Worth Dying For

Worth Dying For
Lee Child
Delacorte Press
400 pgs.




I'll Be Honest...




I can't get enough of Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. I freely admit that it's a guilty pleasure, and honestly I don't care who sees me reading it. Shakespeare? Poe? Dickens? Angelou? None of these authors can entertain me on the level that Lee Child does!! Worth Dying For is the latest novel written by Child, following his quota of about a book a year, which when you think about it is quite phenomenal production. It's just such a great series!! Imagine reading how Reacher kicks through a steel door to incapacitate the bad guy, and either rescue the kid or townspeople. And you, sitting there, riveted; reading how this man is able to make the world tremble by flexing and there you are cheering out loud as you sit there in your pjs, surrounded by empty Mountain Dew cans and little bits of Cheetos scattered everywhere.

Jack Reacher, the star of Child's series, is a 6'5, 250 pound ex-MP who travels the United States (mostly on foot) running into situation after situation. He grew up on military bases his entire life until his early 30s when, after realizing the military was going to continue shrinking with the end of the Cold War, he retired and decided to set off and see his home country. He has his own brand of justice, but it's not the wrong kind of justice. How can it be? He's the personification of the country itself, or at least the image that the country has of itself. He's big...huge in fact. He's strong...almost superhumanly strong. He's just shy of being something that burst out of a comic book, and gosh darnit he's not just strong but also smart!! How great is this?! He not only beats up the bad guys, but he solves crimes that are sometimes over 20 years old. What I think is the best part is this "realistic" walking, talking, smacking, smooching giant that either is a perfect representation of the country or a perfect parody of it is written by an Englishman. Go figure

Starting to see why this is a guilty pleasure? But the fact is that the Jack Reacher series are well written (well, decently written for this type of book. The first one, The Killing Floor, won an award but that's as close as this series is going to get to being seen as a literary treasure). In Worth Dying For, Reacher finds himself in the middle of Nebraska. Not only that, but he's stuck in a small town under feudal rule of the Duncan family who employs former college football players as the muscle. Oh, and Reacher is hurt/injured from the previous novel, 61 Hours. Oh, and there are more guys on the way from Vegas, hired mob enforcers, that are going to join the party. Will he make it?? Bwahahahaha! *gasp* *gasp* Haaahahaha...

So to be honest, I still love the Reacher series by Child. Child's writing is fluid, he keeps the tension and action and mystery jacked up so it forces you to read "just 1 more page." I'm someone that has a "fun" read list and a "classics" list, and Lee Child's Jack Reacher series knocked off the John Sandford "Prey" series as the most fun. Worth Dying For is not the best one of the series (personally, I feel that belongs to either One Shot or The Hard Way), but it's not bad. Each book is about 400 pages but it shouldn't take you more than a couple days to read. Also, while it is a series, you definitely do not have to read it in order. I didn't, and I don't think I missed out much. Now and then books will reference previous ones in the series, but with a series like this you know how each will end. So if after reading a Reacher novel you find yourself pumped with testosterone, strapping on your boots, and going out to hitchhike and cross the country, please, pretty please go and read a Jane Austen to bring you back down. The world can't handle two Reachers.

Worth Dying For

At Home: A Short History of Private Life

At Home: A Short History of Private Life
Bill Bryson
Doubleday
512 pgs.



I'll Be Honest...



I'm a curious person. While tying my shoe I'll often think to myself, "I wonder who invented this process? How long has it been around??" Or have you ever started writing on a piece of paper with a pen when, in a moment of perfect balance between clarity and insanity you focus on where the pen meets the paper and concentrate on the process of writing?? It'll screw you up, guaranteed. It reminds me of when I was about 9 years old and I thought about breathing. Now, breathing is something I do every day, but if you think about breathing (inhaling, exhaling, inhaling, etc.) it's impossible to do it naturally! Most of the time breathing is a natural function that you do without even thinking about, but once you do think about it, you must actively do it until you get distracted again.

Now, what does all of this have to do with Bill Bryson's new book, "At Home: A Short History of Private Life??" It's about the history of those menial, inconsequential items all around you that you never thought about (presumably), for if you did things would get a little out of hand. For instance, did you ever wonder why salt and pepper is on almost every table?? Or even how it was created? Table salt is one of those things that is actually quite perplexing. The human body needs salt, that's not debatable. The creation of salt (sodium chloride) is odd, too. As Bryson points out:

"drop a lump of pure sodium into a bucket of water and it will explode with enough force to kill. Chlorine is even more deadly. It was the active ingredient in the poison gases of the First World War and, as swimmers know, even in very dilute form it makes the eyes sting. Yet we put these two aggressive elements together, and what you get is innocuous sodium chloride-common table salt."

