Archive for July, 2011

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July 31, 2011

July Snippet Book Reviews

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently Series Book #2; book review #55)

Source: Bookins.com
Finished: 6/29/11
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 247
Originally Published: 1989

A Short Synopsis: Sleuth Dirk Gently investigates a lawyer and an advertiser who possess the soul of the god Odin.

Quick Impression: This book cracked me up after seeing the movie Thor, because they both portray Thor as sort of lost and funny and Odin as sort of angry and tired. But in very different ways! In traditional Adams style, things are wacky and jump all over the place, but he ties it up in one big odd knot at the end.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide Book #2, book review #56; re-read)

Reader: Martin Freeman — quite good!
Source: Sacramento Library
Finished: 7/3/11
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Listening Library
Pages: 256 (print version)
Originally Published: 1980

A Short Synopsis: Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a craving for tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability — and desperately in search of a place to eat.

Quick Impression: Apparently I’m on a Douglas Adams kick lately. This second book in the Hitchhiker’s series picks up where the last one left off, with our strange band of humans and aliens racing/being dragged around the universe, encountering all sorts of weird stuff. It’s odd. It’s not for everyone. But I sure like it.

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath (Book review #59) 

Source: a friend, who asked me to see what my strengths are
Finished: 7/15/11
Rating: 8 out of 10
Publisher: Gallup Press
Pages:  183
Originally Published: 2007

A Short Synopsis: Why do we work so hard on improving our weaknesses? Instead, Rath argues, we should be building upon our strengths, so that we’re even better at what we do best.

Quick Impression: Along with this book comes a code to take a test online that gives you your top five strengths. Mine were Input, Harmony,
Responsibility, Connectedness, and Intellection. (A little concerned that Intellection is a made-up word, but whatever). I don’t have time to go into each here, but suffice it to say they were pretty darn accurate. This would be a great tool for businesses and organizations if they want to get the most of their employees and volunteers.

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July 30, 2011

Book Review: #61 – Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson

Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson

Source: From the publisher, via NetGalley
Finished: 7/24/11
Rating: 8 out of 10
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 368
Published: 2011

Synopsis (from the product description): Every day Christine wakes up not knowing where she is. Her memories disappear every time she falls asleep. Her husband, Ben, is a stranger to her, and he’s obligated to explain their life together on a daily basis–all the result of a mysterious accident that made Christine an amnesiac. With the encouragement of her doctor, Christine starts a journal to help jog her memory every day. One morning, she opens it and sees that she’s written three unexpected and terrifying words: “Don’t trust Ben.”

Overall Impression: One of the marks of a good story is when you think, oh noes…this could actually happen! I felt that way while reading Before I Go To Sleep. It all seemed so happenable. Which made it frakkin’ scary.

I thought the pacing was a little uneven…fast in the beginning, slogged a bit through a somewhat repetitive middle, and then raced toward a thrilling conclusion. The plot is what drove the book — intricate, thoughtful, and gripping. Watson did a great job of making it seem plausible and realistic. The writing could have been a little stronger, but considering this was written from the point of view of a woman struggling to write down everything in her journal while no one was looking, it didn’t bother me all that much. I just wanted to find out what the hail was going on! There were a couple of loose ends in the conclusion, but other than that, I’d recommend this as a really intense read that most fiction readers would find thrilling.

Positives: Fast-paced and plot-driven. It’s a page turner!

Negatives: There was some things that happened at the end that weren’t explained fully. I felt a little cheated.

Extras: Follow SJ Watson on Twitter

Other books I’ve read by SJ Watson: none

Other blogger opinions:

Hardkover: “Reading this book was a little like watching Memento – I felt like I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time!”

KellyVision: “I thought the pacing was a little off (it was a little too slow) but I also thought it was all very plausible, and that’s scary.”

That’s What She Read: “At a certain point in time in Before I Go to Sleep, a reader will find his or her heart racing, breath quickening, and eyes frantically darting across the page in an effort to read faster.”

The Owl Bookmark: “It was an incredibly descriptive book that made me feel like I was right there experiencing all of this with Christine.”

Legal gobbledygook: I received this book free from NetGalley as part of their Reviewer program.  The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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July 29, 2011

A Poll: What should I read for Read My Own Books Month?

