tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841403711008523052024-03-14T01:21:55.149-05:00Bookish BentBecause I always have a book by my side.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-25801963954435009952011-06-16T20:46:00.000-05:002011-06-16T20:46:00.343-05:00Moving on.I'm moving on from Blogger and Bookish Bent. It's been a lovely time, but I need to expand a bit. So, with the help of some really wonderful, patient people, I've created a new space all my own. A professional website, if you will, but also a place to blog about more than just books - though books will still be a large focus.<br /><br />It's been months of work. And I've been nervous to show it off, holding off these last few weeks because I'm so nervous. But, you don't get anywhere by being scared.<br /><br />There are still some kinks to work out. We're still playing with the design of the homepage. But, I want to blog again, so it's time.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amandagates.com/">www.amandagates.com</a><br /><br />Thanks to all who have read my posts and thoughts here. I hope you follow me and we can keep the conversations going.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-10332331756342324092011-06-02T13:23:00.002-05:002011-06-02T13:27:32.614-05:00Why, hello!Yes, it's been awhile. Nearly two months! But, life happened in those two months and I had to take care of and recover from (actually, still recovering from) a major family situation.<br /><br />But also, I've been working on something kind of cool. I'm not quite ready to share it yet, but soon. And then I'll get back on track.<br /><br />I've still been reading though, and can't wait to discuss:<br /><br />Half Baked<br />Bossypants<br />Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet<br />The Happiest Mom<br />Out Stealing Horses<br /><br />Soon!A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-30947746480639899112011-04-04T19:20:00.004-05:002011-04-04T19:40:14.701-05:00Cutting For Stone<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sk7BZuuAWxQ/TZpkx5OTZBI/AAAAAAAABBs/Dte7ssfDcC0/s1600/Cover%2BImage.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 197px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sk7BZuuAWxQ/TZpkx5OTZBI/AAAAAAAABBs/Dte7ssfDcC0/s320/Cover%2BImage.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591892695671071762" /></a>This tome took me six weeks to finish, hence the lack of posts lately. I heard a bit about<i> Cutting for Stone</i> on Goodreads, and it has nearly five stars on Amazon with some crazy-like 900 reviews. So, lots of people liked this book. Marion, one half of twins, tells his story of childhood and coming of age in Ethiopia. He lives at a hospital where his adoptive parents, both Indian, take up residence. We learn about his birth, his growing up, the patients at the hospital, Ethiopian politics, the history of his immediate family... there's <i>a lot</i> in this book. I didn't quite know what I was getting into, so all of the backstory at the beginning left me wondering where the book was going. But, when I talked to my girlfriend about the book (she had also read it), she said it reminded her of <i><a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/search/label/Middlesex">Middlesex </a></i>- a family history. Then it clicked for me. (I may have been slower to catch on because I was reading it on my Kindle and didn't have a book flap to sum things up for me.)<div><br /></div><div><i>Cutting for Stone</i> is quite deep and detailed. The author can really paint a picture, and he especially can flesh out characters. I fell in love with Hema, Marion's adoptive mother, who is a spit fire of a lady, a smart gynecologist and a mama with a sweet heart. I also fell in love with her husband Ghosh. He was a gentle man and the two had a loving relationship. </div><div><br /></div><div>Because he's a doctor, too, the author went quite into detail when it came to the medical side of the story. I learned way more than I needed to know about lady parts, vasectomies and a whole other slew of surgeries. It was quite graphic (I felt really queasy on the bus during one part), and I would say if that turns you off, it <i>almost </i>takes away from the story. Almost. But, if you can keep reading through it - or skim over those parts like I did - the story gets awesomely moving in the last third of the book. This was by far my favorite part, probably because the story comes full circle, and I was sad to see the book end. </div><div><br /></div><div>Beautifully written, somewhat graphic, and a lovely telling of a family and a culture that you don't come across every day. I'm really glad I read it. </div>A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-23183771122004157532011-03-07T03:17:00.001-06:002011-03-07T03:17:00.503-06:00I may not go to the movies, but I do have Netflix<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ud-13EcUV7k/TXFYPqb16II/AAAAAAAABA0/m1uXiQXYAh8/s1600/The_Kids_Are_All_Right_5.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ud-13EcUV7k/TXFYPqb16II/AAAAAAAABA0/m1uXiQXYAh8/s320/The_Kids_Are_All_Right_5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580338439401105538" border="0" /></a>Remember when I saw <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2009/07/summer-of-movies.html">nine</a> <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2009/08/summer-of-movies-part-ii.html">movies</a> in less than 4 months? In the theater, no less? Wow. Times. Have. Changed. However, with a husband that works nights every so often, a baby in bed and a Netflix account, I’ve been able to watch a few more movies lately, which, I have to say, has been great.<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172233/">Whip It:</a> Roller Girls have always intrigued me. For some reason, I think I could be good at a sport like this. Plus, it’s a hard-hitting, fast-paced sport For Girls. Which is awesome. The movie was cute. Ellen Page was her typical self. The storyline was sweet. And while I’m not a huge fan of hers on SNL, Kristen Wiig really impressed me in this movie. She was thoughtful, engaging and one of my favorite characters. I’d recommend it for a girls’ night movie, because these ladies kick ass. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/">The Social Network:</a> My husband and I watched this together and we really liked it. I wasn’t too concerned since I’ve loved all things Aaron Sorkin since Sports Night (which was so before its time and canceled way too early). It was really interesting to watch an empire being created from the ground up. Eisenberg made Zuckerberg seem like an incredible douche and villain - with the touch of a (broken) heart - but yet, you still pulled for him. This was also one of my first exposures to Andrew Garfield, and I really liked him as an actor. JT wasn’t so bad either. We enjoyed discussing after the movie who really deserved part of the fortune, and who got away with a lot of money for doing so very little.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0842926/">The Kids Are All Right:</a> I liked this movie, too. It’s nothing flashy or groundbreaking, really, just nice. It was nice to watch a movie about two women raising a family where the fact that they were lesbians (or the fact that the kids had two moms) was not an issue. It just told it like it is. Marriage is hard. Motherhood is hard. People screw up, and then you still love them. Why Julianne Moore wasn’t nominated, though, is beyond me. She was terrific.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1584016/">Catfish:</a> I first heard about this documentary on Ellen (must’ve been a sick day or something), when she had the filmmakers on and just raved about the movie and the “twist.” It studies and documents the relationship of 24-year-old Nev with a family he meets on Facebook. And things aren’t as they seem. So, I knew there was a twist going in – and you can kind of assume what the twist is – yet the movie still really surprised me. There are rumors it may all be a hoax, but whatever. It was crazy. And good.</p><p class="MsoNormal">What have you seen lately?<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-82556541788557488332011-02-27T15:31:00.000-06:002011-02-27T15:31:00.438-06:00Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration Into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RyBw3Q1z1Cg/TWgiteM9YPI/AAAAAAAABAU/bIYkFaNm64U/s1600/25333493.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RyBw3Q1z1Cg/TWgiteM9YPI/AAAAAAAABAU/bIYkFaNm64U/s320/25333493.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577746303095234802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Editor's Note:</span> Like most anyone, I'm not interested in every genre of books. But, I'd love my blog to offer insights on a wide range of books. So, enter <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2008/06/eat-pray-love.html">guest</a> <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2009/08/in-defense-of-food.html">bloggers</a>. Below, my husband, who is smarter and more eloquent than me, offers a thoughtful post on a book he just read. I'm a dunce at all things science so I would never pick this book up on my own, but now I think it sounds extremely interesting. </span><br /><br /><br />An unfortunate and depressing fact about mankind living on planet Earth is that eventually the rock we call home will not be here anymore. The Sun will die, expanding to the point that Earth will be swallowed whole by the very star that gives us life. Of course this is billions of years from now, but what if mankind (or whatever we’ve evolved into) could escape this by traveling to a parallel universe? What if mankind could escape the solar system long before this happens by traveling to another star, perhaps faster than the speed of light? These are the topics brought to life by theoretical physics professor Michio Kaku of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in his book <i>Physics of the Impossible</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>I’m sure right now you’re thinking, "Why would I want to read 300 pages about theoretical physics?" I have an engineering and physics background in my former career, and that doesn’t even sound fun <span style="font-style: italic;">to me</span>. However, at some point we’ve all thought about what it would be like to time travel. We’ve all seen teleportation in <i>Star Trek</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, or traveling faster than the speed of light in </span><i>Star Wars.</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> How many movies and TV shows have been made about robots becoming smarter than we are and turning on us? </span><i>Terminator </i><span style="font-style: normal;">or </span><i>I, Robot, </i><span style="font-style: normal;">anyone? What about Watson on </span><i>Jeopardy?