Bryson lives in a Victorian parsonage in the English countryside. He basically tours the house, breaking up the book into chapters that represent each section of the house. The tour begins in the hall and ends in the attic. And in each section he goes into the history of the room and the history of many of the items that are involved. When he gets to the bathroom, for instance, he gives an interesting, albeit disgusting, history of indoor plumbing in the Western World.

Bryson is not perfect. You have to realize when you read him that, while his research has been diligent, I'm sure, you have to take everything with a grain of salt. Don't just accept him at his word. Remember the information and go research certain topics he discusses at your leisure (at your public library, natch). But when you read that it's not truly an urban myth for rats to crawl up sewer pipes and come out your toilet, or that back in the day those moving lumps one felt in his/her bed mattress was, indeed, more rats, OR back when big hair was the style (and I mean towering...women had hair that made them 3 feet taller) some women fainted when they discovered mice had nested in the "upper decks," go and research it to see if that actually did happen!

The point is the book is interesting. It will spark your curiosity about the best things possible - everyday things. When you look around you, every item you see, every custom you witness has a history to it. It had to start somewhere. But how was it created? What is its origin?? Don't you ever wonder why there's summer break for most schools?? (hint: has to do with farming). Didn't you ever think about where the saying "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" came from?? (answer: John Wesley, founder of Methodism, in 1778. And, unfortunately, he was talking about clothes, not the body).

So to be honest, I'd highly recommend reading "At Home: A Short History of Private Life." It is not perfect, like I said. It's very focused on the Western World, but it's centered around an English house so you can't necessarily fault Bryson for this. But his writing is very humorous, and the content in the book pours out. Can you honestly say that you wondered if there was an equation to ensure staircase comfort?? Well there is and it's on page 312. How about the changing of diet over the years?

The average Londoner in 1851 ate 31.8 pounds of onions, as against 13.2 pounds today; consumed over 40 pounds of turnips and rutabagas, compared with 2.3 pounds today; and packed away almost 70 pounds of cabbages per year, as against 21 pounds now. Sugar consumption was about 30 pounds a head - less than a third the amount consumed today.

Yeah...things have changed. But at the same time they haven't. Most of the items we use have been for a very, very long time. Do you know where they came from?? I thought not.

At Home: A Short History of Private Life

Freedom

Freedom
Jonathan Franzen
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
576 pgs.



I'll Be Honest....



I'm human. In fact I'll be doubly honest and let you know that you are human, too. We're all human. Therefore, we all have faults, feelings, desires, emotions, etc. This is what Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen, is about: how it is to be human. While the book might be best suited for squirrels who, fyi, are not human, it is also suited for us to read since we usually need a reminder how human we really are every hour on the hour. Which works out in a way given that this book is almost 600 pages long, so just imagine how many hours you get to be reminded how human you are over. And over.

Freedom starts off with introducing our main characters, Patty and Walter Berglund followed by their rocker friend, Richard Katz, through the eyes and opinions of two of their neighbors. This reminds the reader (yes, another reminder) how people outside of the main characters are human with the pros and cons and etc. At this point you might feel that this book is essentially a story of boredom. A magnifying glass over a suburban family and how they all differ and yet are all the same. If you are thinking this you are not entirely incorrect. I'm not sure if Franzen chooses this to show how good of a writer he is, because he makes this "boring" story so good. You can't put it down. Truly. However, maybe it's not just his writing. Maybe it's like watching a car wreck (which we all have to admit is hard to turn away from) but you're looking in the mirror instead. If you think about it, maybe that's the fascination behind the Reality TV phenomenon. And don't get me wrong, there is a whole lot more TV than Reality in Reality TV, but we all think of ourselves as the stars in our own show with supporting players. Or maybe you're like me, where I'm the supporting character in my own star vehicle...bah humbug.

Back to the book. It's very well written, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It truly is watching a car wreck, and even worse it's like watching a familiar car wreck. Some of the characters do despicable things...but who doesn't?!? You scream at the characters, "no no! What are you doing??" but right after that your friend told you what he/she did over the weekend and you scream, "no no! What are you doing??" This combined with the very articulate style of Franzen makes you feel like you're watching a movie instead of reading.

So to be honest, if you think you might enjoy the slightly guilty pleasure of watching an ordinary family self-destruct and (maybe) patching things up again, read this book. You will not regret it. One thing I have to mention is that Franzen gets slightly political, but in a rather cartoony way. There is a character that is conservative, but is shown to be extremely conservative (private industry corruption) and then there's a character that is liberal, but is shown to be extremely liberal (raving at neighbors how their cats are endangering songbirds). Finally, there is another character that is so extremely neutral it's laughable. Three extremes do not a spectrum make. Ah well. Also, there are cringe-inducing moments. Everything from drugs to infidelity to children not obeying parents. It is not done to vulgar extremes, but it's there nonetheless. Go read Freedom and bask in the glory of being human. Just avoid the mirrors on your way out.

