Posts tagged ‘7 stars’

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May 25, 2012

Book Review: #29 – Choose Joy by Kay Warren

Choose Joy by Kay Warren

Source: Sacramento Library
Finished: 5/25/12
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Revell
Pages: 259
Published: 2012
Challenges: [CULTIVATE] JOY

Synopsis (from the book description): Why are some people–even in the toughest times–always filled with joy, while most of us can’t seem to find lasting joy no matter how hard we search? Do joy-filled people know something we don’t? The answer is yes! And in her warm, candid style, Kay Warren shares that life-transforming truth with you.

Overall Impression: I’m always a little hesitant to read books like this one, with the sun-shiny cover and the flowers and the gold ink letters. Thankfully this book didn’t feel as fluffy as the cover, though I didn’t find it particularly new or captivating either. In the book, Warren defines joy as “the settled assurance that God is in control and all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things.” I think this is a very astute (though it doesn’t contain nearly enough exclamation points). She talks about joy and sorrow running as parallel train tracks, “running inseparably throughout our days… One of the toughest challenges in life is to learn how to live on both of those tracks at the same time.”

But how do we do this? Throughout the book, she gives some good real-world examples of how to cultivate more joy in life, such a focusing on grace, trusting God for the future, creating balance in life, and practicing acceptance. She also talks about how to be a joy-builder in the lives of the people around us, instead of a joy killer. For me, the idea that stood out most was to “avoid the small potatoes.” These are the stupid little things that get to me throughout the day. Little annoyances that turn into complaints. These complaints can launch me into a bad mood, and sap all my joy for that day. Just this morning I was all grumbly because this pigeon was cooooooing outside my bedroom window. Instead of just shutting the window, I lay there, saying, “Leave, evil pigeon!” over and over. It never left, and I never went back to sleep.

As Tim Hansel said, “Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional. We cannot avoid pain, but we can avoid joy.” Warren makes a good case for joy being an active choice, one that we have to daily choose to make.

Positives: Puts joy back into focus for readers — I think we spend so much time focusing on the negative that joy escapes us too easily.

Negatives: Nothing revolutionary, and some of the cheesier stories in it made me roll my eyes a little.

Other books I’ve read by Kay Warren: none

Other blogger opinions:

MizB: “I wasn’t wowed by this book, but found it to be okay.”

Daniel Threlfall: “Rec­og­niz­ing that “joy is a choice” is not sig­nif­i­cantly pro­found, but is nonethe­less true.”

Chris Luksha: “I really can’t write much more about it from my standpoint as I just didn’t like her writing style.  It was not for me, and not, I believe, for men in general.”

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March 30, 2012

Book Review #20 – Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (audio)

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Book 1 in the Leviathan Series)

Narrator: Alan Cumming
Source: Audible
Finished: 3/29/12
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Simon + Schuster Audio
Length: 8 hours, 20 minutes
Pages: 448 (print version)
Published: 2009
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from the book description): It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men. Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She’s a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. With the Great War brewing, Alek’s and Deryn’s paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

Overall Impression: I’m having a hard time writing a review for Leviathan. mostly because  it was good. Good. But nothing stood out to me as being particularly spectacular, and nothing was terrible either. It was just…good. My favorite part was the way that the two European powers had evolved separately — Britain with it’s Darwinian animal machines and the giant walking machines of the German/Austro-Hungarians. Animals that behaved like machines and machines that behaved like animals — these were a clever plot device that worked well. I am a bad historian and do not know my pre-WWI history all that well. I wish I knew it better, because it would have informed some of the plot a little better. This is a YA book, and I wonder how many kids know anything about Franz Ferdinand. Probably not much. But it might encourage young readers to learn more about this period in history. I know that I’d like to delve into it a little more, for sure.

The ending is pretty abrupt and totally cliffhangery. I’ll probably pick up the next one in the series to see what sort of adventures Alex and Deryn face in Constantinople.

Positives: It was good.

Negatives: It was just good.

Narration: Alan Cumming was excellent. He’s a great actor and can do a range of accents, and that translated over well to audio book. He handled the different British dialects as well as the German and Austrian characters. And even his girl characters didn’t bother me much (that’s usually my biggest complaint when men read books with young girls in them).

