Summer Reading List, Part One

.

I've been reading a bit!  Let me get you caught up.

"2BR02B" by Kurt Vonnegut

Five out of Five Stars

WOW. What an impactful 12 pages this was. This is my first Vonnegut, but it certainly won't be the last. The Nook version I got had another 12 pages or so about Vonnegut's life and other books, which was just as fascinating to read as the book.

2BR02B (to be or not to be) is a book about our world, a scary Brave New World, with population control and assisted suicide. You can have kids, but you have to find someone who is will to die in order to keep your kids. And people are now able to live into the hundreds, two hundreds, even, because of all the new medical technology.

The story begins with a father in the waiting room. His wife has just had triplets. That's as far as I'll tell you, but you MUST read this story -- it's a tale to think about.

"Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914-1915" 

by Anonymous

Three out of Five Stars

This was a free book on the Kindle, and since I love WWI things, I had to read it.

This is the diary of an unnamed nun who was a nurse during WWI in France.  It was fascinating in that she served most of her time on a train hospital -- each section of the train held different patients, and operating theater, dorms, etc.  As this was a discovered diary, it has a quick stop and no idea what happened to her.  It was enjoyable, and she has to be the merriest war-time nurse I've ever read about, fictional or real, but it drags a little bit, and bits are nebulous as she references things we, the reader, aren't privy to.  However, if you're a WWI buff, and read "All Quiet on the Western Front", snag it.  It's a quick read.

"Heresy", "Prophecy", and "Sacrilege"

by S. J. Parris

overall, 3 out of 5 stars

This series is a historical fiction mystery trilogy (at least, trilogy so far).  In the first book, an Italian monk, Giordano Bruno, is accused of heresy because he's caught reading "heretical" books about Copernicus and believes in his teachings -- essentially, the earth revolves around the sun, which, in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, is a big no-no.  Throughout the series, Bruno solves and gets tangled in mysteries and scandals while weaving in the historically factual story of Queen Elizabeth's spies against Mary of Scotland.

The books were slow to start, but halfway through things sped up, and that made them worth my time.  The last book was the best, in my opinion, and left enough strings loose to allow for another book, but not TOO many loose strings so you're felt like you MUST read another book.  I doubt I'd read any further in this series, but it was interesting.  I just wasn't as into astrology, Copernicus, and the occult as this book requires you to be.

So far this year, I've read More to come!

Visit me on Goodreads.com by clicking here!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry and bead kits as well as collaborative mixed media art with her son, Zack.  Visit her shops by clicking here.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm  and author of the book Bead Soup.

Join her at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

Book Review -- "Heresy" by S. J. Parris

Four out of Five Stars

Italian monk Giordano Bruno is on the run from the Inquisition because he dares to agree with Copernicus and his theory of the earth revolving around the sun.  Excommunicated and now residing in England, Bruno has become a favorite of nobility, and is on his way to Oxford University to debate the Copernicus theory -- quite a change from six years prior!


While at Oxford, several suspicious deaths occur, and Bruno finds himself trying to solve the mystery and not get himself killed in the process.  Oh, and he's also acting as a spy to find out anything he can about anti-Queen-Elizabeth plots.  So he has his hands full.


I enjoyed the book, and will be reading the two subsequent novels.

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.   

Join me at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

Book Review: "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James

"Fifty Shades of Gray" by E. L. James

Three out of Five Stars

This book was almost impossible to rate.

On the one hand, I wanted to give her Five Stars just for the huge amount of press she was able to generate for this genre of book. On the other, I wanted to give her one star for seemingly mixing Twilight-esque teen writing with serious BDSM. And while she's liberal in using the F-bomb, she leaves a lot left to the imagination -- and this can be both a good thing and a bad thing.