</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Kaku takes the pop-culture sci-fi topics that everyone has thought about at one point or another, and describes the physics that may actually make them possible in a (more or less) easy-to-read fashion. You don’t need to have a huge science background to understand what’s going on. Kaku deconstructs into three classes what most people think are impossibilities. The first class being impossibilities that don’t break known laws of physics, and may be possible in this or the next century, including force fields, teleportation, invisibility, robots, UFO’s, and starships. Can you imagine how the world would change if you could order a book on Amazon and it would be teleported to you? You think that the USPS has a hard time now?! Also discussed are class II impossibilities that might be realized within a millennia or more (time travel, parallel universes) and class III impossibilities which violate the known laws of physics which would require a fundamental shift in mankind’s understanding of physics (perpetual motion machines).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Kaku takes great care in honoring the past scientific discoveries by giving a bit of history from the scientists whose research has brought us to where we are today. Sadly, many of these great thinkers were persecuted for their beliefs (some even committing suicide) that were later proven in labs. Ludwig Boltzmann was hounded for his belief of atoms and hanged himself in 1906 because of the intense pressure. What Boltzmann didn’t realize was that Einstein had written a paper in 1905 demonstrating their existence. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>While the research from the past has made possible everything society takes for granted today (the internet, cell phones, computers, space travel), we are an infantile society when it comes to scientific discovery. It is highly likely that societies are thriving in the universe (or in other universes) that are much more advanced than we are. Kaku paints a broad picture of how we may discover and use technologies to become a more advanced civilization, and on the extreme long-term timescale, survive. Kaku does so in a way that someone with little scientific background but a little bit of nerd in them can understand. I myself can’t wait for his next book <i>Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100.</i><span style="font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-22122684605480001922011-02-23T20:29:00.003-06:002011-02-23T20:47:35.106-06:00Mockingjay<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NFcW_Vg8pR4/TWXGo0xnhRI/AAAAAAAABAM/rNreV2xIF7k/s1600/Cover%2BImage.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NFcW_Vg8pR4/TWXGo0xnhRI/AAAAAAAABAM/rNreV2xIF7k/s320/Cover%2BImage.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577082118232048914" /></a><b><i>Note: As with my last post, I can't discuss this book without revealing SPOILERS. Read on at your own risk.</i></b><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, the Hunger Games trilogy just got more disappointing with each book. I thought <i>Mockingjay </i>was pretty boring, and just when it would seem to be getting good, it would end up disappointing me. The districts are in rebellion and Katniss is the Mockingjay, but so much of this book is spent with her delirious, weak, confused, etc. Sure, the girl's been through a lot, but she's also stronger than this. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hated that she wasn't leading the mission to save Peeta from the Capitol. And that she didn't try to save him ASAP. I feel like the Katniss from Book 1 would've done that. </div><div><br /></div><div>I thought it was boring that so much of this book was about training and prepping and shooting propos. </div><div><br /></div><div>It finally got interesting, near the end of the book, when Katniss and her group got near the Capitol and broke away from District 13's instructions and went on their own to assassinate the president. Finally, there was some fighting and Katniss got to lead like she should've been leading all along. </div><div><br /></div><div>But, the ending sucked. Sucked. Not one part of it made me happy. I was on Team Gale from Day 1, and I think it's totally unrealistic how that relationship was (un)resolved. </div><div><br /></div><div>I think an unnecessary person was killed. And I think the way she was killed was a lame attempt to make it seem OK that Katniss and Gale ended up the way they did. A ridiculous ploy.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't think Katniss ended up with the life she should've had. </div><div><br /></div><div>My thoughts: Collins didn't want to be predictable, so she came up with ridiculous and poor attempts at keeping readers on their toes. All the things I wanted to happen, I admit, would have been predictable outcomes. However, for young adult novels, that's OK most often. Plus, I think in the name of being unpredictable, Collins made Katniss out to be weak and boring, and as a fan of our heroine from the beginning, that hurt me as a reader. I was actually <i>angry </i>about it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe I'm missing a deeper meaning, or I'm missing the point. But, in my opinion, the trilogy peaked with <i>The Hunger Game</i>s. That book was great. The series as a whole? Just, eh.</div>A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-33406640047929910842011-02-15T14:41:00.004-06:002011-02-15T14:48:08.281-06:00Catching Fire<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5Xau0I1JdR4/TVrmTlJjZ0I/AAAAAAAAA_c/Cc3eTOWYuPQ/s1600/35769901.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5Xau0I1JdR4/TVrmTlJjZ0I/AAAAAAAAA_c/Cc3eTOWYuPQ/s320/35769901.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574020712888493890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Note:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> If you have not read the </span>Hunger Games<span style="font-style: italic;"> and plan to, there are mostly likely </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">SPOILERS</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> ahead. However, because all three books are out, and you can easily read the book flaps and other reviews, I don’t know how much of a spoiler I’m actually being. And, I can’t really talk about how I feel about this book without mentioning certain details, and I really want to hear what other fans think, too. So: </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">SPOILERS</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. There. I warned you twice. </span>:-)<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">-------------<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Not surprisingly, I gobbled up (no pun intended) the second Hunger Games book, <span style="font-style: italic;">Catching Fire</span>, in less than a week. Surprisingly, I’m having a hard time deciding how I feel about it. When the book opens, Katniss and Peeta are off on their victory tour through the districts. Of course, here comes their design team to dress them all up again and prepare them for the tour. While I love the design team (Cinna definitely captured my heart), I thought to myself, “I already read this in the first book.” So, right away I was disappointed. And then I wondered, “Is Collins going to drag us through each and every one of the 12 districts?” Because: Boring. But she didn’t, so she redeemed herself there. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But when we’re only a few chapters into the book and the tour is over, then what fills the rest of the pages? Oh, another Hunger Games. She can’t possibly figure out a way to throw Katniss back in to this hot mess that makes sense, can she? Oh, but she can. Granted, it was a surprise to everyone – a completely unorthodox move by the Capitol. However, I’ve already read about the Hunger Games, so again: disappointed. I felt like Collins was taking the easy way out. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Another note:</span> As an editor, it drives me CRAZY that they spell Capitol with an “o.” It’s a city, not just a building. It should be spelled Capital. Who let that get by?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">To be fair, I can see why providing us with another Games isn’t completely stupid. We get to see a different environment then the one the Capitol created in the first book. We also get to meet a whole new slew of characters - though not quite as deeply as we could’ve, I don’t think.<span style=""> </span>But another Games? Eh.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">However, in the end, there was a scheme to it all. There was a reason, and I have to say it’s a good reason. So, again, Collins redeemed herself. In my opinion, if you cut out some unnecessary sections—and the few “review” pages up front of each book (just assume we read the previous book(s) and move on!)—this series could have been two books instead of three. Though, how many two-book series are there in the world? I’m guessing not too many. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So. I’ll say I liked it. It offers up good characters, it’s easy to read, it’s engaging, and I love Katniss. And maybe after finishing <span style="font-style: italic;">Mockingjay</span>, I’ll like the series as a whole better than each individual part? To be continued...<br /></p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-17121136679053239872011-02-08T08:10:00.000-06:002011-02-08T08:10:01.383-06:00The Book Thief<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TVBh_A5HkRI/AAAAAAAAA_U/vkgfYEWXWe8/s1600/37432465.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TVBh_A5HkRI/AAAAAAAAA_U/vkgfYEWXWe8/s320/37432465.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571060474256527634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The Book Thief</span> is a haunting, yet wonderful book. It’s actually considered a young adult novel in many places, though it seems much more of a mature and complicated story than I would’ve enjoyed in my young-adult days. It takes a little while to get used to the narration and the structure of the book. The book is narrated by Death, and at first, I wasn’t sure it would work for me. Plus, Death has these bolded, starred outbursts (that my bff cleverly compared to the bubbles in Pop-Up videos) within his story, which causes a bit of disruption while reading. But after several pages, I got used to it and actually grew quite fond of Death as a narrator. <p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The story follows Liesel, a young girl growing up in a foster home in Nazi Germany. The Hubermann’s have taken her in when it was clear to her own mother that their family was in danger. Death comes across Liesel’s path in a couple of instances in her lifetime and is struck by this special girl, which is why he chose to tell her story.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A few themes I loved:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Death’s compassion.</span> It hit me about halfway through the book that Death, at least <span style="font-style: italic;">The Book Thief</span>’s Death, isn’t scary. He’s sad. He’s busy. He’s compassionate. He’s devastated about sitting up top bath houses and catching body after Jewish body that’s been gassed and killed. He can’t believe the things humans do to one another. He talks frankly about when he takes people and when he doesn’t. I learned to love Death as a character. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the back of the book, there’s a Q & A with the author, Markus Zusak, and he says this about Death as a character: “Death was to be exhausted from his eternal existence and his job. He was to be afraid of humans – because after all, he was there to see the obliteration we’ve perpetrated<span style=""> </span>on each other throughout<span style=""> </span>the ages – and he would now be telling this story to prove to himself that humans are actually worth it.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hans & Rosa Hubermanns love.</span> When we first meet this couple, they poke at each other, gripe at each other, call each other names. You think, 'Wow, this couple must loathe one another.' But it’s exactly the opposite. They are so much in love. When your husband brings home a Jew to hide in your basement and you ask no questions because you would do anything for him… Well, that’s love. And they loved Liesel like their own. It’s almost heartbreaking. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A favorite quote: “Life had altered in the wildest possible way, but it was imperative that they act as if nothing at all had happened. Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing that 24 hours a day. That was the business of hiding a Jew.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The other side of the story.</span> When we think of Nazi Germany, it’s so easy to hate all the people who lived there. How could they let this happen? How could they just stand by? Sure, we know the stories of people like the Hubermanns who were brave and helped those who need it. But, some just choose survival. They might not agree with the Nazi party, but they join, just to survive. They might not want to go fight for them, but they do so their son doesn’t have to. There is always another side. And it makes you wonder: Who would I be in that situation? Would I risk my butt? Or would I fly under the radar? Either way works, just as long as you live, right? And the same goes for current times. I try to remember to always give someone the benefit of the doubt. Because people can be going through some tough stuff and just need a break.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I loved this story. It was engaging and special and it sticks with you once you close it. It’s not joyous by any means, but there are several happy parts to it. Happiness to hang on to amongst the rubble.<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I seem to enjoy books about WWII. A few other posts: <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/search/label/war">The Zookeeper's Wife</a>; <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2009/06/city-of-thieves.html">City of Thieves</a>; <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2009/10/guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie.html">The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society</a>; <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2009/05/those-who-save-us.html">Those Who Save Us</a>; and <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2009/12/sarahs-key.html">Sarah's Key</a>. </p>A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-33087874440007301732011-01-27T08:45:00.000-06:002011-01-27T08:45:00.944-06:00My Kindle: First Thoughts<a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2011/01/hunger-games.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Hunger Game</span>s</a> was my first Kindle purchase. It was $5. I clicked “buy” on Amazon and within 30 seconds, the book was on my Kindle. I have to say, that’s pretty amazing. The Kindle pages look very similar to book pages, and turning the page took just a press of the forward arrow. <p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As I started reading on my Kindle<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>, this is how I felt for about the first half of the book: I missed that feeling of accomplishment. With a real book, you get that satisfaction as the pages you’ve read start outnumbering the pages you haven’t. You can physically see how far you are. You can also easily flutter through to see how many pages you are away from the end of a chapter. With a Kindle, sure you can page to the end of a chapter, but it’s not as easy as holding your finger in the book to mark your spot. Along the bottom of a Kindle page, it shows the percentage of what you’ve read. So, this should give me that feeling of accomplishment… but as a visual learner, this meant very little to me. But, I assume as I read more and more books this way, I’ll get use to this method. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But, I have to say, by the last half of the book, I forgot I was reading on my Kindle. I got used to the “flipping,” it read easily on the e-ink, and it was so convenient to slip into my purse. (Maybe I would’ve stuck with <span style="font-style: italic;">Pillars of the Earth</span> if I had it on a Kindle instead of lugging around 1,000 pages? Probably not.) I’m reading a real book again at the moment, and love holding it in my hands, but I have to say, the Kindle isn’t so bad to hold either.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Another downfall: I’ve told one of my bffs that she’ll really enjoy <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hunger Games</span>. And I realized I can’t lend it to her. And that makes me sad. But, I have a goal to declutter even more in 2011, which means selling lots more of my books. The reason I keep books is to lend them out. But, having more space and a more peaceful mind needs to outweigh keeping books just for the possibility of lending them (sorry, please still be my friends!), and maybe more Kindle books is the way to do that.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-got-kindle-am-i-sellout.html">Commenting on my first Kindle post</a>, Manda asked me if using a Kindle means I still feel “connected” to everything. Manda said she likes picking up a book and turning off all that technology. I didn’t feel that way at all. My Kindle isn’t connected to anything. I’m not planning to sign up for news through it or anything. Nothing bongs or tweets at me while I’m reading. It’s going to strictly be for books and just because it’s “electronic,” well, even after just one book, it doesn’t feel “electronic” to me. I’m just reading as I always have.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Other people commented on missing libraries and bookstores. First, I’ll never stop perusing bookstores. I love them, even when I don’t buy anything, which is most often. However, I’ve been buying (or having people buy for me) a majority of my books online for years now. They’re cheaper. They come right to your house. It’s easy for gift-giving. So, that part I won’t miss, actually. I can still stop at B&N over lunch – and buy children’s books now! – and the only thing that really changes about my buying habits is that my books get delivered to the Kindle in seconds as opposed to the house in days by mail.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the end, I really like it. I do still feel a touch guilty about that, though. And, like iTunes, when you can just click “buy” and instantly have a book in place, it’s important to learn restraint. Because I still have plenty of books on my shelf left to read, too, I’ve put a limit on my Kindle purchases. Right now, nothing more than $5 or so - and with $40 in gift cards to spend, that's a lot of books. After awhile, I’ll re-evaluate. And I’ll obviously still be reading both ways. I don’t expect ever to give up actual books, but if it comes cheaper on the Kindle and it’s something I really want to read, the Kindle it is.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, now what do you think? I think I've struck a good balance, plus I tried, and enjoyed, something new. Have I changed any minds? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-38793886228206685812011-01-21T08:22:00.003-06:002011-01-21T08:46:46.711-06:00The Hunger Games<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TTmcBa2ZaBI/AAAAAAAAA94/kRPQ9sgTlq0/s1600/27358626.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TTmcBa2ZaBI/AAAAAAAAA94/kRPQ9sgTlq0/s320/27358626.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564650362794240018" border="0" /></a>Kind of like <span style="font-style: italic;">Twilight</span>, I really didn't know what <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hunger Games</span> trilogy was until I read in my <span style="font-style: italic;">Entertainment Weekly</span> <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20419951_20446749,00.html">about the movie being made about the books</a>. Then the third book was listed on several Best Of 2010 lists, so I thought maybe I'd give it a try. The first book was $5 on Kindle, and I needed to try that out, too (more on my first Kindle experience in another post), so I decided <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hunger Games</span> would be my first Kindle book.<br /><br />Synopsis:<br /><blockquote>In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before - and survival.</blockquote>When I first read the synopsis, I wasn't sure. Seemed a little too Sci-Fi for me... however, I've enjoyed Sci-Fi a bit more lately, plus this was a young-adult novel, so I knew it wasn't going to get too complicated or out there for my liking. The premise is obviously depressing and I couldn't imagine actually enjoying a book that kills off teenagers one by one - for sport. But the author does a decent job of making several of Katniss' competitors, and the residents of the Capitol, unlikable while at the same time making our heroine our primary concern.<br /><br />The Hunger Games are kind of like the Olympics because there's training, an opening ceremonies, costumes, interviews and performance. A good portion of the book is devoted to all these elements leading up to the actual Games. While it was interesting and you meet some important characters during this part of the book, I was anxious for the action to start. And, I have to say that while reading about kids killing each other (sick, right?) was hard, the Games were the most interesting, fast-moving part of the novel. You learn about strategy, survival, greed, alliances, trust and love.<br /><br />When you go into book knowing there are sequels, you lose part of the mystery, but then <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hunger Games</span> ends on a loose end and definitely makes you want more. I really liked the book, it was written very well and was very engaging. I read for two hours straight last Saturday night and I haven't done that in a long, long time. So, I'm very excited for the next two books.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-44758413325287798242011-01-11T18:45:00.001-06:002011-01-11T18:45:00.946-06:00The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TSyDBsnyH3I/AAAAAAAAA9w/k-RoVshRTYY/s1600/49276247.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TSyDBsnyH3I/AAAAAAAAA9w/k-RoVshRTYY/s320/49276247.