Freedom

They Call Me Krud

They Call Me Krud
Christopher Mark Kudela
Xlibris Corporation
286 pgs.





I'll Be Honest...


This will be one of the shortest I'll Be Honest... entries. Ever. This is one of the most abysmal, juvenile, horrendous books I've ever experienced. It's the kind of book where I had to take 3 showers upon completion and immediately jumped online and took a few IQ tests to make sure that my losses weren't as bad as I thought. Oh golly gee willickers...this is Krud.

So the book "They Call Me Krud" is a story narrated by the main character, Krud. Krud is your typical moron who is a drug dealer and womanizer, specializing in all kinds of debauchery. Is he a well-written character? No. Is he one of those love-to-hate characters? Close, you just hate him. He likes to contradict himself constantly, saying how people get what they got coming to them, but then doesn't understand why things happen to him; or he'll be saying how this one woman is so great, and then next moment she'll be the worst person in the world. And it's not written so you think he has multiple personalities or anything. It's pretty clear that it's just bad writing.

He tells the story of his life, how he started dealing drugs at a young age, how he's seen the error of his ways, how he gets back into the crime life, how he sees the error again, how he goes back, and this continues ad nauseum. Krud, who you are stuck with the entire book, is not charismatic or smart. He thinks he is, but yet we're talking about a man who exhibits no intelligence, but then starts quoting latin phrases here and there and outwitting police detectives. How does he know these? Dunno, ask the author. An example: a police detective wants Krud to turn on who is supplying him with drugs. Krud, adhering to moral codes, refuses. The detective threatens Krud and his family. Krud exacts revenge by telling FBI agents that this detective offered to shorten Krud's sentence if Krud would pay up a percentage. The FBI believes this all, without any planning or show of evidence. Why? Because Krud says he's so smart (that and the author can't come up with a suitable plan/plot so you just have to swallow it like a chicken bone and march on).

Even the printing of the book is awful. I feel like the author created the printing company and proceeded to pop out a couple thousand copies in his basement. I have absolutely no idea how this book was printed and distributed. There's even a typo in the dedication!! Who does that?!?

So to be honest, avoid this book. The last book I told you to stay away from, "Next," is The Great Gatsby compared to this drivel. It's the type of book you give to your mortal enemy as a "peace offering" but really it's just a Trojan horse. I hate this book so much that I recommend you go watch a reality TV show marathon (and I don't care, take your pick which show). If you want entertainment, stay away from this book and go chit-chat with the brick wall. While you're at it, tell the brick wall to stay away from this book, too.

They Call Me Krud

Inception

Inception
dir. Christopher Nolan
PG-13
148 min.



I'll Be Honest...



I'm upset with you. You are sitting there, twiddling your thumbs, reading this review when you should be in your nearest movie theater right now watching this movie. How dare you! Don't you know that this is the best movie to have been released in the past couple years?? Don't you know that it's directed by Christopher Nolan, the man who directed Memento, Batman Begins and, oh yeah, a little movie called The Dark Knight??

"Inception" stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, a man of considerable talents, for he knows how best to navigate the inner workings of the mind and thus makes him great for what's called "extraction," the removal of ideas from the mind. "Huh?" you might ask? Well yes indeedy this movie falls under the science fiction category. But it's more cerebral than special effects. It's set in the mind, not in outer space. And instead of space aliens shooting lasers at you, it's fragments of the subconscious acting like white brain cells, protecting anything foreign. But while Cobb and his team are great at "extraction," they are hired to do an "inception;" specifically, instead of stealing an idea from the mind they have to insert an idea. Supposedly it can't be done, but Cobb believes it can be, and if he ever wants to see his family again he must take on this near-impossible job no matter what the costs.

"Inception" shows Cobb and his team going through the target's dream, then they go through the dream within the dream, and then further down they go into a dream within a dream within a dream. The movie is not as complicated as it sounds if you pay attention, and believe me, you won't stop staring at the screen. In fact, give your annoying little brother $5 to sit behind you and continuously add eye drops. Oh yeah, throw in an extra $3 to wipe the drool away, because your jaw will be hung open the entire time. Your body will literally be on the edge of the movie seat, even though that's where you'll find gum smooshed into the seat half the time. You won't care. You'll be too tense from the suspense. You'll be too busy thinking about which dream they are actually in. You'll be too busy shaking from the heavy bass score that permeates the film. You'll be too busy caring about characters that only exist on the screen but you'd swear you'd do anything to help them. You'll just be too everything.