It's also a bit disconcerting to read about a recent college grad, (and virgin) Anastastia, who captivates a 20-something year old billionaire, Christian. I've heard of Lana Turner being discovered in a soda shop, but this is an entirely different animal. Anne Rice (writing under various pen names) wrote about BDSM the way it probably deserves to be written about -- and this ain't it. The premise (and writing style) is on such a juvenile level that I kept thinking it was a teen book until woah Nelly, out come the whips and restraints and the F bombs. That discontinuity was jarring, to say the least.


Also, if you turned the book into a drinking game and took a shot every time the author wrote "murmur", you'd be drunk in three pages. Add to that the annoying and constant reference to her computer as "the mean machine", biting her lower lip so often you're surprised it hasn't been bitten off yet, all the eye-rolling, overuse of the word "clamber" (which, in my not so humble opinion, should *never* be used in an erotic text), and Christian's sudden departure from ten-year past of strong BDSM to considering a major change for Ana -- well. It was hard to know whether to laugh, roll my OWN eyes, or keep reading. The book is not the best of this genre I've ever read by far.


Yet, I couldn't look away.


I'm not sure what that says about either me OR the book. I'll finish the trilogy, but I'm certain the story won't change, the style won't rise above a fifth-grade level -- but the author has SOMETHING here, and whatever it is, I'll give the next book a chance.

Visit me on Goodreads.com by clicking here!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Book Review -- "Generation A" by Douglas Coupland

"Generation A" by Douglas Coupland

Three out of Five Stars

Douglas Coupland is one of those authors whose work I collect. I vividly remember being handed his first book, "Generation X", and I was hooked. His dry wit, gift of parody, and excellent story-telling have made it such a pleasure to hunt down all of his books.


This book, however, left me wanting more. The story is a little off. Five people in five different countries are stung by a bee -- yet all the bees disappeared years ago. Each of these people is whisked away to a "clean room", observed and tested upon, and then let loose to meet up with each other.


When these people meet up with each other, one of the scientists ask them to tell stories they've made up on the spot. This figures into the bees, and why these people were essentially kidnapped after being stung, but the stories the people tell were really what kept my attention. The sub-story, if you will.


I suspend belief when reading because in order to enjoy certain books, you have to believe that what's happening is true. This book, though, no matter how hard I tried, couldn't keep me from going, "Oh, come on!" a few times. Fortunately, I laughed more than a few times so that redeemed it.


Definitely not Coupland's best, but die-hard fans should still read it.

Visit me on Goodreads.com by clicking here!

 

 

 

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Book Review -- "Joe Golem and the Drowning City"

"Joe Golem and the Drowning City"

by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden

4 out of 5 Stars

This was an impulse buy.  The story sounded intriguing -- earthquakes have sunk a huge part of Lower Manhattan in 1925, creating a dystopian sort of life for those left behind.  That alone caught my attention because most of the dystopian books I've read take place in the future or present day.

The book, in a nutshell, is about Molly McHugh and her friend, the elderly magician Felix Orlov.  Felix, however, has some real powers.  While in the middle of a seance, things go awry, and suddenly men in gas masks and rubber suits invade the room and make off with Orlov.

Molly runs, and is rescued by Joe Golem, who has his own mysterious employer and equally mysterious past.  The book weaves fairy tales and myths with futuristic science fiction.  The ending dragged a bit for me, which is why the book got four stars, but it was definitely a different experience.  The block print illustrations are on the spooky/scary side -- downright creepy in many instances -- but they kind of fit the underlying darkness of the story.

Recommended for those looking for something different from the norm.

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Book Review -- "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother"

"Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua

1 out of 5 Stars

I'm quite glad I've never met Amy Chua, and if she met me, I'm sure the feeling would be mutual.  I picked this book up while passing the child-rearing section of the book store.  I should have left it there.

The book is about the "secret" behind Asian (in this instance, Chinese) children's stereotypical success.  I have two half-Chinese stepsons, have lived in Korea and Japan, so I wasn't entirely unacquainted with how family dynamics in Asia usually work.  My sons did not get raised the "Chinese Way", as Chua calls it.  According to her, therefore, my sons should be degenerates and vapid automatons who only watch TV and eat junk food.  Happy to report that they both have Ph.D's, one in Physics and one in Molecular Plant Biology. 

