Live Well Without Owning a Car by Christ Balish – I love books like this, even though I’m not sure why. When I say ‘books like this’, I am thinking of “The Sharing Solution” in addition to this one. “The Sharing Solution” was a guide to saving money and building community by sharing things (cars, tools, housing, the list is endless) with friends and neighbors. With this book, “How to Live Well Without Owning a Car”, you can easily guess its subject matter from the title. I guess I just love books that offer practical solutions to societal problems rather than just kvetching about how bad things are. The author came up with a lot of great tips and he answered any possible objection that someone might have to ditching their car. He does concede that if you don’t have a reliable non-car method of getting to your job then you probably can’t entirely banish your car. I just loved his positive attitude and his explorations of other ways of getting stuff done. (And for the record, I did again search to see if there is a way for me to get to work on public transportation, but no matter which one of two possible routes I could take, there is a 5-7 mile stretch with no public transportation.) Grade: A
Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World by Lisa Bloom – This is like an awesome book written by an older sister or a young Aunt. Lisa Bloom easily makes the case that this is a dumbed-down world where large percentages of women say they’d rather lose their ability to read than to lose their figures, where the American public cares more about the Kardashians than about real news. While arguing that the media needs to do its job better and that we need to demand more from the media, Bloom also gives you tips on how you can lead a more meaningful life. Her advice is nothing too revolutionary but it’s something we each need to be reminded of. And most of her ideas are things that I do regularly and that I can confidently say have changed and vastly improved my life: read a lot, get regular physical activity, spend time with your girlfriends, demand that your significant other do their share of the housework and child care, volunteer, use your brain, read at least one reputable news source regularly*, cook healthy but easy meals. It was just a great reminder message that I needed to hear, and I do truly wish that Bloom was my Aunt. Grade: A-
* - I need to do better with this one.
I loved the first two books – they were uplifting and they offered some real solutions.
More books behind the cut!
A Queer and Pleasant Danger by Kate Bornstein – This is Kate Bornstein’s memoir. Kate is transgendered, she has struggled with eating disorders and self-mutilation, she was a member of a crazy cult (Scientology) for 12 years, she voluntarily became a slave to a lesbian couple for a year – she has lived through and done it all. I realize that I have read nearly every book she’s published, and I read this one in just a couple days. Her life story had me glued to the page. Grade: A
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell – This is a very unique novel, one which I believe was a best-seller. The setting is modern-day Florida. A family living in a very remote swamp is hitting the skids: their family business is failing, the mother has died of cancer, the Dad disappears, the brother leaves to make his way in the world, and the elder sister has fallen in love with a ghost. This leaves 13 year old Ava to cope and come of age alone. The book was quirky, and its early parts foreshadow danger and creepiness. The author uses a ton of imaginative phrases and I can fully believe that each character was real. But. I really thought it would be more of a page-turner. In my eyes, it didn’t reach a “can’t put it down” stage until about the last 100 pages of this 315 page novel. I’d say it deserved to be a best-seller though. Grade: B
Tracks by Robyn Davidson – This is a travel memoir by a woman who trekked solo across the Australian outback, accompanied by three camels and a dog. The most interesting thing about it for me was that it was published in 1980, which I acknowledge was a long time ago but is a year which I basically remember. Scary. Also, the pages of this old paperback fell out as I turned them, which reminded me that someday I will probably get a Kindle or a Nook, and I will miss old, musty, crumbly books. (Really, I will). “Tracks” wasn’t the most riveting travel memoir I’ve read – and I’ve read a lot of them – but it kept me turning the pages. I loved Davidson’s musings after spending more time in the dessert; it certainly changed her priorities and her outlook on life. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
something by Fannie Flagg – So, Fannie Flagg wrote “Fried Green Tomatoes”, which was a delightful, sentimental , and witty novel that they made into a movie in the early 1990’s. I loved both the book and the movie. Although no one would deem the novel great literature, I would give it an “A” without hesitation. Over the years, I’ve picked up a few of Flagg’s other novels. And I haven’t been able to finish one of them. Bland and boring, the lot of them. This time I tried an audio version of one of her novels, thinking that because I have little else to do in the car, the book would be enjoyable. It wasn’t. There’s just no….magic in any of her other novels. When I read literature, I want to be transported away, I want my imagination to tingle, my mind to open. And at the very least, I don’t want to be bored. I listened to 30 minutes of this one, hearing about an elderly Aunt who fell down and her controlling niece who is upset that the Aunt climbs ladders and has a messy house, and I just can’t conceive why anyone would give a fuck. I mean seriously, if I want to experience boring crap about family members annoying one another, I can just hang with my family. Why Fannie Flagg was able to capture such magic with “Fried Green Tomatoes” and not with anything else, I don’t know.
Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World by Lisa Bloom – This is like an awesome book written by an older sister or a young Aunt. Lisa Bloom easily makes the case that this is a dumbed-down world where large percentages of women say they’d rather lose their ability to read than to lose their figures, where the American public cares more about the Kardashians than about real news. While arguing that the media needs to do its job better and that we need to demand more from the media, Bloom also gives you tips on how you can lead a more meaningful life. Her advice is nothing too revolutionary but it’s something we each need to be reminded of. And most of her ideas are things that I do regularly and that I can confidently say have changed and vastly improved my life: read a lot, get regular physical activity, spend time with your girlfriends, demand that your significant other do their share of the housework and child care, volunteer, use your brain, read at least one reputable news source regularly*, cook healthy but easy meals. It was just a great reminder message that I needed to hear, and I do truly wish that Bloom was my Aunt. Grade: A-
* - I need to do better with this one.
I loved the first two books – they were uplifting and they offered some real solutions.
More books behind the cut!
A Queer and Pleasant Danger by Kate Bornstein – This is Kate Bornstein’s memoir. Kate is transgendered, she has struggled with eating disorders and self-mutilation, she was a member of a crazy cult (Scientology) for 12 years, she voluntarily became a slave to a lesbian couple for a year – she has lived through and done it all. I realize that I have read nearly every book she’s published, and I read this one in just a couple days. Her life story had me glued to the page. Grade: A
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell – This is a very unique novel, one which I believe was a best-seller. The setting is modern-day Florida. A family living in a very remote swamp is hitting the skids: their family business is failing, the mother has died of cancer, the Dad disappears, the brother leaves to make his way in the world, and the elder sister has fallen in love with a ghost. This leaves 13 year old Ava to cope and come of age alone. The book was quirky, and its early parts foreshadow danger and creepiness. The author uses a ton of imaginative phrases and I can fully believe that each character was real. But. I really thought it would be more of a page-turner. In my eyes, it didn’t reach a “can’t put it down” stage until about the last 100 pages of this 315 page novel. I’d say it deserved to be a best-seller though. Grade: B
Tracks by Robyn Davidson – This is a travel memoir by a woman who trekked solo across the Australian outback, accompanied by three camels and a dog. The most interesting thing about it for me was that it was published in 1980, which I acknowledge was a long time ago but is a year which I basically remember. Scary. Also, the pages of this old paperback fell out as I turned them, which reminded me that someday I will probably get a Kindle or a Nook, and I will miss old, musty, crumbly books. (Really, I will). “Tracks” wasn’t the most riveting travel memoir I’ve read – and I’ve read a lot of them – but it kept me turning the pages. I loved Davidson’s musings after spending more time in the dessert; it certainly changed her priorities and her outlook on life. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
something by Fannie Flagg – So, Fannie Flagg wrote “Fried Green Tomatoes”, which was a delightful, sentimental , and witty novel that they made into a movie in the early 1990’s. I loved both the book and the movie. Although no one would deem the novel great literature, I would give it an “A” without hesitation. Over the years, I’ve picked up a few of Flagg’s other novels. And I haven’t been able to finish one of them. Bland and boring, the lot of them. This time I tried an audio version of one of her novels, thinking that because I have little else to do in the car, the book would be enjoyable. It wasn’t. There’s just no….magic in any of her other novels. When I read literature, I want to be transported away, I want my imagination to tingle, my mind to open. And at the very least, I don’t want to be bored. I listened to 30 minutes of this one, hearing about an elderly Aunt who fell down and her controlling niece who is upset that the Aunt climbs ladders and has a messy house, and I just can’t conceive why anyone would give a fuck. I mean seriously, if I want to experience boring crap about family members annoying one another, I can just hang with my family. Why Fannie Flagg was able to capture such magic with “Fried Green Tomatoes” and not with anything else, I don’t know.