So I'll be honest..."Inception" is a monumental achievement in cinema. You'll hear others say "Eh, it was ok, but nothing special," and all I can say to that is: those people are wrong. This is a movie to be experienced. It is a movie to see, to enjoy, to ponder, to talk about, to share, to own, to check out at your library (and make no mistake, I will personally make sure that the libraries in your area have enough copies so you can watch it twice without worrying about someone's hold bringing the item back right away). The movie is more than enjoyable, it is beautiful.

Inception

The Facebook Effect

The Facebook Effect
David Kirkpatrick
Simon & Schuster
372 pages




I'll be honest...




I use Facebook. I know, it's truly shocking. However, even though I am a fan of Facebook, that doesn't necessarily mean that I think Facebook is perfect. Heck no. I've always had this itch in the back of my head that something about it just wasn't right, and when the privacy debate took center stage a few months ago, I told everyone I knew to make sure their privacy settings were set where they wanted to be because they couldn't trust Facebook. Then I heard about this book, "The Facebook Effect," as well as the upcoming movie "The Social Network" (which is about the making of Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg), I had an bad feeling about what was going on. I was becoming over-saturated with Facebook. I had some personal reservations against Zuckerberg based on what I had read about him, but still felt drawn to the story of how something like Facebook came about. Hence, I sucked it up and read "The Facebook Effect." I had to force myself to open the cover of the book and before I knew it I had finished.


Facebook is a funny thing. How did it happen? Well according to the book, Zuckerberg and his roommates at Harvard were always doing projects because a) they could afford to and b) they wanted to. Zuckerberg had done a few projects before he got the idea for Facebook (one of the projects almost got him kicked out of Harvard), but he had this idea in his head that never went away-connecting everyone through honesty and communication. Now this had already been toyed with by other companies. Friendster had gained immediate success before it burnt out from overcapacity, and Myspace, though just started and picking up steam, just didn't seem right. So Zuckerberg and company created thefacebook (the name officially changed to Facebook later on) and opened its doors to the Harvard campus. From there it went camput to campus, then from high school to high school, and then, finally, it went public.


Here's the thing...can you remember life before Facebook? Life before social networking became such an integral part of people's lives is rapidly becoming harder to recall. I was able to join Facebook before many people because I had my university email (the key to joining Facebook for a long time) so I've been more immersed in for a longer period of time, for better or for worse. But even still, Facebook and I have had our budding romance since 2006-2007. Facebook officially existed beginning in September of 2005. It has not even been around 5 years yet!!


Immersion aside, Facebook itself is a great success story. Here was a guy, barely a legal adult, leading the way to build something that not even he nor his cohorts could really fathom, but they knew they were paving the way. And remember, there were other social networking sites that began before Facebook, and there's been soooo many in existence in the past 4 years, but not many have been able to stand up to Facebook, even collectively. And this leads into what is so good about this book. You are reading about one of those rare success stories about someone who stumbled into success with hard work, intelligence, and luck. The play-by-play of how this company began in a dorm room (seriously, this is just as impressive as Microsoft beginning in a garage) and ends with the megastructure that houses the still-growing staff. About how mega-rich executives thought they could bully, swindle, outsmart, coerce, and manipulate this person in his low 20s with no business experience, and how they paid dearly for underestimating him.


This leads me into my one critique of the book, and unfortunately it's kind of a biggie but something everyone should be thinking when reading nonfiction - what is the relationship between the author and the subject? Kirkpatrick, the author, states a few times throughout the book that he has a semi-personal relationship with Zuckerberg. He even goes as far to say that the book wouldn't have been written if Zuckerberg and other members of Team Facebook hadn't pitched and convinced him of the idea. This isn't to say that he only portrays the company and the founder as rainbows and unicorns. No, not at all. However, regarding some major issues through out Facebook's controversies (such as the lawsuit claiming Zuckerberg stole the idea for Facebook) the author seems to be firmly planted in the kid's corner. Regarding the privacy issue, the author believes what Zuckerberg and the others involved with the company believe: it's not so much they are trying to manipulate everone's information in an untrustworthy manner, it's just that they are breaking the mold and people aren't ready for it yet. Personally, I'm on the fence. I still don't like the idea of a company storing up information, sharing that information, and so forth. However, the interpretation of "you're just not ready for it yet" does have some merit. Most of the new implementations that Facebook has done have been met with harsh criticism, but over time people begin to adapt and enjoy the changes.


