One word, terrible. At first I thought it was the audio book that was bad, because the narrator was awful, and i mean really awful. Also, it was 15 CDs, which is long even for a good book. In fact, it almost destroyed my faith in audio books.
But the more I think about this book, the more terrible I think the story itself really was. The characters aren't well developed, and Ariah, the only character who is somewhat developed, is so insane that is is hard to feel any sympathy for or feel any connection with. She is completely uninteresting, the plot drags, and there is really no climax. There are small questions that arise as you're reading that never go anywhere, or aren't answered in an interesting way. The cemetery sex scene, which could have been entertaining, is unrealistic and hokey.
I assumed other book reviewers would feel similarly, but I was surprised by the overwhelming positive responses on Amazon. Joyce Carol Oates regularly gets good reviews, so I wondered if people who liked her as an author read this because of her reputation. "Expertly crafted," "Page turner", "Interesting" - i couldn't disagree more. If anyone were to pick this up to hear an interesting story taking place in Niagara Falls, or to hear a fictionalized account of a family living in the time of the "Love Canal" case, please, don't bother. It's hard for me to stop reading a book once I start, but in this case, I wish heartily that I could have gotten that time of my life in the car back.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Living Dead in Dallas
Stayed up late last night watching Monday Night Football and finishing Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris's 2nd Sookie Stackhouse novel. I was a bit slow in picking up this series, but better late than never, right? I thought i would be done with vampires when I finished the Twilight series, but then I started hearing the 'True Blood' buzz and decided to check it out.
I liked this book a lot better than the first novel, "Dead Until Dark." i know the first novel in the series has to introduce everything, but unless you live under a rock you kind of know that Sookie and Bill are going to be girlfriend/boyfriend and she's going to have really hot vampire sex. The second book did not disappoint. Sookie's lustful imagination in the football stands is actually more intense than when she actually does the deed.
Also the plot is interesting... Sookie is getting more adventurous, flying in a plane, hanging out in Dallas and being hired out for work to a different vampire clan. Sometimes I wonder how she ends up in the situations she does when she can read minds, but she takes her bruises and kicks ass as she goes.
Sookie's growing on me more as a character, particularly since I don't have to look at her front tooth gap the way you do in the show. I'm so glad it's not just me who is bothered by Sookie's front teeth... I was reading this book in the dr's office and my dr's assistant actually approached to see what i thought about the gap. Nice!
I liked this book a lot better than the first novel, "Dead Until Dark." i know the first novel in the series has to introduce everything, but unless you live under a rock you kind of know that Sookie and Bill are going to be girlfriend/boyfriend and she's going to have really hot vampire sex. The second book did not disappoint. Sookie's lustful imagination in the football stands is actually more intense than when she actually does the deed.
Also the plot is interesting... Sookie is getting more adventurous, flying in a plane, hanging out in Dallas and being hired out for work to a different vampire clan. Sometimes I wonder how she ends up in the situations she does when she can read minds, but she takes her bruises and kicks ass as she goes.
Sookie's growing on me more as a character, particularly since I don't have to look at her front tooth gap the way you do in the show. I'm so glad it's not just me who is bothered by Sookie's front teeth... I was reading this book in the dr's office and my dr's assistant actually approached to see what i thought about the gap. Nice!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
"To Read" List
My 'to read' list stresses me the eff out. It's funny to me that reading is supposed to be an enjoyable activity, meant to decrease stress, and instead sometimes it has the opposite effect because I constantly feel I can never read enough. Just when I think I'm starting to make some headway on my list, I find a new author, book, series or topic I can't wait to delve into, and my list gets that much longer. I really try not to add to the list, but then I remember that I have multiple books on the table next to my bed, and I have books waiting to be lent to me by my friends that aren't even on the list. It makes me wish I had more time to read, or that I could read faster, or that maybe I'd stop hearing about so many good books!
So the other evening I'm at the grocery, minding my own business and certainly not looking for more books to read, but i'm stuck in a long line (seriously, how does a 40,000 sf grocery only have one-line open??), so I grab a magazine to flip through and of course, accidentally open it up to the book reviews page.