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Date: 2012-10-14 07:18 pm (UTC)I started reading Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant and Stuart: A Life Backwards recently. Both interesting but kinda slow going.
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Date: 2012-10-14 07:29 pm (UTC)And I swear the Lisa Bloom book is awesome.
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Date: 2012-10-14 07:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-14 08:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-15 01:41 am (UTC)Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers- Redeeming Love is about a woman, named Angel, who is sold into prostitution at a very young age. She later becomes married to a man who has been told by God to marry and love her. It's heartbreaking due to my past experience with men- I can relate to Angel on so many levels that it is scary. It's taking me a while to get through it because it is so emotionally draining for me. But I really enjoy it.
The Persian Boy by Mary Renault- Follows a eunuch named Bagoas on his travels with Alexander the Great on his conquest of Asia. A bit slow going, written in a similar style to Tolkien's works, but I am very interested in the subject and seeing things from the perspective of a servant is unique.
Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant- This is the novel that the new movie Lawless is based off of. Follows three brothers who are bootleggers during Prohibition. Kind of has a discordant time-line but it delves a bit further into some of the characters than most books so it has it's merit.
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young- Four years after his daughter is assumed murdered, Mackenzie Phillips receives a note from God to meet at the shack that his daughter was killed in. It has a very different perspective on God- Young separates God into Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, with God appearing as a motherly black woman, Son as a Middle-Eastern young man, and the Holy Ghost as an Asian woman. Poignant for me as it raises the question of 'why do bad things happen?' Another emotionally draining but good book.
Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters- I'm truthfully only a few pages in but so far I enjoy the authors first person POV style of writing. So, I guess we will see how it goes a few more pages in...
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Date: 2012-10-15 09:59 am (UTC)And, we should talk re: The Persian Boy. I loved it. I had a thing for Alexander the Great for a while and I shipped him and Hephastion. Weird but true.
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Date: 2012-10-15 12:47 am (UTC)I'm rereading Fried Green Tomatoes right now. You're right, not great literature, but I do love it. The movie, too. I cry every time when Ruth dies.
I've only read one other FF book, Welcome to the World, Baby Girl, which I enjoyed.
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Date: 2012-10-15 01:32 am (UTC)And if you read the Russell and Bornstein books, I hope you like them as much as I did!
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Date: 2012-10-15 03:55 am (UTC)I think the biggest hurdle is really what you mentioned, which is that in a lot of places there really isn't any public transport at all. When I lived in Maine, for instance, if you didn't have a car you just couldn't get around or do anything. It was very hard for those who were economically depressed because they couldn't pay for taxis or for things like grocery delivery, they couldn't get to work without a vehicle, etc.
Do they cover safety in the book? I would think that is the other hurdle a lot of the time. The bus or train might be there but it might be dangerous.
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Date: 2012-10-15 10:01 am (UTC)And yes, safety is covered.
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Date: 2012-10-15 12:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-15 12:41 pm (UTC)And you know, one thing on the whole safety issue....car drivers often forget how dangerous driving is. It's easy to end up a car-crash statistic. I realize that bus stops and el trains may not feel or be safe at late hours, but desolate parking garages aren't either.
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Date: 2012-10-15 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-15 01:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-16 01:07 pm (UTC)i definitely think Think sounds amazing. let me ask you this: what would you consider a good reputable news source? i feel like everything out there has an agenda in one way or another, and i don't think there's anything reputable on tv.
i saw queer and pleasant danger in one of my magazines and i'm planning on reading it - glad that it's so good!
i don't think ive heard of swamplandia before...
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Date: 2012-10-16 01:34 pm (UTC)Glad you have Queer and Pleasant in your queue, and I think you will like it!
In terms of a good news source, in Think the author recommends the New York Times and NPR. I so need to get better about reading/listening to one of those. She said they go in depth and are fairly unbiased. NYT will print corrections and clarifications; they check up on themselves. Nowadays, who else devotes time and money to that?? Certainly not Fox.
So true on all the expenses that come with owning a car. I just love that the author says there has to be a better way, and he goes out and does everything he can to find it. And yeah, the commute is the hardest nut to track. Without a reliable, non-car way to get to work, you can't ditch your car. Some people do investigate either moving or changing jobs so that they can ditch the car. I can't move - too much $$ gone into this house and I love OP anyway - and I love my job. But it's something to think about.