So I'll be honest, I really enjoyed this book. I admit that maybe I'm seduced by the story of someone that has passed up money in order to achieve his vision. Even so, it's a well written book that makes you want to see how this company was formed, how relationships were built and destroyed, and also what it is about Facebook that has captured the attention of the entire planet. It started with college students as a way to have a virtual yearbook, and has become one of the best ways for companies and institutions to reach their customers (even libraries are doing it, see one example here: http://www.facebook.com/ChesapeakePublicLibrary). Even for those that hate Facebook (the very few people that do) I'd recommend to read this book. It's a success story, a well written one at that, and it lets you see through the major players' eyes why Facebook is the 2nd most visited site on the Internet (next to Google) while Myspace is still free-falling, counting the seconds until it hits bottom. The best part is Facebook will never stop evolving. We all better get used to it and hold on tight...it's going to be a bumpy, but wonderful, ride.

The Facebook Effect

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
Seth Grahame-Smith
Grand Central Publishing
352 pages




I'll be honest...



When I first heard about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith's first novel, I snorted loudly, boastfully claiming that it will be a dud, ridiculed endlessly until it slowly vanishes into the doldrums of other has-beens. When I then heard of his next book, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, my snort was so audible that I was kindly asked to leave the bookstore that I was inhabiting at the time. I then checked the sales figures for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and found, to my astonishment, that not only did it sell well but that it also garnered positive reviews. And here he had a new book! Well, not to be so easily put in my place I confidently strutted into the library the next day, grabbed Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter (P&P&Z was checked out), and began my journey on how I was going to prove the world once again that my opinion is indeed fact.

Or so I thought.

I'll be honest with you, kids (for after all, that is the title of this blog). Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter is a fantastic, entertaining read. Seth Grahame-Smith puts himself in the story as the narrator. After being handed Abraham Lincoln's secret diaries and reading them in a frenzied dash, he writes his own story about the untold true history of one of our greatest Presidents.

After a tragedy during his youth, Abraham Lincoln vows to rid the country of the greatest blight that it has ever seen...vampires. He trains physically and mentally to make himself into the ultimate human being. Think Batman in the 1800s. Upon the way he meets certain individuals, some friends and some villains, and others even famous (hint: quoth the raven, 'Nevermore'). The story follows the trail of Abraham Lincoln's life, and how he had to sacrifice much of his personal needs, friends, and families in order to achieve his ultimate goal. It also "educates" the reader that he did not initially want to be President, but was coaxed into the role as a part of the much larger chess game that was the Vampire War.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. While the story is obviously inventive and imaginative, it is also arguably its weakest point. The author is more or less chained to the actual historical journey of Abraham Lincoln, so he must adhere to specific plot points. This is not a big issue, and when I say it's the weakest point please don't interpret that as saying that the story is bad. It's not.

The writing style of Seth Grahame-Smith is very, very good. He is able to have his own voice, but also captures Abraham Lincoln's voice in the journal entries so well. You can tell that he must have researched extensively for the book, and I imagine that he analyzed many correspondences and speeches by Lincoln. He also manages to keep the gruesome factor low for the most part, so those of you that do not enjoy all of that gore that usually is associated with this genre can still enjoy this book.

So to be honest, I thought that this was a great book and very entertaining. I can not wait to get my hands on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and I can't wait to see what other situations he will meld together (Robots and the suffrage movement? Gordon Gekko as a kindergarten teacher??). So yes, I was wrong and the world was right. Again. Please take my word for it, if you want a good book to read that happens to involve vampires, read Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. And if you want a bad one, read the Twilight series.

Beatrice and Virgil: A Novel

Beatrice and Virgil: A Novel
Yann Martel
Spiegel & Grau
224 pages




I'll be honest...



Lately I've tried to add an element of humor to these reviews. Whether I've succeeded or not is up to the reader, but I'd like to think I've made at least 4 out of the 8 people reading this chuckle here and there. But this book...I wrote draft after draft. Humor just doesn't fit into it. It is a powerful book, but you wouldn't know it going into it. Extremely subtle and deceptive. I loved Life of Pi, so my expectations for this book were quite high...maybe a little too high.

Beatrice & Virgil is not the best book ever written. Heck, it isn't even on par with Life of Pi. But, it is still good. Someone reading the book may have issues with the lack of action, or maybe the fact that the book is about an author trying to write about the Holocaust in an unique way...and the Holocaust is not what you would consider an uplifting theme to be discussing. Sorrow slowly builds until the climax, and since Yann Martel is such a good writer, the reader will feel this despair that much more.

A confession before I delve deeper into the book. My background is in history, specifically European history, even more specifically German history. With that said, it can be clearly stated that my personal interests very well could have influenced my perception of the book, moreso for the positive. The major theme of the book revolves around identity, worth, redemption, and, yes, the Holocaust as a whole. If you do not want to read about that event then don't read this book. It does not go into details (the author in the book researched it extensively, but only makes off-handed remarks). But it is the feeling of the book that will get to you. It is the emotions that permeate throughout, but especially the last half. You will realize that this book is actually quite brilliant in that it has an author (Yann Martel) writing about an author (the main character's name is Henry) trying to present the Holocaust in a different perspective, and doesn't succeed, but Yann Martel does. Does this make sense?