Other books I’ve read by Scott Westerfeld: none

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Alan Cumming: none

Other blogger opinions:

The Broke and the Bookish: “The whole time I was reading this, I wanted to like it more than I actually did.”

Mrs. Q Book Addict: “It was my first steampunk novel and I’m very excited to read the next one in the series.”

That’s What She Read: “While Leviathan did not rock my world and leave me awed by its awesomeness, it was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.”

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March 8, 2012

Book Review: #13 – Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Source: DailyLit.com
Finished: 2/27/12
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Dover Publications
Pages: 96
Published: 1912
Challenges: 2012 Back to the Classics Challenge

Synopsis (from Wikipedia): Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador’s garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of gentility, the most important element of which, he believes, is impeccable speech. The play is a sharp lampoon of the rigid British class system of the day and a comment on women’s independence, packaged as a romantic comedy.

* * * This review contains spoilers about the end of Pygmalion
(which is different than the end of My Fair Lady) * * * 

Overall Impression: Way back when, we studied the original Greek myth of Pygmalion, where the sculptor finds his statue so beautiful that he falls in love with it. Aphrodite hears his prayers and turns the statue into a real woman, and they live happily every after. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is the playwright’s own take on this classic myth.

The play itself is not familiar only because of the Greek myth, but also because it was adapted into the film My Fair Lady, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. Perhaps you have heard of it.

The play itself is very entertaining (probably more entertaining on stage than it is on paper), with witty banter and sharp dialogue all the way through. Eliza is ever the proud Cockney flower girl, even after she’s been turned into a lady. Henry is…an asshat. He might be the most clueless man in literature. I found his lack of growth as a character disturbing, but I also realize that Shaw is making some razor-sharp satire, and it doesn’t work if Henry changes his ways.

Most people would assume (based on the original myth and My Fair Lady) that Eliza and Henry end up married, but they do not. Shaw made the choice of having Eliza marry Freddy, and then offers an extra part (not part of the play) explaining his motives behind not having Eliza and Henry end up together. While I thought this to be an awkward addition (I didn’t realize I’d moved from play to explanation and I was confused at what was happening), it really made Shaw’s point that there’s no way that Eliza could have been happy with her creator.

Positives: Entertaining dialogue. A sharp commentary on what society makes of us.

Negatives: I felt…meh at the end. I think we’ve been so conditioned to happy endings that we’re a little shocked when they aren’t handed to us on a silver platter.

Other books I’ve read by George Bernard Shaw: none

Other blogger opinions:

Broke and Bookish: “I could see in my head some of the cues onstage and how well they would work.”

A Guy’s Moleskine Notebook: “This play is a lovely satire that directs to high society’s snobbery and willful ignorance.”

A Hoyden’s Look at Literature: “The play itself is a quick read, especially since most of the scenes are familiar from My Fair Lady.”

Mini Review of My Fair Lady

I had watched My Fair Lady way back when I was a kid, and apparently I didn’t have many memories of it since much of it felt brand new. This time, I thoroughly enjoyed the production. The songs were a particularly wonderful addition (I could have danced all night…). Hepburn was over-the-top as Eliza (how is she so pretty covered in dirt?), and Harrison was a slightly less asshatty Henry than the Henry in the original play. The ending, of course, has Eliza and Henry working through their difficulties and finding they truly love each other after all.

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March 6, 2012

Book Review: #11 – The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (audio)

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Narrator: Elliot Gould
Source: Sacramento Library
Finished: 2/16/12
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: New Millenium Audio
Pages: 139 (print version)
Published: 1939
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from Amazon): When a dying millionaire hires Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.

Overall Impression: To be honest, I probably should have paid better attention as I listened to this. Lots of shady characters, a handful of murders, dames up to no good — I found my attention drifting, and I had to rewind a few times to figure out what was going on. I remember this about the movie as well (which I watched maybe ten years ago), that the plot jumps and twists and Marlowe is here, then there, and characters are showing up all around him. But as I listened I could tell that this was one of those books on which so many others in the genre is founded. This was noir at its darkest, seediest best, with a wry humor thrown in for good measure. In many places, the writing was absolutely divine:

“She lowered her lashes until they almost cuddled her cheeks and slowly raised them again, like a theatre curtain. I was to get to know that trick. That was supposed to make me roll over on my back with all four paws in the air.”

