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RE: Book Review - 8/8/2009 5:09:13 AM
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E_Lin
Posts: 478
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From: Cincinnati, OH
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Recently finished reading "T.H.U.G L.I.F.E" by Sanyika Shakur. It is his second book, folowing his autobiography Monster. This one is actually a work of fiction.
This book caught my attention because the author is actually serving time in California state prison. He is a former Crips gang member who writes based on his personal experiences. What I knew about gang life in South Central L.A. I learned from listening to NWA when I was younger. So I thought I might glean some insight from the book.
I learned a few new things, but not much. Honestly, the book is a testament to how sad life is growing up as a minority in a rough inner city like that, not being able to trust anyone, and hating others simply because of the neighborhood they lived in. The book glorifies the lifestyle of drug use and casual murder, as if that is a normal way of life anywhere in the world. But sadly, it seems the author, and any who might agree, don't seem to get that the rest of the world doesn't operate like that. In fact, the "hero" of the book, ends up getting away with multiple murders, and all the while the author tries to justify it by claiming "crooked white society" and "a gangsta's conscience"...
The content of the book is controversial, and clearly not for everyone. The violence is at times graphic, and a few times the sexual daliences of the main characters are described a little too vividly. Yet I have to give it up to the author for his knowledge of the subject he wrote about. He has actually lived it. So I believe I can take him at his written word. And as such, I can honestly say I am truly glad to have never grown up in a neighborhood like that.
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RE: Book Review - 10/26/2009 12:25:40 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Sorry, I've been ignoring this since I started school in the fall. I'm way down in reading, however, I have a few.
* Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 3.5/5~reread of an old favorite. Yes, its ridiculous at times but oooo so good.
* Clan of the Cave Bear 2/5~finally decided to read it after 20 years. Lots of interesting information about neanderthals (some of it kind of kooky) but the writing needed work. I hear the next few have a lot of sex so I'll just stop here. Curiosity satisfied.
* Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett 3/5~totally hilarious fantasy. Great for reading aloud.
* Breads from La Brea Bakery by Nancy Silverton 5/5~excellent for sourdough breads
* Flatbreads & Flavors: a Baker's Atlas by Jeffery Alford 4/5~interesting international bakery goods, good pictures
And I just finished
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Well written story about a California boy who transfers to a New England college in the early '80s (late 70s??) with visions of white churches and Walt Whitman. He becomes involved with a tight-knit group of classicists (Greek/Latin) and in a murder. Everything unravels from there. Nicely paced. Not too obvious what is going to happen. Lots of drugs and alcohol. A little sex.
Well done. Recommended.
Grade: 8/10
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 10/26/2009 10:33:40 PM
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uponeagleswings
Posts: 633
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Auben- I read the entire Clan of the Cave Bear series over the course of quite a few years (the last one came out a while after its predecessor). They were all interesting and I enjoyed them. Whoever told you there was a lot of sex in the rest of the books was spot on. Its also rather graphic. My feeling is that the author is a bit of a nympho  and that the books would have been better if that had been left out.
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Stacy My blog I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. -- Mahatma Gandhi
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RE: Book Review - 12/7/2009 7:53:40 PM
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Auben
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
A coming of age story about a mute boy (his hearing is fine) who grows up on his family's dog breeding and training business in Northern Wisconsin. His estranged uncle returns from the military and the story unfolds in a rather Shakespearean way. The writing is really beautiful. There were times in the beginning of the book that it felt like it was unfolding in a very To Kill a Mockingbird kind of way, and I mean that as high praise. But the level of detail was not sustainable by Wroblewski. I don't think anyone could keep all the minutia interesting without incredible talent and lots of experience. Wroblewski has the talent, but he doesn't have the experience yet to reign himself in. I look forward to seeing what he does in the future.
Second nitpicky thing....this is a spoiler so if you don't want to know details please skip down to the bottom.......spoiler......this story was obviously based on hamlet. That in itself does not annoy me, but I loved the beginning 200 or so pages that dealt with life and growing up and brotherly tension and I didn't like the Hamlet direction. I opened one of the longest, most boring parts of the book, just when a murder should have made it one of the most exciting times. The third section when he left home was such a relief again even though very little happened. Things kept moving.
A good first effort.
Grade: 7/10...there were moments when this book was definitely a 9 and other when it was barely a 5.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 12/14/2009 11:26:56 PM
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Auben
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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[underline]Anathem[/underline] by Neal Stephenson
Speculative fiction of a world which long ago separated high level scholars into monastery-like places known as Maths-after scientific powers pushed public ethics to the limit. The book follows one of the young fraas (or brothers) of the Math known as Erasmus. Then comes philosophy, astronomy, physics, mystery, aliens, scientific mysticism, religion, parallel worlds and many other things.