Out of four books listed, I write down two to add to the list.
Change in Altitude, by Anita Shreve, who can be really hit or miss with me, but one of her books was a huge favorite of mine, A Wedding in December, and if another of her other books is even close to being that good, I don't want to miss it! Also added was Half Broke Horses, by Jeanette Walls, whom I adored because of Glass Castles, her memoir. I just couldn't stop laughing at the book, which is non-fiction, so I'm interested to see how she'll do in a fiction account.
Then, while surfing the net (instead of reading and whittling down my list), I read about Chad Ochocino's new book, "Ocho Cinco", which was one of the funniest book reviews I've ever read. If nothing else, I know it will completely crack me up, and my husband follows him on Twitter, so it could potentially amuse both of us. Anyway, those are much further down the line - I still have loads more to read, starting now!
So the other evening I'm at the grocery, minding my own business and certainly not looking for more books to read, but i'm stuck in a long line (seriously, how does a 40,000 sf grocery only have one-line open??), so I grab a magazine to flip through and of course, accidentally open it up to the book reviews page.
Out of four books listed, I write down two to add to the list.
Change in Altitude, by Anita Shreve, who can be really hit or miss with me, but one of her books was a huge favorite of mine, A Wedding in December, and if another of her other books is even close to being that good, I don't want to miss it! Also added was Half Broke Horses, by Jeanette Walls, whom I adored because of Glass Castles, her memoir. I just couldn't stop laughing at the book, which is non-fiction, so I'm interested to see how she'll do in a fiction account.
Then, while surfing the net (instead of reading and whittling down my list), I read about Chad Ochocino's new book, "Ocho Cinco", which was one of the funniest book reviews I've ever read. If nothing else, I know it will completely crack me up, and my husband follows him on Twitter, so it could potentially amuse both of us. Anyway, those are much further down the line - I still have loads more to read, starting now!
Baking Cakes in Kigali, Part II
Just finished Baking Cakes in Kigali, and it did not disappoint. In fact, it got even better past the half-way point. Gaile Parkin, the author, really draws you into the characters by mentioning them fleetingly in the beginning, just to give you a taste, or maybe just enough info for you to make a judgement about them, and then she reels them back in later in the book to tell you the real story. She gives you just enough truthful information to enlarge the reader's view and make an impact without ruining the positive feel of the book.
For example, the main characters live in an apartment building in Kigali, and a local prostitute tends to visit some of the expatriates who live there. I admit it, I made some personal judgements about the prostitute, while reading the book in my comfortable middle-class home. Then I found out how the woman became a prostitute, at what age, why she does so, and that she's actually only 17. I got a bit teary, because it is probably a very common occurence, and it reminded me to try to keep from being judgmental.
Early in the book, Parkin also mentions the local dumpster located on the street outside the apartment building, and how it stinks because it isn't always emptied regularly. Even the dumpster becomes a much larger topic later on in the book. I found that small children who had lost their parents, either to the genocide, to AIDS, or to other instances, tend to seek out empty dumpsters for shelter, for warmth, and for food. It made me sad thinking about these poor children, and how they will ever climb out of that kind of poverty. My cats have such a more comfortable life than those kids.
Following the conclusion, the book notes that Parkin heard many of these stories while working in Africa, and then fictionalized them. She volunteered for two years in Rwanda, and I hope she has more stories that she will tell in the future - I would definitely pick up her next book.
Funny quote:
"Would you like a beer?" "No, thank you, I don't drink." "You're not a Muslim, are you?" "No, I'm not a Muslim, I'm just somebody who doesn't drink." "You don't know what you're missing. This place is so much easier to take when you're not stone-cold sober all the time, believe you me!"
For example, the main characters live in an apartment building in Kigali, and a local prostitute tends to visit some of the expatriates who live there. I admit it, I made some personal judgements about the prostitute, while reading the book in my comfortable middle-class home. Then I found out how the woman became a prostitute, at what age, why she does so, and that she's actually only 17. I got a bit teary, because it is probably a very common occurence, and it reminded me to try to keep from being judgmental.