Along with Henry is another character by the name of Henry, an old taxidermist that is writing a play and needs Henry's help. Henry, suffering slight depression because his newest book wasn't picked up by a publisher, is intellectually stimulated by the play and helping the old man. This professional meeting of mentor and student takes a wild turn that I will not spoil. Needless to say, I don't think you'll see it coming (Yann with another wild finish!).

I'll be honest...I enjoyed Beatrice and Virgil. It is a book that showcases the process of writing and the emotions that can be invested in a work, as well as the emotions that can compel you to do certain things. It does not grab you and take you on a wild adventure like Life of Pi, but at the same time...it's more tender, more personal. I feel that Yann Martel was really trying to sit down next to me, put his arm around me, and be like "listen here, I'm going to tell you a thing or two" and the next 4 hours breeze by. You won't remember every word he tells you, but you'll have this simultaneous burning and chill in your stomach. You'll feel rewarded, but there is a heavy price to pay for this. Read it, and let me know your honest feelings on the book.

Beatrice and Virgil: A Novel

Next

Next
James Hynes
Reagan Arthur Books
320 pages



I'll be honest...


This book was a struggle. I mean a knockdown, bareknuckle, so-bad-it-hurts struggle. I am someone that has to finish what I start reading. I just have to. I'm thick like that, I guess. The whole time I'm reading, every page flip, I'm thinking to myself "Please let this book kick in! Please let this book get some energy infused into it someway, somehow!" Nope. That never happens. While reading I kept hearing this high pitched whistling sound and couldn't figure out what it was...eventually I realized it was this book in a freefall about to crash and burn.

Next, by James Hines, is about Kevin, a 50 year old man who has a job interview in Austin, Texas, and who has decided to not tell anyone that he is thinking of leaving his home, job and girlfriend in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The book takes place over the course of a few hours as Kevin lands in Austin, has some time to kill before his interview, notices a girl that reminds him of a former lover, and off he goes on what the insert of the book calls a "Quixotic" journey. Even though I had nothing to do with that comparison, I would like to take the time to offer a formal apology to Miguel de Cervantes.

The problems with the book are many. It is over 300 pages of a man who is going through a mid-life crisis. There, I just told you the plot. The book would have benefited greatly if it would have been a short story or novella. And he goes on and on reminiscing about past loves and wondering if he should marry the girl that he is currently seeing and if his job that he is at is good enough for him but at the same time he is having trouble fitting in and understanding Texas but oh look that girl around the corner reminds him of another lover and blah blah blah. Hynes' rambling style is not suitable for this topic, in which he needs to engage the reader with much more energy and motion. Also, it is hard to determine exactly when the book is set. There are so many thoughts about terrorist attacks and Lord of the Rings references that you swear that it's set in the 2003-2005, but then he goes into how bad the economy is, which then makes it 2008-2010. The dated references hurt this book. Lastly, since I need to keep this post somewhat short, the main character is not likeable in any sense, and the entire time you're following this klutz down the streets of Austin you hope that maybe the book's turning point will be when he gets hit by a bus and you can find a more interesting character to carry the book. Sadly, not to be a spoiler, the magical bus doesn't happen.

After I finished the book, and had a glass of cranberry juice to wash out the horrid taste in my mouth, I checked reviews on Amazon. Lo and behold, this book has many positive reviews (currently at 4 stars), with many people saying the last third of the book saves it (note: while there is a twist in the book near the end, instead of "saving" it I feel that it just kept getting worse). Someone did say that this was a love-it-or-hate-it book. Well, at least they were half right.

So I'll be honest...if you see this book please, for me, run. I'm not talking about a slight jog that is supposed to look like you forgot that you left the lights on in your car. No no no, I would prefer an all out sprint, like you left the door open and your baby might crawl out. I have honestly not read a worse book in...well I can't remember, but it's been years. The best part of this book? The title. Next...my thoughts exactly!

Next

Manhood For Amateurs

Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son
Michael Chabon
Harper Perennial
336 pages



I'll be honest...



I'm not a husband. I'm not a father, either. I am, however, a son... 1 out of 3 isn't so bad. I have imagined being both a husband and a father, at times with envy, and other times in defeat. With this book, Michael Chabon gives you random tales about his life being a husband, father, and son. He tells about the trials and tribulations, about the norms of being a parent, about the fear of being a parent, about loving his wife for the first time and everything in between.