So there, Amy Chua.

I was horrified at how Chua talks to her daughters, pushing them, forcing in many ways, to play piano and violin, respectively.   The things her daughters aren't allowed to do because they're "stupid" (i.e., sleep-overs) are things that I wonder if they'll one day regret.  They both are phenomenal musicians, but at what cost?  So many times the kids rebel, only to get shouted down.  I didn't find that funny, OR endearing.

Of course, how to raise your child is a polarizing subject, and I didn't expect to 100% agree with everything in this book.  I also didn't expect to have a visceral dislike for it, either.

Not recommended.

Visit me on Goodreads.com by clicking here!

 

 

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party tm.

Three Book Reviews -- Richard Russo x 2, plus Insane Asylum non-fiction

.

Three book reviews for you today -- and quite different they are!

"Bridge of Sighs" by Richard Russo

Five out of Five Stars

Louis "Lucy" Lynch, the main character in this book, is now sixty years old, married for forty, and has lived in a small rural town (built around a toxic tannery) all his life. They're planning a trip to Italy to try and reconnect with an old childhood friend, but whether they actually make that journey, I'll leave to you to find out.

The actual "Bridge of Sighs" is in Venice, Italy (a place I used to live) and spanned the Palace River, connecting the Old Prison and interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace to the New Prison, which was situated directly across the river. It's also a painting Lucy's childhood friend has painted, and it's rife with symbolism.

The book goes back and forth between flashback and current time, and while I find books about town life interesting, some may find the book too low-key for them. It's a coming-of-age story, but when the main character remains in his small home town for sixty years without doing much outside of it, you have to learn to flow with the narrative. I quite liked it, but it may not be for those wanting a quicker pace.

Recommended.

"Straight Man" by Richard Russo

Four out of Five Stars 

This book could be down-right hilarious.  William Henry Devereaux, Jr. (not to be mistaken for his father, William Henry Devereaux Sr., with whom he has a complicated relationship) is the chair for his college English department -- and it's not really a post he aspired to.  His adventures with his fellow English professors is diverse, sometimes complex, sometimes as simple as realizing the other professor is just an idiot who got the job who knows how.


You'll have to read it, but the pivotal point of the book occurs when William, who has been trying to get a budget for his department, wanders upon the lake where a TV photo op is about to take place, and suddenly seizes a goose by the neck and threatens to kill a duck a day until he gets a budget.


What follows is not a massacre (thankfully) but a lot of high-jinx told with a dry sense of humor. 

Why this didn't get five stars -- I got tired of hearing about his inability to pee.  I think the entire story would have been just fine without the constant questioning of why he couldn't hit a urinal.  Also, the epilogue could have been completely left out, as the loose ends weren't so important that they needed an epilogue.

Still, a good book.

"The Lives They Left Behind:

Suitcases From a State Hospital Attic"

Five out of Five Stars

This work of non-fiction is quite incredible in its scope and the amount of research that went into it. Darby Penney, a national leader in the human rights movement for people with psychiatric disabilities, and Peter Stastny, a psychiatrist and documentary filmmaker, took on this extraordinary project.


In 1995, after 126 years of operation, the Willard Psychiatric Center in upstate New York was closed. It had been home to 54,000 people. While the closing of the facility was taking place, over 400 suitcases were found in an attic, full of belongings of patients who had never left the facility.


Penney and Stastny took ten of those suitcases, examined their contents, and with a LOT of investigative work, pieced together information about the lives of the people behind the suitcases.


Throughout the book, the history of state-run hospitals is covered, along with information about psychiatric set-backs and break-throughs. The stories of these ten people, as well as the story of the hospital itself, will touch you.


The book is full of black-and-white photos.


Highly recommended.

Visit me on Goodreads.com by clicking here!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.