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560963705076850546" border="0" /></a>Henrietta Lacks was a thirty-something black woman living in the 1940s when she died of cervical cancer. The way the cancer ravaged her body, doctors knew there was something special about those cancer cells. They took a sample, and long story short, those cells never died. All cells eventually die, but not Henrietta's. They went on to become HeLa cells and helped scientists do many, many things, like cure polio, discover the many strains of HPV, perform cloning, discover drugs for leukemia and influenza... it goes on and on. Because these cells never died and continued to reproduce at an alarming rate, they gave scientists a set of base cells to always pull from and experiment on. Today billions of HeLa cells can be found in labs around the world. <div><br /></div><div>However, Henrietta and her family were never aware these cells had been taken from her and then passed around the world. It took decades before articles about HeLa cells even got her name correct (they used Helen Lane and others) that it came as quite a shock to her children and husband (again, decades later) that her cells were still alive. This raised major issue because here was a poor family with many health problems among them and there seemed to be unfairness that while their mother's cells were helping science and making money, they couldn't afford health care. </div><div><br /></div><div>Author Rebecca Skloot was a ambitious and determined 20-something (and white) woman when she decided to write this book. It took her a long time to just get permission from the family to talk to them. They had been through the ringer and stepped on enough by people with other motivations - they weren't willing to talk to another reporter. She endured hang ups. Abandoned meetings. Complete ignoring. Once they decided to let her in, they let her in very, very slowly and it took several more years to get all the information about Henrietta and her family and her cells that Skloot would need to write this book.</div><div><br /></div><div>The book follows Skloot on her journey to write the book, while also alternating between chapters of Henrietta's history, Lacks family history and the science behind the HeLa cells. I thought the layout was well done. I liked learning about Skloot's struggles and fears. She also wrote about the science portion in a very digestible manner. Cell division and its experiments are not easy to understand, but she made it easy. And while they were hard to get to know at first, you grow a fondness for the Lacks family, particularly Henrietta's daughter Deborah. She was Skloot's main ally - though she had many fears and doubts and even some paranoia (how Skloot kept up her patience, I'll never know). Deborah was so young when her mother died, she just wanted to learn more about her.</div><div><br /></div><div>The book brings up so many ethical issues. There are no laws on the books that say patients have a right to the tissue samples that doctors take (with or without their knowledge), even if those tissue samples go on to make millions. While it seems very unfair that the Lacks family received nothing from Henrietta's cells, if they were to sue, they would most likely come up empty.</div><div><br /></div><div>Is this fair? I can't really wrap my head around it. One expert Skloot talked to said that it's our moral duty as humans to provide parts of ourselves for research to help the greater good. That makes sense. If the Lacks family were asked way back then about using Henrietta's cells for science and said no, where would we be? Or, if they got permission to stop usage of HeLa cells now, science would take huge steps back. But, then you go back to the fact that they can't afford many, many things you'd want them to be able to afford. Is there a middle ground? Probably not without opening a huge can of worms.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Reading about Skloot's journey, but also Deborah and her family's journey of acceptance for what has happened, is so interesting. They're insanely proud and also pissed at the same time. And I think I would be too. Deborah said, "If you're gonna go into history, you can't do it with a hate attitude. You got to remember, times was different."</div><div><br /></div><div>Skloot meets another relative of Henrietta's who believes, along with many family members, that Henrietta is alive as an angel - as the cells. She's doing God's work as the cells, helping people all over the world. I loved this sentiment. </div><div><br /></div><div>The book is well written, easy to follow and wholly entertaining. It's a great and very impressive effort by a first-time author. I highly recommend it. It gets you thinking.</div>A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-41786546297677594742011-01-06T14:24:00.006-06:002011-01-07T15:12:09.477-06:00Quick thoughts on Huck Finn, Stieg Larsson & Best books of 2010There have been several bits of book news lately that I’ve wanted to comment on. I had dreams of separate posts for them all, but that’s not going to happen, so I’m smashing them all into one post instead.<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. <span style="font-style: italic;">Huckleberry Finn</span> Censoring.</span><br />This came as quite a shock to me when I heard it on the news the other day. It seems very strange and misguided to change the text of a historic book in order to protect innocent readers, increase use in schools or just be more politically correct. Like Dr. Sarah Churchill says in a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/05/huckleberry-finn-edition-censors-n-word">Guardian</a> article, </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>“The fault lies with the teaching, not the book. You can't say 'I'll change Dickens so it is compatible with my teaching method'. Twain's books are not just literary documents but historical documents, and that word is totemic because it encodes all of the violence of slavery. The point of the book is that Huckleberry Finn starts out racist in a racist society, and stops being racist and leaves that society. These changes mean the book ceases to show the moral development of his character.”</blockquote><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">However, an <a href="http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/01/03/huckleberry-finn-n-word-censor-edit/?hpt=T2">EW blogger points on that this censorship would only happen in certain copies of the book</a> – most likely those meant for school-aged children. So, is this any different than censoring R-rated movies on TV so an immature audience doesn’t see/read something its not ready for? I thought that was an interesting point, at least. [<span style="font-weight: bold;">Edited to add:</span> <a href="http://flavorwire.com/141105/beyond-huck-finn-other-books-in-need-of-an-image-makeover">This post by Flavorwire</a>, changing other challenged books to be more "appropriate" is great. Also, <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/susanorlean/2011/01/captain-underpants-and-huckleberry-finn.html?mbid=social_twitter">Susan Orlean's take</a> in the New Yorker.]<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the end, I think I fall on the side not changing the book. It just seems wrong. If I wrote a book one day, I would hate for the powers that be to decide to change it after I’m gone. (Yes, this is a short and simple thought on an very complex issue. But, I don't have the energy to really get into it right now.)<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">New Yorker</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">’s Millennium Trilogy column.</span><br />Critic Joan Acocella asks <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/01/10/110110crat_atlarge_acocella?currentPage=all">Why Do People Love Stieg Larsson’s novels?</a> She points out many reasons not to like them. Bad dialogue. Loose ends. Unnecessary detail. Not enough detail. A poor choice in male protagonist. I read other bloggers commenting on Acocella’s column saying they agreed with her – they hate the books, too. However, I don’t think Acocella hates these books. She does defend Larsson and the books a bit as well. She thinks the claims he’s a women-hater because of the scenes of violence against women are unwarranted. She likes Lisbeth as the heroine. And, she praises the books use of technology. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I agreed with her on all accounts. Sure, the books have too much detail – I barely kept reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Dragon Tattoo</span> because the first 100 pages were so hard to get through – and there were huge loose ends (Lisbeth's sister??) and bad dialogue. I chalk the loose ends up to the author’s early death. And bad dialogue? Well, see <span style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Twilight</span>, and I still love those. I too loved Lisbeth as a heroine, and I was very impressed by Larsson’s knowledge of computers and hacking. He was very up-to-date - if not ahead of our time considering when he wrote these - on security measures and hacking abilities when it comes to technology.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Something I found interesting was Acocella's analysis of Larsson’s view of Sweden. Perhaps it isn’t the Utopia of everything that we Americans think it is?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. With the New Year came several Best Of lists.</span> Here are just a few:<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/award/choice">Goodreads Choice Awards</a><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/books/review/10-best-books-of-2010.html?_r=1">New York Times</a><br />Time Magazine <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2035319_2034076_2034062,00.html">Fiction</a> & <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2035319_2034029_2034020,00.html">Nonfiction</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I was pleased to see <span style="font-style: italic;">The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks</span> on several lists. I’ve had this book for several months and am reading it right now, so I feel proud to have picked this one out on my own before seeing it make all these lists. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The third book in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Hunger Games</span> series, <span style="font-style: italic;">Mockingjay</span>, also made many lists. I’m late to the game on this series – much like Twilight – but I’ve heard good things, so I plan to start it soon.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic;">Room</span> is also all over these lists. I’ve read about this book and heard from trusted sources that it’s pretty amazing, yet quite sad and disturbing. I’m not quite sure it’s up my alley, at least for the moment.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Emperor of All Maladies</span> also made several lists. This has been on my Amazon Wish List for awhile. I’m waiting for this book to either drop its Kindle price or come out on paperback, but I’m definitely interested. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I didn’t read <span style="font-style: italic;">The Corrections</span>, so <span style="font-style: italic;">Freedom</span>, even though it made ALL lists, isn’t high on my own reading list.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I couldn’t believe Time picked <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2010/08/faithful-place.