If you haven't heard of Michael Chabon, he is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Wonder Boys (which was made into a movie), and a few other novels. He is an author I enjoy, so be warned that if you do not like his novels that you may not like this book, if only for the fact that his writing style is very unique.

Manhood For Amateurs displays Chabon's humor in full force. He details how when he was a child his mother helped him raise money and organize to put on the first comic book convention for his small town, in which only one other boy showed up. He openly details how awkward it can be discussing the dangers of drugs with his children and, wanting to be nothing but honest, has to answer "yes" when they ask him if he had done any drugs when he was younger. About how he moped about after having his heart broken, only to finally cave in to his friends and meet a woman on a blind date, and then to marry her a short while later.

He also tells the reader about how, while he was in line at a grocery store with his two kids, a woman told him what a remarkable husband/father he was to be with his children and grocery shopping. While recalling this Chabon, with great wit and surprising fury, unleashes a silent tirade in his head against this kind stranger. He chuckles, wondering:

I don't know what a woman needs to do to impel a perfect stranger to inform her in the grocery store that she is a really good mom. Perhaps perform an emergency tracheotomy with a Bic pen on her eldest child while simultaneously nursing her infant and buying two weeks' worth of healthy but appealing break-time snacks for the entire cast of Lion King, Jr. In a grocery store, no mother is good or bad; she is just a mother, shopping for her family.

It is this honest evaluation of the "mother/father" role in society that quickly grabbed me to finish the book. It does have a few slow points, but not many. He changes the topic and periods in his life at such a random pace that the reader never knows what is coming next. He also breaks up each memory and insight into short chapters, which helps if you just want to read one more before bed (guarantee you can't stop at just one).

So to be honest...I thought this was a great biography that is not in your normal biographical format. It is one man (forget the fact that he's famous, because he does) talking in a sincere and earnest manner about being a son, a husband and a father. He didn't know he met his future wife until he decided to propose. His palms were sweating profusely when his daughter "asked permission" (told) him that she was going out on a date. He learned how to truly cook only after becoming a father. All of these grueling, sweat-inducing, nerve-shattering stories describing what it's like being a son/father/husband. And you know what? I can't wait.

Manhood For Amateurs

Winter Garden

Winter Garden
Kristin Hannah
St. Martin's Press
400 Pages



I'll be honest...


I am a guy. A dude. However you want to put it, I am in the demographic that (I assume) this book is not aimed at. Believing this, I read this book with an attempt to keep an open mind. What did I find? That this is a well-written book, albeit with a slow start.

Melodramatic is a phrase that is flung around quite a bit nowadays...and I want to do my part in slowing this trend down, so I will not use it to describe parts of the book. However, this book about the coming together between a distant mother and her two daughters suffers from cliched characters and reactions. I should rephrase...the characters themselves are not necessarily cliched, but they act like the 'type' of character they should be rather than the true character. One sister is the orderly type with hidden stress issues, while the other sister is the adventurous one that is trying to handle her problems by always running away. How shocking and original.

But the heart of the story is about the slow-building relationship between three family members after the loss of someone who was close to all of them and was the center of the family. The coming together of the three is done through the story of the mother's past, and how she must grudgingly share her memories with her daughters, who never knew who their mother really was.

So to be honest...I didn't get all weepy and sad, but I found the story to be emotional in parts. I became invested enough in the characters to want to read how they come together (as for the ending of the book, without spoiling anything it made me want to stick my tongue between my lips and go "pphbbbbbbb"). But if you are looking for a character-driven book dealing with family issues and how important it is to depend on others as well as be dependable for them, then I'd recommend Winter Garden.

Winter Garden

How We Decide

How We Decide
Jonah Lehrer
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009
265 pgs.


I’ll be honest…

I am not normally drawn to these types of books. You know the type… science and self-help or pseudoscience or whatever you want to call it. Science has never been an area that has piqued my interest, and a book describing the inner-workings of the brain and why we do things wouldn’t usually make me glance twice. Nevertheless, I was intrigued and decided to give it a try.

The biggest kudo I could give to this book is this: readability. The book is such a smooth read, with author Jonah Lehrer seamlessly interweaving the scientific numbers and definitions with real life stories on what people have done and why they do it. He describes tests that have been done and in what way the results show how the brain reacts and works in our lives.

Whether Lehrer is writing about firefighters, pilots, poker players, or your average shopper, How We Decide describes the strengths and weaknesses of our brains. He shows when we make decisions based on rational thought, and when those decisions are made through our emotions. After finishing the book, the author asks the reader to remember one key concept, “Whenever you make a decision, be aware of the kind of decision you are making and the kind of thought process it requires.”