Early in the book, Parkin also mentions the local dumpster located on the street outside the apartment building, and how it stinks because it isn't always emptied regularly. Even the dumpster becomes a much larger topic later on in the book. I found that small children who had lost their parents, either to the genocide, to AIDS, or to other instances, tend to seek out empty dumpsters for shelter, for warmth, and for food. It made me sad thinking about these poor children, and how they will ever climb out of that kind of poverty. My cats have such a more comfortable life than those kids.
Following the conclusion, the book notes that Parkin heard many of these stories while working in Africa, and then fictionalized them. She volunteered for two years in Rwanda, and I hope she has more stories that she will tell in the future - I would definitely pick up her next book.
Funny quote:
"Would you like a beer?" "No, thank you, I don't drink." "You're not a Muslim, are you?" "No, I'm not a Muslim, I'm just somebody who doesn't drink." "You don't know what you're missing. This place is so much easier to take when you're not stone-cold sober all the time, believe you me!"
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Just finished watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the movie. Couldn't get over how completely different it was from the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which I read in August of this year. I'm a huge Brad Pitt fan, and really, what girl isn't, and the movie looked great in the previews. Also, The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books.
So I had high expectations for both the movie and the book, and was pretty disappointed in each.
I liked how simplistic the short story was - basically this baby is born as an old man, and he eventually dies as a baby with an extremely interesting life in between, sometimes conveniently omiting his age or simply getting by in situations where he clearly appears to be the wrong age. It leaves a lot to the imagination, and Benjamin wasn't a likeable character for me. He and his wife grow apart because he grows young and she grows old, and his wife and child become annoyed with him because he becomes so unlike the old man he should be.
The movie of course has to be much more romantic, with a tragic love story, and Brad Pitt tends to be accepted by everyone without question, and is such a sweet charming character. No one seems concerned about his increasingly young and attractive appearance, and no one really seems annoyed at changing his diapers as he grows into a baby.
I get very frustrated when movies add things that didn't take place in the book. Considering how brief the short story is, and how long the movie is, I knew they'd have to ad-lib a bit, and it just didn't seem necessary. It's one thing to delete scenes because you can't film an 8 hour movie, but creating whole extra subplots irritates me to death. In this movie, for instance, they add this whole backwards ticking clock scenario to explain why Benjamin's life occurred, which just didn't need to be there. And his dad freaks out when he's born and just leaves him on a doorstep. Really? If they'd just had his dad raise him the movie could have been a much less objectionable length. Thank goodness for DVDs so I didn't have to sit through this in the theater.
While the book wasn't that great, it did just hand over the story, leaving the reader to accept it for what it was on faith, which I liked. If you get a chance to read the story, you may as well - it won't take up too much of your life. If it was longer though, I probably wouldn't recommend it.
So I had high expectations for both the movie and the book, and was pretty disappointed in each.
I liked how simplistic the short story was - basically this baby is born as an old man, and he eventually dies as a baby with an extremely interesting life in between, sometimes conveniently omiting his age or simply getting by in situations where he clearly appears to be the wrong age. It leaves a lot to the imagination, and Benjamin wasn't a likeable character for me. He and his wife grow apart because he grows young and she grows old, and his wife and child become annoyed with him because he becomes so unlike the old man he should be.
The movie of course has to be much more romantic, with a tragic love story, and Brad Pitt tends to be accepted by everyone without question, and is such a sweet charming character. No one seems concerned about his increasingly young and attractive appearance, and no one really seems annoyed at changing his diapers as he grows into a baby.
I get very frustrated when movies add things that didn't take place in the book. Considering how brief the short story is, and how long the movie is, I knew they'd have to ad-lib a bit, and it just didn't seem necessary. It's one thing to delete scenes because you can't film an 8 hour movie, but creating whole extra subplots irritates me to death. In this movie, for instance, they add this whole backwards ticking clock scenario to explain why Benjamin's life occurred, which just didn't need to be there. And his dad freaks out when he's born and just leaves him on a doorstep. Really? If they'd just had his dad raise him the movie could have been a much less objectionable length. Thank goodness for DVDs so I didn't have to sit through this in the theater.