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Faithful Place</span></a> as a top book of the year. While I liked it, it wasn’t as good as her others, and with only picking 10 books out of all from 2010, I couldn’t believe this was one of its choices. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What are your thoughts? Censorship opinions? Millennium lovers or haters? Your top books published in 2010?</span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-70311125761032346362010-12-27T14:14:00.000-06:002010-12-27T14:14:00.715-06:00Juliet, Naked; Or Breaking Up with Nick HornbyOh Nick, I think it’s time we part ways. I really, really do. We’ve had some amazing times<span style=""> </span>- <span style="font-style: italic;">High Fidelity</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">About a Boy</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Fever Pitch</span> – and during those times, I never thought this day would come. But Nick, you’ve disappointed me too many times in a row now. And I’m puzzled. What happened? What happened to the great “maleness” you gave your characters – those funny, self-deprecating, quirky yet redeeming men that graced the pages of my favorites of yours? Sure, we all evolve and I understand you had to try something new, like speaking from a female voice (<span style="font-style: italic;">How to be Good</span>) or the voice of a child (<span style="font-style: italic;">Slam</span>), but when those things didn’t work for you (and honestly, they <span style="font-style: italic;">so</span> didn’t work for you), why didn’t you go back to what did?<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I talked you up, man. I would rave about you. I wrote papers in college analyzing your complex characters. Those first books are ones I keep on my shelves – they’ve moved with me from dorm room to first apartment to condo to townhouse. They've never been thought of as bait for Half-Priced Books. That’s how much they mean to me. Yet, with each following book you’ve written, part of my love for you dies. Your stories aren’t funny anymore. They’re actually either puzzling or quite boring, in fact. And why should I continue to love someone who bores me?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This last book, <span style="font-style: italic;">Juliet, Naked</span>, was the nail in the coffin, I’m afraid. I did finish it, for the most part because it was quick and something to do on the bus, but I was never attached to any of the characters. Not the jerk/creepy music fanatic, not the lonely middle-aged woman, not the washed up, lazy rock star. Nothing stuck with me, and really I didn’t see the point in the story at all. And that lackluster ending? If I had liked the book, it would’ve been a complete disappointment. But then, its lackluster-ness might have just been on par with the rest of the story. If so, you get props for consistency, I suppose. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, Nick, I’ve been disappointed one too many times. I’m going to have to say goodbye. I’m too busy to waste my time on you anymore. I would say: it’s not you, it’s me. But that would be a lie. It’s you.</p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-27221528996651522882010-12-20T12:47:00.004-06:002010-12-20T12:56:52.155-06:00I Got a Kindle. Am I Sellout?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TQ-mVNhC22I/AAAAAAAAA8M/z5iHWlEPJdg/s1600/Kindle-3G.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 143px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TQ-mVNhC22I/AAAAAAAAA8M/z5iHWlEPJdg/s200/Kindle-3G.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552839748906834786" border="0" /></a>For the past month, the hubby has been talking to me about the Kindle. “Don’t you think you’d like one of those?” Books are cheaper, it’s easier to carry, yadda yadda yadda. I always said no. I like my books. I like seeing the covers. I like turning the pages. Mostly, I like the community of sharing books with friends like <a href="http://willikat.blogspot.com/">Willikat</a> and <a href="http://thelittlestreporter.blogspot.com/">CMS</a> and my mom and mother-in-law. Plus, as a devoted reader (and a magazine editor), I want to support the publishing industry as much as I possibly can.<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">[Note: However, when my hubby, the music lover, couldn’t quite get on board with iTunes right away and kept purchasing CDs to show his support, I was on him about all the space they take up (!) and how much easier and cheaper iTunes was. Same argument, different genre. A tad hypocritical?]</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Well, I got a Kindle for my birthday. It was a very generous gift from my MIL; she was super excited to buy it for me, and even though Jon told her I didn’t want one, when she asked a second time, he told her to go for it. I was very surprised by the gift. As we were on the way to our birthday dinner, Jon asked me if I really liked it. I told him I thought it was cool, it’s convenient, the books are cheaper…but it will take me awhile not to feel like a sellout. The publishing industry is <span style="font-style: italic;">my world</span>; am I betraying it by reading books like this? Even my boss, who does everything via iPad, has yet to purchase a real electronic book. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">However, it is very easy to read on. I don’t have books on there yet, but I’ve been reading the user’s manual and the e-paper is pretty cool. Plus, the books are like 50 percent cheaper, which in tough economic times, that means a lot. And, as a friend pointed out, I don’t have to read <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> books this way. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m going to keep it, because it was a lovely gift from someone who cares about me a lot. And I don’t remember the last time I received (or treated myself to) something this extravagant. (I use the free cell phone from our plan and a hand-me-down iPod; I don’t have my own computer.) And it’s not like I won’t use it. I’ll just use it while having an internal struggle and a bit of book-lover's guilt. All the while still reading physical books, too, and sharing those with my friends. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, am I a sellout? I’ll keep you posted on my thoughts on the Kindle.</p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-56319956440532682362010-12-15T10:11:00.000-06:002010-12-15T10:11:00.578-06:00Best Books I Read in 2010Well, 2010 was much slower in the reading department for me, which kind of sucks when you have a book blog that you like to keep up with. But, for three months out of the year I didn’t pick up one book, let alone a magazine. Newborns tend to have that affect on you. I had no idea what was going on in the world. Things still pop up in random conversations and I’m like, “What? When did that happen?” Oh, it happened in April, May or June… That’s why I don’t remember. And then, after you become a parent, things like reading on a snowstormy Saturday goes out the window too. I remember when I read <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2007/12/top-5-books-i-read-in-2007-no1-harry.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Deathly Hallows</span></a> and <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2008/08/breaking-dawn.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Breaking Dawn</span></a> over 24-hour periods the weekends they came out. Yeah, never doing that again, until perhaps age 50. Anyway, when the only time I have to read is on the bus and the occasional lunch hour, it’s slow going. However, each December I’ve compiled a roundup of my favorite books of the year, so here it goes:<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2010/01/help.html">The Help</a>. One of my first books of 2010 and I’m so glad I read it. This book was touching, educational, funny, sad, joyful, vengeful and moving all at once. I fell in love with Skeeter and Aibileen, and I grew more and more embarrassed of our past. I laughed, I cried. Two things that always guarantee I’ll like and remember a book. I’m very interested in the movie, too. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/search/label/Millennium%20Trilogy">Millennium Trilogy</a>. Yep, I was one of the millions who got sucked into Lisbeth Salander’s three-book adventure. While the books could be quite detail-driven and it was easy to get lost in side stories that were overwhelmed with information and Swedish-sounding surnames, there was enough action and female kick-ass-ery in these books to keep me flipping the pages. Plus, being a journalist, I very much enjoyed the evolution of Millennium magazine. They were tough, conscious-driven editors – we don’t have enough of those these days. But, in the end it was all about Lisbeth and she’s definitely a character for the ages.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2010/09/where-men-win-glory-odyssey-of-pat.html">Where Men Win Glory</a>. Once again Krakauer taught me a bunch of things I didn’t know. He did it with <span style="font-style: italic;">Under the Banner of Heaven</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Into Thin Air</span> and once again with this book. I learned so much more about the wars we’re fighting, basic training, friendly fire, the (despicable) marketing of war, and a man who was truly unique. Pat Tillman was a thoughtful, generous, caring person whose life ended much too early. The book made me mad and sad and depressed about our current situation, but it also made me a bit hopeful that perhaps there are more men like Pat Tillman out there. God knows we need them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">So, what were your favorite books you read in 2010?</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Archives:<br /><a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2009/12/end-of-year-post-2009.html">End of the Year, 2009</a><br /><a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20Look%20Back%202008">A Look Back 2008</a><br /><a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/search/label/top%205">Top Books 2007</a><br /></p>A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-24154296196274875872010-12-09T14:19:00.004-06:002010-12-09T14:27:29.806-06:00SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TQE7cMBbSAI/AAAAAAAAA7c/ZWVoLmMM6xU/s1600/47430631.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TQE7cMBbSAI/AAAAAAAAA7c/ZWVoLmMM6xU/s320/47430631.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548781571346745346" border="0" /></a>I just finished <span style="font-style: italic;">SuperFreakonomics</span>. I really enjoyed <span style="font-style: italic;">Freakonomics</span>, the first book, but since I read it so long ago, I couldn’t remember why (a curse of a mega-reader; don’t you hate that?). Superfreak (as I’ll call it for short) reminded me why. I’m not a data head, but these two guys – an author and an economist – present data in the most interesting, most digestible way. And about the most interesting topics. Who knew I could read a chapter on prostitution and leave it thinking, ‘Hmmm, I can see why that profession works for some people. Good hours. Good wages. You’re your own boss.’ Or, as a mother, these two actually got me thinking about the necessity of car seats. CAR SEATS. Yes, they claim (with data!) that after age 2, regular seatbelts work just as well, if not better. Also: An entire chapter on why this whole global warming thing is kind of bunk, or if it’s not bunk, then about how we’re handling it in the completely wrong way. <p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When a book shocks you, makes you think, makes you laugh, makes you shake your head in disbelief, and it’s about real stuff… Well, I loved it. I was dog-earring practically every other page because either what they said was smart, awesome or hilarious and I wanted to go back and read it again. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some interesting tidbits:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+ When families in India got cable TV, suddenly the women stood up for themselves and wouldn’t put up with as much crap from their husbands.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+ The feminist revolution has harshly impacted school children. As more and more women went to college and went into higher paying fields, they stopped becoming teachers. Teachers test scores went down, as did their salaries, which keep more women from becoming teachers. A vicious cycle.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+ Due to police resources being flooded into terrorism-fighting efforts after 9-11, perhaps less were watching Wall Street?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+ In most cases, chemotherapy is ineffective. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars per patient to extend life by as little as two months. Cancer patients make up 20 percent of Medicare cases but use up 40 percent of its drug budget.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+ Iran (I know, we don’t like Iran) pays people if they decide to donate a kidney; and they have no wait list for organs. Demand met. Here, we feel paying for organs (but not sperm or eggs) is immoral yet 50,000 people in the past 20 years have died while on the organ donation list. Does this show that money is a great motivator, more so than “the goodness of our hearts”? Um, yes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+ Global warming scientists with the craziest, yet perhaps most workable, ideas, change their skew more toward what’s considered “acceptable.” If they didn’t, they wouldn’t get funding. That’s why we never hear about some of the crazy, yet cheap and workable, global warming fixes the authors list in this book. If these scientists said what they really wanted to try, they would never get the money to do it.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+ Solar panels, which are black, send 88 percent of their heat back into the atmosphere – contributing to global warming. Shut up.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+ Airplane contrails help prevent warming. When planes were grounded for just 3 days after 9-11, the ground temp increased by 2 degrees. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I don’t think the book is necessarily meant to change minds, but it does get you thinking. There’s no one answer. The popular answer is not always the right one. Things that are bad can sometimes turn out to be good for you. We should really listen to everyone’s ideas because you never know who’s got the next fix, for cheap. Real life scenarios spelled out simply and economically – it’s good.</p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-68413083751299179192010-11-19T07:55:00.005-06:002010-11-19T08:15:42.160-06:00Holy Ghosts: Or How a (Not So) Good Catholic Boy Became a Believer of Things that Go Bump in the Night<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TOaFa0vRwsI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/QFXl6r-MJd8/s1600/74148715.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TOaFa0vRwsI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/QFXl6r-MJd8/s320/74148715.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541263087406006978" border="0" /></a>I've always kind of believed in ghosts. I'd hear stories of people's ghosts and they'd sound believable. My mom once brought home a picture that was taken in a friend's basement and you could clearly see the silver outlining of a man in a hat holding a shovel. Then, about a year ago, the hubby and I started watching <span style="font-style: italic;">Ghost Adventures</span> on the Travel Channel. Three guys travel to some of the most haunted places in the world, get locked in overnight, walk around with night-vision cameras and high-powered digital recorders and catch shadows, lights, voices, noises, etc. If you get us going, we can talk about that show for a long time. The things these guys have experienced - intelligent conversations, scratches on their bodies, objects moving when no one is around - there's no way it could be fake. (If we're watching it before bed, we have to watch something funny afterward for a bit, or I will have ghost dreams.)<br /><br />My husband found this book online, and because of our recent fandom of ghost stories, bought it and read it. He really enjoyed it, so I gave it a go, too. Author Gary Jansen is an editor at Doubleday Religion, a pretty devout Catholic (though he swears like a sailor) and is/was studying to be a deacon. So, here's a man who really believes in his Bible. And then he started feeling very weird in his own house. Electricity running over his body, cool breezes, dark shadows. His kid's toys would make noise by themselves. Weird, weird stuff.<br /><br />As a natural researcher, he read as much as he could about ghosts. He wasn't convinced at first that he had ghosts (wouldn't he be a bad Catholic if he believed in ghosts?), but as he did his reading, he found there were actually more ghost stories in the Bible and religious texts than he realized. And, as more and more weird, creepy things started happening in his house, the more he couldn't deny that something "bigger" was going on than just creaks and groans of an old house and malfunctioning batteries.<br /><br />He calls up the real Ghost Whisperer for some help. Now, while I think I believe in ghosts, I've never been very certain about psychics or ghost whisperers. But, this lady is the real deal. If everything Jansen writes is true, and I believe it is, this woman is amazing at what she does. She helps him, that's all I'll say.<br /><br />I don't want to spoil the story by going into what/who is haunting his house, but it's pretty awesome, and the reasons why and the coincidences that appear - it seems insane, really. The book is quick. I skimmed some parts where he talks a lot about his research. While it's interesting, I just wanted to read about the present-day ghost story happening right in his own house, so I would try to hurry and get to those parts. If you like ghost stories, this is a real-life one that's pretty entertaining.<br /><br />Do you believe in ghosts? Know any good ghost stories?A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-80089041793069619572010-11-12T09:00:00.004-06:002010-11-12T09:24:21.339-06:00Things I Learned About My Dad (in therapy)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TN1bCJQ9QqI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/gJFxEu7tTp4/s1600/27377862.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TN1bCJQ9QqI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/gJFxEu7tTp4/s320/27377862.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538683209140486818" border="0" /></a>I just finished this book of essays, edited by <a href="http://dooce.com/">Dooce</a>'s Heather Armstrong. Books of essays can be hit or miss, but I loved nearly every essay in this book. I either laughed or cried (or both) at each one. Some authors reminisce about their fathers, some author-fathers talk about fatherhood, some author-wives talk about their husbands as fathers. It was very entertaining. (Is it more entertaining if you have a child? Perhaps.)<br /><br />The most humorous essays were those by new fathers. "10 Conclusions from Four Years of Fatherhood" discussed everything from new parents' obsession with poo (so true!) to how your home will be a disaster area for the next several years (unfortunately, so true again, but maybe I should feel better about it knowing I'm not the only parent with a messy home?). I loved how "Sam I Am" compared pregnancy to <span style="font-style: italic;">Lord of the Rings</span>. Wife = Frodo, who has to bear the burden the entire way. Husband = Sam, who is just their for moral support but can't really <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> anything. I loved "The Force is With Us. Always" in which the author described her husband's love for <span style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars</span> and how it took just two years for him to introduce it to their now-obsessed son. Why I liked it? I believe it's my future, which is great because while the kid and dad play "light saber," I get to read a book or take a bath.<br /><br />Of course, the essays that made me cry? The ones about the authors' own dads. I've always had a wonderful relationship with my dad. He was very <span style="font-style: italic;">present</span> in my life. He's proud of me, he loves me and he's not afraid to tell me. So reading about how other people love their dads...well, it pulls at the heart strings a bit, you know?<br /><br />This book is quick and fun. So if fatherhood from any level interests you, or if you just like good writing, I recommend it. A couple fun/true passages:<br /><br />From "Peas and Domestic Tranquility"<br /><blockquote>A couple of years ago, we spent an afternoon at the park with some friends and their three girls. While the girls sat in the sand and shared toys and bonded in a way that was only missing a few glasses of wine or some chocolate ice cream, my sons ran in noisy circles around them, trying to punch each other in the face. "Wow," my friend said. "Is that what boys are like?"<br />"Yeah"<br />"Man. They just...Wow."<br />"If it makes you feel any better for me, your kids are going to mutate into teenage girls at some point, and that will make this little melee look like tea with the Queen. The boys are just going to keep hitting each other. The only thing I have to worry about is fratricide. Your girls are going to run psy-ops campaigns that would make the CIA curl into a fetal ball and cry itself to sleep."</blockquote>From "Not My Problem"<br /><blockquote>I had more questions than answers. Little did I know, that would never change.<br /><br />There is something to be said for the phrase "day by day." Just take it one day at a time, they say. Each day was a new adventure and we were amazed at how excited we were about little changes. Sitting up was a big deal. Crawling gave us personal entertainment. Walking was a milestone and speaking drew us into rapt attention.<br /><br />In time the manual wrote itself. What they never told you is that your child will write the manual, adding a few words every day. As a father, my job was to support the author, edit the work when I could, and hope that the book would be a best seller.