Book Report
Sep. 28th, 2015 08:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormkeeper_lovedorisBook Report
Girl in the Woods by Aspen Matis – I have such mixed feelings on this book. In summary, it’s a memoir of a young woman who decides to walk the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) as a way to work through the fact that she was raped soon after she arrived at college. I’ll do what I rarely do: divide my review into pros and cons.
Pros – Well, I love a good travel memoir, and I especially enjoy reading about women who trek the PCT or the Appalachian Trail solo. Parts of the book were very fast-moving and intriguing. Most of the time, the discussion of her rape was handled well; Matis hits the nail on the head when describing how she ends up being the one who is blamed, her rapist gets off scot-free, and how those close to her just don’t want to discuss it.
Cons – There’s the obvious comparison to the best-selling “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed, which is much better written; sometimes this book feels like it was rushed to market in the wake of “Wild”’s success. Also, sorry to say it, but Matis is so annoying. She’s whiney and self-obsessed, and I doubt I’d like to spend time with her. Ever. There are also a lot of short, choppy sentences in here and the book goes on too long and gets repetitive. It gets even more annoying when she meets the man of her dreams - I'm all for hearing about a strong relationship but her narrative really loses steam then. There's too much fail here.
Grade: C- because I think only people who also love reading PCT hiking stories are going to be able to stomach this, and it just made me want to re-read “Wild” instead.
When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt – Such great storytelling and beautiful prose! This novel of historical fiction tells of a young woman who leaves a small, Italian town in the mountains in the 1880’s, to seek a better life and escape a bad family situation. The book made me appreciate and wish to know more about my Italian great-grandparents who also made this journey. I was intrigued by every step of the protagonist’s trip, the kindness and dangers she encounters as she makes her way alone from the village to the port and onto a ship bound for the US. Grade: B+
Gather At The Table by Thomas Norman DeWolf and Sharon Morgan - Thomas Norman DeWolf is the descendent of slave-owners, and Sharon Morgan is the descendant of slaves. They meet each other through their anti-racism work and interest in genealogy, and decide to take a journey through 21 states, tracing slave routes, learning what they can about their ancestors, and thinking about how to dismantle racism. It’s an important topic and the prose is well-written. The authors bring up topics that so many Americans seem like they’d rather not dwell on, let alone discuss. However, I will say that as a book, “Gather At the Table” definitely has some flaws. I kept waiting for the authors’ road trip but they don’t depart until the book is like 60-70% finished. So yeah, there’s a lot of preamble and maybe a bit more on the authors’ family histories than was needed, but I am glad I read it. Grade: B
The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler – Every now and then, it’s good to listen to a “light” audio book that is not going to disrupt your world but does contain some positive reminders and nice anecdotes. Here’s that book! The author uses a bit of data but mostly good stories to describe how being nice ultimately helps you, your career, and your life. I felt like I instinctively knew most of this stuff, but the reminders didn't hurt. Grade: B
Ice Cream Social: The Struggle for the Soul of Ben & Jerry’s by Brad Edmondson – Exactly as the title implies, this was a great history of the legendary Ben & Jerry’s. Socially responsible business is a thing that’s meant a lot to me for decades, and it was fascinating to read about the evolution of this company. Doris and I did the Ben & Jerry's tour during our one trip to Vermont many years ago, and I still remember the day in year 2000 when a coworker said to me that Ben & Jerry’s had been sold to (the big, bad, corporate giant) Unilever. This book gives you the whole scoop. Grade: B+
Girl in the Woods by Aspen Matis – I have such mixed feelings on this book. In summary, it’s a memoir of a young woman who decides to walk the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) as a way to work through the fact that she was raped soon after she arrived at college. I’ll do what I rarely do: divide my review into pros and cons.
Pros – Well, I love a good travel memoir, and I especially enjoy reading about women who trek the PCT or the Appalachian Trail solo. Parts of the book were very fast-moving and intriguing. Most of the time, the discussion of her rape was handled well; Matis hits the nail on the head when describing how she ends up being the one who is blamed, her rapist gets off scot-free, and how those close to her just don’t want to discuss it.