While the book wasn't that great, it did just hand over the story, leaving the reader to accept it for what it was on faith, which I liked. If you get a chance to read the story, you may as well - it won't take up too much of your life. If it was longer though, I probably wouldn't recommend it.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Baking Cakes in Kigali
One of my goals, which is admittedly a bit of a stretch, is to blog post once a day. Since I am a procrastinator and also have trouble emailing friends and family regularly, I should know this is not likely going to happen. However, if it did happen (a very big if!), that means I would have to write about 365 books each year. I typically read about 60 books a year, so obviously something is going to have to give. So, I thought I’d do a partial book review of a book I’m about halfway through. Sometimes my feelings change by the time I finish a book, so it’ll be interesting if I give a glowing review today and then hate the book a few days from now. If so, I guess I’ll just have to let you know!
So far, on page 188, I am loving Baking Cakes in Kigali. I was on a huge Africa kick earlier this year, and I read a few fiction and non-fiction books that took place in or partially in Africa, and were new or older books. Then it just got really depressing for me. I was reading about AIDS, about orphans, about poverty, and I had to take a break and got back into my lighter fare - nice murder mysteries.
But this month, one of the lovely ladies in my book club heard about Baking Cakes in Kigali and basically insisted that we read it. From the description, I was expecting to become depressed by the stories once again, but instead I look forward to reading it and like hearing about the everyday lives of people in Rwanda. I like learning about the different countries in Africa, and piecing together where everything is on a world map. I also am enjoying reading about how people coped after the genocide. When I watched Hotel Rwanda and other documentaries about the genocide that occurred, they don’t talk about what happened next. And while this is fiction, it’s also written by someone who worked and lived in Rwanda, so I’m guessing that she’s being realistic.
So far, I’m totally enjoying Angel, the main character, who polishes her glasses every time she wants to drive home a point. I love that she sticks up for women, for girls, and lets men know they should do the same, but in a very kind tone. It made me laugh when one of her customers says his daughter likes planes, and that someday maybe she’ll grow up to be a stewardess, because it reminded me of my grandma, who said that one day she wanted to grow up to be a stewardess like Amelia Earhart. I love that Angel keeps her tissues and her cake money in her bra. I love the other characters, like the apartment manager who drinks beer during the day instead of being at the office, but brings his Bible along so he can quote passages about temperance in case anyone doubts his intentions at the local pub.
I hope that Baking Cakes in Kigali is just as fun to finish as it has been to read thus far, and I can’t wait to have some free time to make that happen.
So far, on page 188, I am loving Baking Cakes in Kigali. I was on a huge Africa kick earlier this year, and I read a few fiction and non-fiction books that took place in or partially in Africa, and were new or older books. Then it just got really depressing for me. I was reading about AIDS, about orphans, about poverty, and I had to take a break and got back into my lighter fare - nice murder mysteries.
But this month, one of the lovely ladies in my book club heard about Baking Cakes in Kigali and basically insisted that we read it. From the description, I was expecting to become depressed by the stories once again, but instead I look forward to reading it and like hearing about the everyday lives of people in Rwanda. I like learning about the different countries in Africa, and piecing together where everything is on a world map. I also am enjoying reading about how people coped after the genocide. When I watched Hotel Rwanda and other documentaries about the genocide that occurred, they don’t talk about what happened next. And while this is fiction, it’s also written by someone who worked and lived in Rwanda, so I’m guessing that she’s being realistic.
So far, I’m totally enjoying Angel, the main character, who polishes her glasses every time she wants to drive home a point. I love that she sticks up for women, for girls, and lets men know they should do the same, but in a very kind tone. It made me laugh when one of her customers says his daughter likes planes, and that someday maybe she’ll grow up to be a stewardess, because it reminded me of my grandma, who said that one day she wanted to grow up to be a stewardess like Amelia Earhart. I love that Angel keeps her tissues and her cake money in her bra. I love the other characters, like the apartment manager who drinks beer during the day instead of being at the office, but brings his Bible along so he can quote passages about temperance in case anyone doubts his intentions at the local pub.