</blockquote>A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-2941840842829567712010-11-03T09:16:00.003-05:002010-11-03T09:16:00.717-05:00The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TMrW9a6RgjI/AAAAAAAAA44/p0S12xCEhxw/s1600/33338674.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 278px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TMrW9a6RgjI/AAAAAAAAA44/p0S12xCEhxw/s320/33338674.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533471442862178866" border="0" /></a>My friend <a href="http://thelittlestreporter.blogspot.com/">CMS</a> loaned (Chrissy, is that the correct term?!) me this book because she read it and enjoyed it. <span style="font-style: italic;">Hunt Sisters</span> is told completely through letters from one sister, Olivia, to a bunch of different people in her life: parents, exes, best friend, sister, brother, work folks, etc. Olivia is a newbie producer in Hollywood, trying to get a movie made. Her little sister has just been diagnosed with leukemia. The story follows Olivia over the next year as she helps her sister through her illness and also tries to get her movie made.<br /><br />As always, like with <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2009/10/guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society</span></a>, novels written only in letter form are a bit jarring to begin with, but I always get used to them and things tend to flow. Olivia is a great writer and her letters are full of humorous language. You'd think it would be hard to tell a complete story just from the letters of one person, too, but the author, Elisabeth Robinson, makes it work. Sure, Olivia has to recreate every scene for us within letters, but it doesn't seem weird. I like her honesty (in letters to her family) and her spunk (in letters telling off her movie counterparts).<br /><br />At the end, in an author's note, we learn Robinson was a movie producer in Hollywood for 10 years. And her sister was sick with leukemia. When she finally decided to fulfill her dream of writing a book, she contemplated writing a memoir vs. a novel. But when she realized with a novel she could say and be all those things she couldn't say or be in real life, that pushed her toward novel writing. So, how much is true is left up to our imagination, but I think the book comes across so truthful feeling because so much of it is in fact based in truth.<br /><br />It's nothing groundbreaking, nothing fabulous, but it's a sweet, entertaining story. I found one passage on relapsing cancer that I thought was beautifully written (and could only be written by someone who knows), and I wanted to share it here, just to remember it:<br /><blockquote>Maddie relapsed. I hate to put it that way; it suggests responsibility that she did it, she relapsed, when it's the cancer that did it. There is a continual balancing act between acceptance and defiance, between being the victim and being the attacker. As a fighter, she just lost, which implies weakness, ineptitude, a lack of some crucial smarter strategy, greater strength, and this defeat would have been, should have been, a victory. You can't say, well, this enemy is just too strong for any fighter, because she is the enemy, too; the cancer is a part of her, as much as her will to conquer it is. </blockquote>A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-37113603446076710942010-10-29T07:55:00.005-05:002010-10-29T08:04:16.169-05:00Books to Movies: The Help (yay!) and What to Expect When You're Expecting... (um what?)This week's issue of EW had a first look at <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454029/"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Help</span> movie</a>. (The article's not online, otherwise I'd link to it.) The lovely and sweet Emma Stone as Skeeter? Awesome. Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly? So awesome. Viola Davis as Aibileen? Perfection. I cannot wait for it. I think it'll be fabulous! <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2010/01/help.html">I loved, loved the book.</a><br /><br />Then I saw this on my Twitter stream this morning: <a href="http://www.momlogic.com/2010/10/what_to_expect_when_youre_expecting_the-movie.php">Someone is making What to Expect into a movie</a>? Huh? The post says it'll be sort of like <span style="font-style: italic;">Love Actually</span> (one good thing about Christmas coming soon - my annual viewing of <span style="font-style: italic;">Love Actually</span>...sigh) following five pregnant couples around. Well, OK, maybe that could work, but obviously it's very <span style="font-style: italic;">loosely</span> based on the book then.<br /><br />Any other books-to-movies you're excited for?A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-31367868407971511652010-10-19T14:57:00.003-05:002010-10-19T15:29:52.766-05:00Top 100 Children's NovelsI was at home with a brand-new baby when the <a href="http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/csp/cms/sites/SLJ/Home/index.csp">School Library Journal</a>'s <a href="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2010/04/13/the-top-100-childrens-novels-poll-1-100/">Top 100 Children's Novels</a> list came out in mid-April, so I'm definitely behind the curve on this one. However, I love me some lists, so it was fun to look this one over (filled with the help of multiple entries from J.K. Rowling, Roald Dahl and Judy Blume) and count how many I've read. I also loved <a href="http://whatwereadandwhatwethink.blogspot.com/2010/04/breaking-down-completed-top-100.html">this second-grade teacher's breakdown</a> - with charts and graphs! - of the list. Book-nerdy fun. It's interesting that series books accounted for 61 of the 100 books and that a good percentage were written in the past 20 years or so.<br /><br />Anyway, I've read 30 out of 100 of the children's novels. Which is just OK, I think, but also considering several were written after I was of age to read these types of books (Harry Potter notwithstanding). And several bring back fond memories: anything Ramona; <span style="font-style: italic;">The BFG</span> (which I can't help but think about every time I write my initials ABFG); <span style="font-style: italic;">The Witch of Blackbird Pond</span> (I forgot about that book!); and <span style="font-style: italic;">Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry</span> (reading aloud in sixth grade.)<br /><br />What about you? How many have you read?<br /><br />For more fun, see last year's list of <a href="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2009/05/16/top-100-picture-books-poll-results-1-101/">Top 100 Picture Books</a>. I've also read about 30 of these, and we have a few on the shelf as we speak.<br /><br />[Quick pet peeve note: Why does Blogger insist that "children's" is misspelled? Drives me crazy!]A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-21907089815712075432010-10-13T09:02:00.003-05:002010-10-13T09:09:05.125-05:00Every Last One<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TLW9VPVfqqI/AAAAAAAAA24/2Jky9Yk1OfE/s1600/61302179.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TLW9VPVfqqI/AAAAAAAAA24/2Jky9Yk1OfE/s320/61302179.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527532290258741922" border="0" /></a>I just finished Anna Quindlen’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Every Last One</span>. <a href="http://bookishbent.blogspot.com/2010/09/talking-to-girls-about-duran-duran-one.html">As promised</a>, my next book was by an author I’d never read before. Even though Quindlen’s written plenty of well-known novels, I’ve never picked one up. Somehow I must’ve put <span style="font-style: italic;">Every Last One</span> on my Amazon wish list, so I had it on my shelf to read. <p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I can’t really summarize the book too much without giving everything away. But, the story focuses on Mary Beth and her family of five: her, her husband and three teenage children. The first half of the book builds the family. We learn about Alex’s athleticism, Ruby’s individualism and Max’s loner-ism. From the beginning of the book, Mary Beth looks at her life from afar. She knows she should be thankful for all she has, yet it can also feel like something is missing. Every day is the same – get up, take care of the kids, worry about the kids, kiss the husband, work, make dinner… lather, rinse repeat. Then halfway through the book, tragedy strikes and everything unravels. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I think the book was good. The writing was good and Quindlen can paint a picture and create a cast of characters with the best of them. However, because of the subject matter, the book also haunted me and made me very sad at some points. Now, one could say this obviously means the book was good, since it made me feel so strongly. Which is probably true. But it also made it very hard to read, too.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There’s been conversations on the blogosphere and Twitter (I know both <a href="http://www.shelikespurple.com/shelikespurple/">Jennie</a> and <a href="http://www.onenjen.com/">Jen</a> have mentioned this recently) that one of the things that changes when you become a parent is that it’s nearly impossible and completely heart-wrenching to watch or read anything that has to do with a child struggling, being hurt, dying, etc. It can be as minor as a baby hitting his head to a story about <a href="http://www.startribune.com/local/south/104743924.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUeDyic:E7PNDh_oaE3miUsZ">a cancer patient giving her Make a Wish to someone else</a>…as a parent you just die a little inside. (There’s a trailer for <span style="font-style: italic;">Paranormal Activity 2</span> out right now that shows a baby in a crib…I have to close my eyes.) Maybe that’s why the struggles of this family in the book affected me so much? I guess I won’t ever know since I can’t go back in time and read it 15 months ago, childless. But, it does show me that I’ll have to be a bit more careful picking my books. Again, while I thought the book was good, I’m just not sure the heartbreak I felt is really worth it, you know?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal">What do you think? Do you read books that you know will make you sad? Are there different kinds of sadness that are easier to deal with than others? What books have haunted you?</p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-53217597197360393962010-10-05T02:34:00.001-05:002010-10-05T13:25:21.475-05:00Procrastination Rules My Nation<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/10/11/101011crbo_books_surowiecki?currentPage=all">"Later: What does Procrastination Tell Us About Ourselves?"