The Big Sleep reminded me constantly of Humphrey Bogart, with his slow delivery of dialogue and calm presence under pressure. None of the characters are particularly likable, though you have to hand it to Marlowe for at least keeping his integrity — he turns down bribes and the advances of loose women. So you end up sort of liking the guy, even though he’s as dry as dirt and up to his elbows in some of the worst stuff the big city has to offer.

Positives: The writing was noir at its finest, and it (along with Dashiell Hammett’s books) set a standard that so many writers strive for today.

Negatives: The 2012 reader will probably balk at the weak women, the hard-drinking rough men, the glaring references to “fags” and “pansies,” and some racist remarks.

Narration: Elliot Gould! He sounds so Oceans 11 to me, and sometimes his voice was a little too squeaky and not enough…Bogarty. But he still did a good job.

Other books I’ve read by Raymond Chandler: none

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Elliot Gould: none

Other blogger opinions:

Fifty Books Project: “It’s worth noting, though, that Chandler is quite a good writer, and sometimes he’ll turn out a surprisingly evocative paragraph.”

The Asylum: “There is a poetry in the prose that is entirely unexpected unless – well, unless you’ve already read Chandler.”

In Spring it is the Dawn: “I have to admit that I had some problems though with the overall storytelling and plot, which I found rather disjointed, and messy.”

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February 29, 2012

Book Review: #10 – Bossypants by Tina Fey (audio)

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Narrator: Tina Fey
Source: Sacramento Library
Finished: 2/12/12
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Length: 5:35:00
Pages: 288 (print version)
Published: 2011
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from Amazon):  Tina Fey’s new book Bossypants is short, messy, and impossibly funny (an apt description of the comedian herself). Fey gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of modern comedy with equal doses of wit, candor, and self-deprecation. But the chaos of Fey’s life is best detailed when she’s dividing her efforts equally between rehearsing her Sarah Palin impression, trying to get Oprah to appear on 30 Rock, and planning her daughter’s Peter Pan-themed birthday. Bossypants gets to the heart of why Tina Fey remains universally adored: she embodies the hectic, too-many-things-to-juggle lifestyle we all have, but instead of complaining about it, she can just laugh it off.

Overall Impression: So much has been said about Tina Fey’s memoir, and much if it I agree with — it’s very funny, very wry, and very Tina Fey. But I was expecting greatness and I only got goodness. Most if it was hit (her cruise!) and a bit of it was miss (some of it felt…sort of look-how-awesome-I-am-in-a-self-deprecating-way at times?). And it was all over the place. Sort of arranged in chronological order, I thought it would have been stronger had she kept her “how to be a boss” theme a little stronger throughout. Instead it was up and down and all around. But still, it was all the things that everyone has loved about her since she first started showing up on SNL a number of years ago, and it gave a lot of insight into the way she manages her busy career and her family (the chapter on her daughter’s Peter Pan birthday was a highlight).

Positives: Super funny, with some actual guffawing at times. Also, it’s nearly impossible not to like her! I’ll definitely pick up anything else she writes.

Negatives: All over the place. Also, since I’ve only seen a handful of 30 Rock episodes, I felt like I was missing some crucial background knowledge about some of the things she talked about.

Narration: Of course, Tina Fey was perfect to read her own book. Still, I thought the audiobook production had something to be desired — there were a few quiet, quick asides that I couldn’t understand, and I found that annoying.

Other books I’ve read by Tina Fey: none

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Tina Fey: none

Other blogger opinions:

Avid Reader: “In the end, you can sign me up as a fan of Fey. I will absolute be buying whatever else she has to offer.”

Teresa’s Reading Corner: “This is one of those books that I am POSITIVE it is infinitely better on audio simply because Fey narrates it herself.”

Books, Movies, and Chinese Food: “Fey has shown time and time again, that she is a comic genius and I’m not ashamed to say I’m on the Tina Fey bandwagon.”

The Literary Omnivore: “Like most celebrity memoirs, Tina Fey’s Bossypants is a light, airy trifle, although there are some intriguing and fascinating darker notes throughout.”

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