IMO Stephenson is one of the best science fiction writers of our generation. He's definitely one of the most complex. There are a few difficult places here, getting up to speed with the new culture and language, but if you can hang on this is definitely worth it.
My only problem is with the epilogue which was purposely patronizing toward religion. Something I felt was ironic considering the scientific mysticism of the past 900 pages. It lessened the impact of a novel which was totally engrossing up until that point.
Not as well-written as Cryptonimicon (WWII, treasure, cryptography) but a lot more scientifically and philosophically complex.
Grade: 9/10
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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Review Forgiving Ararat - 12/16/2009 7:24:41 AM
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marylambe
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Really enjoying making my way through various recommendations here! I just finished 'Forgiving Ararat' by Gita Nazareth which has only been out a week. My daughter bought it for me and it is now making the family rounds.
It is an amazing tale and a very profound view of heaven.
Googling it, I see it is being compared with the literary achievement of The Lovely Bones, and the mysterious reader trajectory of The Shack.
All I know is that, for me, 'Forgiving Ararat’ embraces what is most painful and most powerful about our human condition and how we might best understand a heavenly force and divinity.
This novel tucked itself in my heart for all time, so overwhelming was its message at the end.
Untangling flawed main character Brek Cuttler, either in her thirty-one years of troubled living, or her confusing looping, long, afterlife, was an ambitious task, especially since I read the book in broken intervals. Though very different from William P Young's The Shack, many of Young’s readers will be drawn, understandably, to Forgiving Ararat; both novels seek invitation to mercy, forgiveness, and love as paths to true redemption. Gita Nazareth offers up the more complex lesson of the two books.
Dante wrote in Paradiso ". . . You will leave everything you love most: this is the arrow that the bow of exile shoots first... "
Such is the heartbreaking truth learned by Brek Cuttler and others, who move, maimed, across human and heavenly time. Brek Cuttler blunders, fails; all unwilling, and yet not, she makes a most grueling scuffle and toil toward maturity. She is loathsome but she is also tender innocent, much like Harper Lee’s Scout, were it a kinder day, a better life, and a gentler view. each and all of us bears such imperfection and will be judged or forgiven in much the same way we can do the same for those who walke beside us through life and through death. What is vengence, what is victory, what makes life--eternal or otherwise, truly blessed are some of the themes contained here within the contest of Brek Cuttler's life and rebirth.
As a reader, I was forced to think about my constructs of what God meant to me, in my own small brain. Justice? Justice does not trump all, justice even betrays. Fairness? How measured? Forgiveness? What more is revealed awaits your own reading, not mine. Seek the book, and seek me out if I am wrong. If it does not sing to you, let it be. Another can use the light.
I would love to learn others views of this complex tale and allegory. Where my insight is limited, yours may be so much deeper. Hope you enjoy it!
Marybeth
"There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Grade 9/10 (for the ending)
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RE: Review Forgiving Ararat - 12/16/2009 6:06:27 PM
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Auben
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Welcome Marybeth. Thank you for the review.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Review Forgiving Ararat - 12/28/2009 6:50:05 PM
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themissy
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Thanks Marybeth for the recommendation.
I just finished reading Forgiving Ararat myself, and found it to be a highly thought-provoking read. I researched online to find that a lot of reviewers had compared Forgiving Ararat to The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and The Shack by William P Young, which prompted interesting debates.
Personally, I love how Forgiving Ararat and The Shack created seeds for discussion and questions seeking answers. Both books left me pondering long after its last pages. Considering Twilight series to be the bestseller lately, it's refreshing to see the birth of intelligent books like Forgiving Ararat.
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RE: Book Review - 1/6/2010 7:32:54 PM
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ajbx10
Posts: 191
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The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Gothic novel set in a crumbling mansion in post-WWII England. A doctor, whose mother used to be a maid at the mansion, gets involved with the family that lives there. Odd things begin to happen there, but is the cause psychological, supernatural, or something else?
If you're a fan of Brideshead Revisited and of The Turn of the Screw, I think you'll like this book. I saw elements of both in it. It's subtle psychological horror that slowly builds. However, like the ending of The Turn of the Screw, this book's ending is open to interpretation. I enjoyed the character development and being immersed in a world - of the English aristocracy - I'm not familiar with. Not a perfect book, but an engrossing one. 8 out of 10.
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RE: Book Review - 1/9/2010 2:18:05 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Interesting.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son struggling to survive in the gathering darkness from thieves, cannibals, and blood cults. Very touching really. Lots of interesting issues about despair, hope, trust, goodness, and even a little about God. I read McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses several years ago and remarked to my husband that of all I had been reading McCarthy would be taught in high schools and colleges in the next few decades. He's a good writer. Somewhat poetic. Takes awhile to get going. Dark. Occasionally heartbreaking. But you can't help but feel yourself in the same position.