While this book isn’t out to cure all stupid decisions we will make (we will always have “buyers remorse” or choose green when we wanted to choose red), it does help explain why we make these decisions and how they affect us every day. Grumpy around 3 in the afternoon at work? Maybe it’s because the diet you are on is limiting your sugar intake, which helps fuel the brain and, in turn, doesn’t allow the brain to monitor your negative emotions. Spending too much? Ask yourself how much you’d spend on items if there were no credit cards and only cash. And while some of his observations are not groundbreaking (credit cards lead to debt) the book encapsulates the inner-workings of the mind in such a succinct manner and allows the reader to relate through great visualization.

So to be honest, I really enjoyed How We Decide and would recommend it to anyone that is curious on why and how we make the decisions we make.

How We Decide

Tea With Hezbollah

Tea With Hezbollah
Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis
Doubleday Religion, 210
262 pgs.

I’ll be honest…

I really wanted to like this book when I started to read it. It was an interesting premise: go over to the Middle East and ask members of parties, factions, etc. simple questions such as their favorite joke, what makes them laugh, and so forth. Above all, the authors wanted to hear their thoughts on what they considered the most sacred lesson: love your neighbor as you love yourself. Can someone truly love their enemies, especially in what is considered one of the most volatile parts in the world?

The authors state that they wanted to go over to Saudia Arabia, Lebenon, and other places close by to ask these questions from a neutral point of view; they were not trying to look at things through a political or religious lens. However, as you read on through the book you find that this is a noble, yet impossible task. It does not help that Ted Dekker is a noted Christian fiction writer, and, while his talents can be seen in his words, you can see that he is unable to remain completely neutral. Again, this isn’t a negative thing whatsoever; however, he is dooming himself by stating in his thesis that he will remain completely neutral, when in reality this is practically an impossible task no matter who you are.

The best parts of the book are the transcripts of the intereviews that Dekker and Medearis have sprinkled through. They include these in the book so that the reader can take the words of the interviewee and not have them be filtered through the authors. This is an excellent tool, and I found myself looking forward to the next transcript since I was not being drawn into the book through the author’s words. Unfortunately, and for reasons I do not quite comprehend, they do not fully complete this process. One of the last interviews is not included, presumably because it would’ve been too long, and the author was having an epiphany during this particular interview. Nevertheless, I felt cheated and angry at the author’s selfishness of focusing on his own thoughts during an interview that the author does not deem worthy enough to share with the reader.

So to be honest, I did not like this book when I finished. I wanted to. I really did. But in the end it buckled under the intentions of the authors. It did show a side of people that are unfairly vilified in this country, forcing the reader to see the humanity in each and every one of them. The whole time I was reading the book I was invited to see things from a new perspective, and it was something that I enjoyed doing. I wish I could recommend this to people (and I might now and again), but I will offer a warning when I do.

Tea With Hezbollah

Wake Up Dead

I’ll be honest…

I love a good thriller/crime novel. I have been reading (and addicted to) the John Sandford ‘Prey’ novels for many years now. The problem with being infatuated with one particular author and/or series is that it prohibits you from exploring other authors. Now I’m sure many of you do not have this same problem, but unfortunately I have not been able to indulge as many authors of the thriller/crime genre as I would like. Then one day recently, while walking through the main area at the Central Library, I noticed the book Wake Up Dead and, for whatever reason, snatched it up and checked it out.

“Is it good?” you ask. Simple answer: Yes. More accurate answer: It is amazing. However, I must pause when considering if I should be recommending the book to anyone. It is such a brutally violent tale, and Smith’s writing is so crisp and descriptive, that I was thinking over scenes in the book days after finishing it. The characters he creates are not the most original, but there is a depth given, most likely due to the fact that there really isn’t a “good” person. The protagonists in Wake Up Dead and Smith’s other book, Mixed Blood, all have flaws or have committed heinous acts. This is not a turn off, but rather gives the book a seedy element that allows for some guilty pleasure addiction to wonder who gets punished and how.

Smith is able to create great characters, but his best character is the city where the story takes place. As a native of Cape Town, Smith has insight into the beautiful and dangerous city in South Africa. I have never had any inclination to visit Africa, but after reading his books I am compelled to stroll down the streets of the city, sit at the cafés and witness the city’s citizens and visitors. This same lush illustration of the city is also used against it, as I feel like I’ve witnessed many crimes in person that happen in what is considered one of the more dangerous cities in the world. Smith’s illustrative descriptions of Cape Flats, the not-so-nice part of Cape Town makes one shudder.

So to be honest, I loved this book but would caution anyone about to start it. If you can deal with vivid, graphic violent confrontations then please read this book. If you know you do not enjoy reading about murders and characters acting on their least likable instincts, then this is not for you. If you’re unsure, I would say give it 25 pages…that’s all you’ll need to know if you’ll love it or hate it.

Wake Up Dead