Here are ten books that have been sitting on my TBR shelf for eleventy hundred years and a day. What do you think I should read? Feel free to vote for more than one if you just can’t choose!

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July 28, 2011

“You Can’t Possibly Read It All, So Stop Trying.”

Yvann at Reading Fuelled by Tea commented on a recent blog post here, which led me to her blog where she linked to an fantastic episode of NPR’s Talk of the Nation, where NPR’s culture blogger Linda Holmes brings up this slightly disheartening point:

“And it becomes a sort of overwhelming thought when you realize that no matter how hard you try, no matter how smart you are, no matter how much you love to read — as I put it in the piece, statistically speaking, you’re going to die having missed almost everything.”

Sad face!

Holmes argues that the remedy for this is either culling — deciding that an entire genre is not worth your time — or surrendering — acknowledging that there are many books out there that you’d probably enjoy but that you can’t possibly get to everything and you’re at peace with that.

(If you’ve got the time, read or listen to the whole interview. It’s really quite good.)

So do I cull or surrender? 

I think I surrendered a long time ago, perhaps fully when I was in graduate school studying book publishing. The words the human race puts to paper is never-ending and I have to be at peace knowing that most of them will never pass before my eyes.

There must be time to read in heaven, right?

Sometimes, however, I look at my 600-book TBR list and I think I need to go through and cull individual books. I’m starting to realize that I really should only read things I’m in love with. With millions of books out there, just waiting for me to crack them open, why am I wasting so much time on books that are just “eh”?

I think part of this is review copies and book club books. I finish them because I feel a responsibility to finish them. I think I need to cull the number of books I accept for review, and perhaps only read the book club books that really capture my attention. This is culling on a smaller scale, but it might save my precious reading time for the things that truly speak to my reading soul.

So what about you? Do you cull or surrender? Do you think you’re reading too many things that are just so-so? Why?

This is discussed by many bloggers over at Should Be Reading‘s Musing Mondays.

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July 27, 2011

Book Review: #60 – Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Narrators: Sarita Choudhury and Ajay Naidu
Source: Almost Perfect Used Books (Elk Grove, CA)
Finished: 7/20/11
Rating: 9 out of 10
Publisher: Random House Audio
Pages: 352 (print version)
Published: 2008

Synopsis (from the product description): The gulf that separates expatriate Bengali parents from their American-raised children—and that separates the children from India—remains Lahiri’s subject for this follow-up to Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake. In this set of eight stories, the results are again stunning. An inchoate grief for mothers lost at different stages of life enters many tales and, as the book progresses, takes on enormous resonance. Lahiri’s stories of exile, identity, disappointment and maturation evince a spare and subtle mastery that has few contemporary equals.

Overall Impression: I’m reading another book of loosely connected short stories right now, and I’m finding it so disappointing after reading Lahiri’s beautiful, deep Unaccustomed Earth. I don’t read a ton of short stories because I find they often lack depth and characterization, but Lahiri manages to craft the most touching, telling stories in a very limited space. She masters taking everyday life and infusing it with grace and hope, loss and longing. While all of the stories revolve around Bengali families in America, these people could be from anywhere, trying to hold together family tradition in a place where nothing is quite like it was where they came from. Everyone’s actions are so realistic — I feel like I could have known any number of the characters. Highly recommended, especially if you’re wary of short stories — this is the perfect introduction to the genre.

Narration: Both Choudhury and Naidu were well-suited to this book. The choice to use two narrators works perfectly, as the points of view in the stories shift between men and women. Both were able to shift from Bengali accents to American, and both had pleasant reading voices. I would look for other books they have narrated, based on their talents alone.

Positives: Lahiri can create as much (if not more) feeling and emotion in a short story than most authors can in an entire book.

Negatives: A few themes seemed a little repetitive.

Other books I’ve read by Jhumpa Lahiri: The Namesake (review)

Other blogger opinions:

The Broke and the Bookish: “Her language was so rich and real, and so were her characters.”

Helen’s Book Blog: “As I read I felt that the author chose each word carefully, weighing how each one would help the story progress.”

Elle Lit: “I like things to be tidily wrapped, put away, perhaps with a big red bow. Lahiri doesn’t do that in these stories, but that is what makes them so haunting.”

Posted in Books + Media | 7 Comments »

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