Grade: 8.5 Not McCarthy's best (IMO) but definitely his most accessible work.
The Know-It-All: one man's humble quest to become the smartest person in the world by AJ Jacobs
Non-fiction following an editor and writer from Esquire who decides to read all 32 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Goofy or interesting minutia from there. Memoir of his life at the time as he and his wife try to conceive. Funny. Easy read.
Grade: 7.5
< Message edited by Auben -- 1/9/2010 2:32:18 PM >
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 1/18/2010 8:18:41 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpha Lahiri
I am a very big fan of Lahiri's first book of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies. It's one of the few books I've ever opened a random page in a book store and it was excellent, flip to another random page, excellent, etc. I would say almost every single story is heartbreakingly good.
Since then she's one a Pulitzer, written a novel, had the novel made into a movie, and this is her 3rd book.
Again the characters are highly educated, often wealthy Bengalis who've moved from India to the United States and their children. The book is still well done, but the quality was not as consistent as the first book. I was often moved by stories, like the professional woman moving into life as a stay at home mother on the other side of the continent and missing her own mother, or the tandem love story in the last 3 stories, but I was never lost in the stories. The detail was amazing, but it lost a little bit of the wonder and symbolism of the first book, and I began to wonder if all Lahiri knows is Harvard-educated, wealthy Bengalis. There are no other characters. No Caucasians (unless the poor outsider marries an Indian), no poor, no blue collar workers (except for the random alcoholic brother). It got a little boring. Like she was transcribing the lives of all the women and men she grew up with in New England.
Still well worth the read if you like literary short stories.
Grade: 8.5/10
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 1/24/2010 1:52:52 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
A sweet and darling fairy tale by MacDonald. Not as hard to follow as At the Back of the North Wind but still a Christian allegory in many ways (in the same vein as the Narnia series which received inspiration from MacDonald's work). A little Princess finds a mysterious old woman in a hidden tower of the castle who claims to be her great great grandmother there to protect her. A miner's son named Curdie overhears the goblins plot against the castle. A fable about faith, bravery, and not judging other's lack.
Nicely done. Although sometimes the children (Irene and Curdie) are a little too good for modern sensibilities.  and a speedier plot in the second half means less time for the beautiful storybook touches in the first half.
grade: 8 out of 10. There's also a sequel The Princess and Curdie.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 1/29/2010 1:04:12 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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We by Yevgeny Zamyatin <broken enter key..this will be mashed..sorry> Inspiration for Orwell's 1984. Zamyatin wrote this in the '20s with the rise of Communism in his Russian homeland. In many ways I preferred this to 1984. Main character and One State Mathematician D-503 is writing diary entries to be sent with a new rocket into space, to spread the perfection of One State rule. The world has been decimated by war. The survivors shut themselves into a city in a bubble hundreds of years ago. And then...he falls in love, becomes 'soul-sick,' and entangled with a female with revolutionary tendencies. In the most frustrating chapters he is so violently in love that no one seems to finish a sentence. It gets better again. I thought the ending was realistic for the characters, although often you won't see action because D-503 is to afraid of action. He's afraid of not having things both ways. Very interesting, in a dystopian future kind of way. Grade: 8
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 2/15/2010 10:06:13 AM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
On a McCarthy run I guess. This book is very similar to the movie in plot, but much more complex in theme. A 61- year old sheriff investigates a series of murders. A 36 year old Vietnam veteran runs across a drug run gone bad and makes a choice to keep the money. A mysterious hit man runs his life and 'art' as a part of Fate. Lots of interesting themes, especially about good and evil, time, guilt, fate, and God.
McCarthy is a brilliant writer at the peak of his abilities. Everything has a reason. This is also one of his most plot-driven novels. It fairly flies by. Highly recommended.
Grade: 9.5/10 lots of Violence (but not overly descriptive)
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 2/26/2010 12:12:10 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Telling the Truth: the Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale by Frederick Buechner
Examination of the Gospel in terms of its tragic elements, its comic elements, and its similarity (and impact) to fairy tales. Very poetic, bringing in elements of King Lear, Pontus Pilate as a cigar-smoking business man, and how people react to the scripture. Very short but something to savor.