I hope that Baking Cakes in Kigali is just as fun to finish as it has been to read thus far, and I can’t wait to have some free time to make that happen.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Abide With Me
Last week, I finished Abide With Me, by Elizabeth Strout in audio book format.
Half or more of the books I finish each year are audio books, because I commute about 45 minutes each way to work. Audio books have kept me sane over the years - I encounter less road rage during a good story and I feel like I'm multi-tasking in the car. That being said, sometimes it stresses me out getting an overly long audio book, because it seems never-ending. For example, I've been wanting to read Atlas Shrugged for years, and the fact that it is 42 CDs really puts me off.
Abide With Me was 8 CDs and 10 hours, which is almost bordering on too long for me, but it was an easy listen. The characters were easy to remember, the narration wasn't terrible (read by Bernadette Dunne), and it got me out of my typical comfort reading zone, which is murder mysteries.
I picked this book because I had just finished Olive Kitteridge for my book club, which got a Pulitzer, so I figured the author probably had written some decent stuff before Olive, too. The story is sad, but in a belieavable way. It's about a preacher, Tyler Caskey, who is cherished in his community, but after losing his beloved wife, who never really fit into the typical preacher's wife mold, he starts to lose his connection with the community and the church congregation. The book then backtracks, which really worked to explain why certain things occurred and why people had the relationships they do.
Abide With Me was realistic, in terms of the financial concerns preachers can have, which you wouldn't really think about. What if the preacher, or his wife, doesn't like the house which is given to them? What if the preacher's wife likes to shop, and just won't deal with a budget? What does a preacher do when he can't afford daycare? And the cattiness and gossip that occurs in a small town in a very efficient way can turn on a favorite member of the town very quickly.
By the time I got to the last CD I was starting to wonder how Abide With Me could possibly become positive and end on a good note, because it gets dreadfully sad. And while it's not a happy-go-lucky ending, it really shouldn't be, and it left me feeling satisfied anyway.
Favorite quote:
"He would rather melt in an atomic blast than be stuck in an underground shelter with his wife."
Half or more of the books I finish each year are audio books, because I commute about 45 minutes each way to work. Audio books have kept me sane over the years - I encounter less road rage during a good story and I feel like I'm multi-tasking in the car. That being said, sometimes it stresses me out getting an overly long audio book, because it seems never-ending. For example, I've been wanting to read Atlas Shrugged for years, and the fact that it is 42 CDs really puts me off.
Abide With Me was 8 CDs and 10 hours, which is almost bordering on too long for me, but it was an easy listen. The characters were easy to remember, the narration wasn't terrible (read by Bernadette Dunne), and it got me out of my typical comfort reading zone, which is murder mysteries.
I picked this book because I had just finished Olive Kitteridge for my book club, which got a Pulitzer, so I figured the author probably had written some decent stuff before Olive, too. The story is sad, but in a belieavable way. It's about a preacher, Tyler Caskey, who is cherished in his community, but after losing his beloved wife, who never really fit into the typical preacher's wife mold, he starts to lose his connection with the community and the church congregation. The book then backtracks, which really worked to explain why certain things occurred and why people had the relationships they do.
Abide With Me was realistic, in terms of the financial concerns preachers can have, which you wouldn't really think about. What if the preacher, or his wife, doesn't like the house which is given to them? What if the preacher's wife likes to shop, and just won't deal with a budget? What does a preacher do when he can't afford daycare? And the cattiness and gossip that occurs in a small town in a very efficient way can turn on a favorite member of the town very quickly.
By the time I got to the last CD I was starting to wonder how Abide With Me could possibly become positive and end on a good note, because it gets dreadfully sad. And while it's not a happy-go-lucky ending, it really shouldn't be, and it left me feeling satisfied anyway.
Favorite quote:
"He would rather melt in an atomic blast than be stuck in an underground shelter with his wife."
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