</a> is an interesting, thorough look at why people procrastinate. Author James Surowiecki provides several examples, several means of thought and several different discussions on the case. As someone who procrastinates with the best of them (or perhaps better than most), I was most definitely interested in the article. As with many <span style="font-style: italic;">New Yorker</span> pieces, the prose was slightly overblown and a little long, but many of the examples Surowiecki offers ring true. For example:<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>A similar phenomenon is at work in an experiment run by a group including the economist George Loewenstein, in which people were asked to pick one movie to watch that night and one to watch at a later date. Not surprisingly, for the movie they wanted to watch immediately, people tended to pick lowbrow comedies and blockbusters, but when asked what movie they wanted to watch later they were more likely to pick serious, important films. The problem, of course, is that when the time comes to watch the serious movie, another frothy one will often seem more appealing. This is why Netflix queues are filled with movies that never get watched: our responsible selves put “Hotel Rwanda” and “The Seventh Seal” in our queue, but when the time comes we end up in front of a rerun of “The Hangover.”</blockquote><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hence, the reason why (besides having a baby) <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hurt Locker</span> has been sitting next to our TV since March, and movies such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Couples Retreat</span> have been watched and returned.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Another example:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>We often procrastinate not by doing fun tasks but by doing jobs whose only allure is that they aren’t what we should be doing. My apartment, for instance, has rarely looked tidier than it does at the moment.</blockquote><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So true. It’s only the home tasks, like laundry, grocery shopping and dishes, that get done when they need to – because we have to eat and wear clothes to live day to day, but we don’t have to have dusted tables or clean bathrooms<span style=""> </span>- and even then, I only do these at the absolute last moment. Or, why when I have a pending freelance assignment, I can surf the Internet for longer than I believe one should surf the Internet. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Surowiecki wonders if procrastination is a sign of weakness. While in some cases it could be, I also think it’s just the way some people’s minds work, especially if we don’t have deadlines to work with. The author provides an example of college students, who are given the choice to turn three papers in at staggered deadlines or all at once at the end of the semester. Smartly, the students pick the staggered deadlines, knowing enough about themselves that if they didn’t, they would all be writing three papers during the last week of the semester. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Procrastination also depends on what type of task we’re working on. Writes the author,<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>That’s why David Allen, the author of the best-selling time-management book “Getting Things Done,” lays great emphasis on classification and definition: the vaguer the task, or the more abstract the thinking it requires, the less likely you are to finish it. </blockquote>This can go right along with the idea of having too many choices in life, which we do. He writes,<br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>Another way of making procrastination less likely is to reduce the amount of choice we have: often when people are afraid of making the wrong choice they end up doing nothing. So companies might be better off offering their employees fewer investment choices in their 401(k) plans, and making signing up for the plan the default option. </blockquote>How many times have you let an opportunity go by because you just couldn’t decide what action to take? It happens all. the. time. <p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the end, I’d say I’m a middle-of-the-road procrastinator. When something’s due far out, I’ll put it off and put it off, even if I could get it done in 30 minutes and cross it off the list today. But, I also think I need those deadlines - and produce some pretty good work, when I have the pressure of looming deadlines. I also have the strong mentality that things will just work out, which is why, even though I was panicking a bit when I was still searching for daycare after our baby was born, I wasn't too panicked. Everything, for 30 years, has just always worked out, or gotten done, and that did, too.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Why do you think people procrastinate? Is it just human nature?</p><p class="MsoNormal">[<span style="font-weight: bold;">Edited to add:</span> <a href="http://willikat.blogspot.com/">Willikat</a> brought to my attention the term <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/02/16/o.procrastinator.or.incubator/index.html?hpt=Mid">incubator</a>, which may be a better word to describe some of us who consider ourselves procrastinators.]<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-2933377542211870592010-09-30T09:06:00.003-05:002010-09-30T09:13:32.022-05:00Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TKSZuT19TmI/AAAAAAAAAzY/Bfak_Q6sQMk/s1600/55276322.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KWSnXv4nMtc/TKSZuT19TmI/AAAAAAAAAzY/Bfak_Q6sQMk/s320/55276322.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522708063942692450" border="0" /></a>Since I love most everything by John Krakauer, I knew I wanted to read <span style="font-style: italic;">Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman</span>. It’s been on my Amazon wish list awhile, and when I finally got it, it was already out in paperback. Turns out this was great because a few things happened since the book was first published in early 2009 and Krakauer was able to add some snippets in and fill out the story even more.<br /><br />After just the first five pages I was already sad and depressed. War really sucks. However, I tend to live in my own little world and go about my day, so I felt a bit out of the loop when it came to some of the aspects of the war(s). Krakauer alternates telling us about Pat Tillman with telling us about Afghan history and the war. It would’ve been easy to just think of Tillman as your typical football jock, a rough-and-tough meathead. But Tillman was the opposite. Sure, he was strong and fast and could tackle like any other NFL defensive player, but he also read the classics, wrote in a journal, cried when he was overwhelmed and hiked alone so he could think. For him, football wasn’t about the money (i.e. he turned down a $9 million deal from the Rams and continued to play for Arizona for $500,000), it was about the challenge. He didn’t enlist after 9-11 just to go “shoot ‘em up.” He believed it was his duty. And then when he got to boot camp and was surrounded by a bunch of immature babies, he questioned his decision. When he felt the war in Iraq was illegal (he enlisted to fight in Afghanistan, not Iraq), he thought about quitting. And if he wasn’t so strong willed and committed, maybe he would’ve quit. But he made a deal, and he wasn’t going to break it. He was honorable. His journal entries were amazing and really let you see inside the man he was. He was a true hero, and it’s insulting and criminal the way the Army and the government disgraced him and his family.<br /><br />I know politics is all about the spin. And I fully learned through <span style="font-style: italic;">Where Men Win Glory</span> just how much spin there is. I work in the media, so I understand, too, what it means to market something. And, sure, it makes sense that a government may have to market a war. I just didn’t realize to what extent the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were marketed. They actually have their own marketing departments; people paid to spin the bad news into good, or if there is no good, do their best to cover up the bad. To use the “rescue” of Jessica Lynch as a means to cover up the fact that the first dozen or so deaths of the war were actually deaths by friendly fire? That takes some serious spin. To burn the uniform of Pat Tillman and force his comrades to lie to the Tillman family (and so many other bad, bad things) as a means to cover up his death by friendly fire? To make his mom fight the government for three years just to get the truth? I have no words; it’s just so sad.<br /><br />And this whole friendly fire thing? I had no idea how common it was. I knew it happened, but I had this weird notion that it only happened in some confusing ground battle, where amongst all the ruckus, it’s hard to see who’s the enemy and who isn’t. Well, we don't really fight wars like that anymore, do we? It seems friendly fire really happens because these kids are inexperienced, have never shot weapons before, aren’t trained to use radios properly and everything just becomes a big hot mess. All the kids get on the radio at the same time, jam the frequencies and the necessary messages aren’t relayed, so our jets never learn that those tanks they’re dropping bombs on are actually American soldiers. Are you kidding me? Or, the mixed messages from the top commanders - who aren't on the ground themselves - are forced upon lieutenants who, while they disagree, must follow orders and people end up getting hurt. I understand there will be casualties of war, and I understand mistakes will happen and people will die, but after reading this book, I wonder if we’re even learning from our mistakes? Things don’t seem to be getting better.<br /><br />The book was eye opening and informative. I learned a lot about the war that I think I either glazed over previously or just didn’t know about. Or, I heard the first spinned account of some story (Jessica Lynch) and then when the truth came out, I never heard the less-publicized follow up. And while the war part of the book was most definitely interesting to read, I truly loved learning about Pat Tillman and his strong and charming family. His strength, his truth, his beliefs were heart warming and inspirational and I’m glad I got to know more about him.A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884140371100852305.post-89210477414209512142010-09-28T07:56:00.002-05:002010-09-28T07:59:47.209-05:00Freakonomics: The movieI loved Freakonomics, the book. Even though the authors were sometimes talking about complicated functions and pieces of cultural life, the everyday language and great humor made the book come off really well. It's one of those books you read where you just want to tell everyone you see about what you just read. Things that people think are related are not. It's pretty cool. I have the sequel on my shelf ready to read.<br /><br />When I heard they were making a movie out of the book, I wasn't sure how it would come across. But the movie has some pretty important and talented people behind it. Looks good!<br /><br /><div><object width="400" height="250"><param name="movie" value="http://d.yimg.com/nl/movies/site/player.swf"></param><param name="flashVars" value="vid=21483122&"></param><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed width="400" height="250" allowFullScreen="true" src="http://d.yimg.com/nl/movies/site/player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="vid=21483122&"></embed></object></div>A.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17918415034987411623noreply@blogger.com2