Grade: 8/10
Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog
Oral history of Crow Dogs raising on a South Dakota Reservation in the 50s and 60s, the American Indian Movement, Wounded Knee 2, and the Native American Church. A very emotional and touching biography, but not an objective one. Once you understand that this is a wonderful resource about the resurgence of native culture.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 2/26/2010 9:44:24 PM
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ajbx10
Posts: 191
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quote:
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
On a McCarthy run I guess. This book is very similar to the movie in plot, but much more complex in theme. A 61- year old sheriff investigates a series of murders. A 36 year old Vietnam veteran runs across a drug run gone bad and makes a choice to keep the money. A mysterious hit man runs his life and 'art' as a part of Fate. Lots of interesting themes, especially about good and evil, time, guilt, fate, and God.
Tamara,
So which did you like more - the book or the movie? I saw the movie
and I really liked it. From your review, it looks like I'll give the book a try.
Cheryl
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RE: Book Review - 2/28/2010 12:58:06 PM
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Auben
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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They are very similar. I would recommend reading the book because you understand the sheriff so much better. The themes are much deeper as well.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 3/8/2010 9:02:26 PM
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ajbx10
Posts: 191
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The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley
This is a quirky mystery set in an English country manor house in the 1950s. An unknown man is found dead in the family's garden. Along with the police, the 11 year old daughter of the family decides to figure out "who done it" with the aid of her keen observation, her beloved chemistry lab, and her precocious personality. This girl, Flavia de Luce, is the best part of the book. The story is more character-driven than alot of mysteries, and we are also introduced to many of the eccentric residents of the surrounding village. I thought it was a light, fun read. 8 out of 10.
Cheryl
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RE: Book Review - 3/10/2010 1:57:17 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
One of the Discworld novels. Dh and I read Guards!Guards! in the car and enjoyed it so I ordered a few from the library for traveling. This one involves the witches, particularly Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, and tosses in a lot of theater/Shakespearan humor as well. I thought it was funny, but not as funny as the short story I'd read last year the same characters. It follows the assassination of the king, saving the young prince, traveling theater, the witches interfering, etc. The usual Pratchett humor.
Grade: 7/10
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 3/24/2010 11:50:53 AM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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A quick look:
The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum 8/10...some organizational issues that make it difficult to flip and bake, but otherwise an excellent and wide-ranging resource
Rose's Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum 8/10...better organization, more pictures, but fewer 'basic' cakes and fillings
The Art of Kissing by...someone or other...eh. Not nearly as fun as I thought it would be 4/10
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (graphic novel) by Alan Moore...better than the movie, but more graphically violent. Fun references to Victorian literature and sly pokes at the racism and sexism of the day but the adventure is only adequate. Visuals--8.5 Story--6.5.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 4/30/2010 4:37:36 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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I, Alex Cross~part of a series by Patterson. Not as involved as I was hoping. Felt like a middle book in the series where you're already supposed to know everything. In fact, Cross was involved with the case very little and the two sides unfolded separately. 6/10
Breathless~by Dean Koontz. My first Koontz book. He's a better writer than I thought. Lots of characters. Lots of stories. Strange happenings. The ending was too short. It needed a bit more unwinding. 7/10
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
Got this one off a Steampunk list. Time traveling science fiction which includes Egyptian wizards, gypsies, the poet Keats, a horrific clown on stilts, a girl disguised as a boy, a werewolf, Lord Byron, more time traveling, thieves and beggars, and just about anything else you could imagine. Start a bit slow but once you reach page 50 it's like a full speed train. Not terribly thematic or intellectual but just so eye-gogglingly busy. You just never know what will happen next. 8/10
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 4/30/2010 4:40:53 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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I am Legend by Richard matthiesen
Good concept. Feels dated. Not sure how they made a movie out of it, although from the front page it looks like Matthiesen has a history of books to movies. Is also a book of short stories. More horror genre. Eh.
grade: 7/10
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 5/25/2010 5:55:30 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
German girl finds friendship in a foster family during WWII. She also finds the power of words.
Grade: 7.5/10
Under the Table by Katherine Darling
Girl goes to culinary school. Recipes, craziness.
Grade: 7/10
BakeWise by Shirley Corrinher
Scientific reasons tips for better baking. Recipes.
Grade: 7.5
Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz
Recipes. Lots of chocolate. Some gluten-free recipes that look good.
6.5/10
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 6/17/2010 1:07:21 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1123
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Post-WWII thriller about a US Marshall and his partner investigating an institution for the criminally insane. Things are not as they seem. It says that, right on the back.
Decently crafted but the ending seemed somewhat obvious, and so felt like a let down.
7.5/10
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 6/17/2010 3:56:26 PM
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ajbx10
Posts: 191
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Auben,
I agree with your rating of Shutter Island. I saw the ending coming a mile away - even on
the ferry ride to the island, from his thought pattern. I REALLY didn't like the easy
way out the writer used for an ending. About as creative as "Who shot J.R.?".
Cheryl
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