Cons – There’s the obvious comparison to the best-selling “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed, which is much better written; sometimes this book feels like it was rushed to market in the wake of “Wild”’s success. Also, sorry to say it, but Matis is so annoying. She’s whiney and self-obsessed, and I doubt I’d like to spend time with her. Ever. There are also a lot of short, choppy sentences in here and the book goes on too long and gets repetitive. It gets even more annoying when she meets the man of her dreams - I'm all for hearing about a strong relationship but her narrative really loses steam then. There's too much fail here.
Grade: C- because I think only people who also love reading PCT hiking stories are going to be able to stomach this, and it just made me want to re-read “Wild” instead.
When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt – Such great storytelling and beautiful prose! This novel of historical fiction tells of a young woman who leaves a small, Italian town in the mountains in the 1880’s, to seek a better life and escape a bad family situation. The book made me appreciate and wish to know more about my Italian great-grandparents who also made this journey. I was intrigued by every step of the protagonist’s trip, the kindness and dangers she encounters as she makes her way alone from the village to the port and onto a ship bound for the US. Grade: B+
Gather At The Table by Thomas Norman DeWolf and Sharon Morgan - Thomas Norman DeWolf is the descendent of slave-owners, and Sharon Morgan is the descendant of slaves. They meet each other through their anti-racism work and interest in genealogy, and decide to take a journey through 21 states, tracing slave routes, learning what they can about their ancestors, and thinking about how to dismantle racism. It’s an important topic and the prose is well-written. The authors bring up topics that so many Americans seem like they’d rather not dwell on, let alone discuss. However, I will say that as a book, “Gather At the Table” definitely has some flaws. I kept waiting for the authors’ road trip but they don’t depart until the book is like 60-70% finished. So yeah, there’s a lot of preamble and maybe a bit more on the authors’ family histories than was needed, but I am glad I read it. Grade: B
The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler – Every now and then, it’s good to listen to a “light” audio book that is not going to disrupt your world but does contain some positive reminders and nice anecdotes. Here’s that book! The author uses a bit of data but mostly good stories to describe how being nice ultimately helps you, your career, and your life. I felt like I instinctively knew most of this stuff, but the reminders didn't hurt. Grade: B
Ice Cream Social: The Struggle for the Soul of Ben & Jerry’s by Brad Edmondson – Exactly as the title implies, this was a great history of the legendary Ben & Jerry’s. Socially responsible business is a thing that’s meant a lot to me for decades, and it was fascinating to read about the evolution of this company. Doris and I did the Ben & Jerry's tour during our one trip to Vermont many years ago, and I still remember the day in year 2000 when a coworker said to me that Ben & Jerry’s had been sold to (the big, bad, corporate giant) Unilever. This book gives you the whole scoop. Grade: B+
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Date: 2015-10-02 03:46 pm (UTC)It's funny that you mention Wild - I just started reading it recently. It's been on the to-read list for a while and Rollin told me he wants to see the movie, so I decided to get moving on the book. I'm also listening to The Martian, for the same reason. I'm still pretty early on in Wild but enjoying it
When we were Strangers sounds lovely. I wish I knew more about my own family's journey to the US. At least on my dad's side. Since mom came here as a 10yo she can tell me about her side of things, but I don't know anything about dad's side of the family. My older relatives have told me that the family that came over were extremely secretive about it and never wanted to talk about it, so I might not have been able to get any information if I had tried anyway. I know what city the family came from but that's about it.
The Power of Nice sounds interesting. I'm not built for Machiavellian machinations so that's at least a path I could manage.
Ice cream social sounds good too! It's really interesting hearing about all the whole scoop (ha ha) :) I read the beanie babies book and it was fascinating to read about the guy who owned Ty and how working conditions were and all that.
Thanks for sharing as usual!
no subject
Date: 2015-10-02 07:05 pm (UTC)Oooh, I want to read The Martian too. It sounds like something I'd like.
Agreed, the Power of Nice sounds right up your alley and it's nice to get reminders that nice people often win in the end.
I wonder a lot about our ancestors. I mean, even just getting from the town in Italy to the port would've been a journey. Such bravery they must've had! Can you imagine doing that, going to a place you've never been and you don't speak the language, and probably don't know anyone there??
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Date: 2015-10-04 08:23 pm (UTC)My mom was a kid but she understood there was going to be streets paved with gold.
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Date: 2015-10-05 12:51 am (UTC)