Tag Archives: books

Grover G. Graham and Me by Mary Quattlebaum

Posted by melydia on December 9, 2011 None comments

Grover G. Graham and Me by Mary Quattlebaum: Ben Watson is just arriving at his eighth foster home, which is his first experience with foster siblings. He unexpectedly bonds with one-year-old Grover G. Graham, to the point where he resents Grover’s teen mother. This is more or less a slice-of-life story. It was pretty predictable, following the traditional plot arc, and honestly I probably wouldn’t have even finished it were it not so short. However, Quattlebaum’s books for younger readers are mostly awesome, particularly Pirate vs. Pirate. So check that out instead.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick

Posted by melydia on December 6, 2011 None comments

The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick: I spent most of this book having absolutely no idea what was going on, but in kind of a good way. Boy lives in an unspecified city in Victorian Europe as the servant/companion of grumpy magician Valerian. When the owner of the theater where Valerian performs turns up dead, Boy and Willow (the servant of a singer at that same theater) are the prime suspects. In addition, Valerian is scrambling to find a certain book within the next few days or else face certain doom. I loved the strange semi-magical qualities of this realm, and I was glad that the last page labeled it as Book One because there are all kinds of loose ends left dangling. I would read the next book in the series were I to happen upon it, but I won’t be actively seeking it out. Interesting universe, just not one I’m dying to get back to.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Posted by melydia on December 2, 2011 None comments

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen: Hannah opens the apartment door to symbolically let in Elijah during a particularly boring Passover celebration with her family and suddenly finds herself in 1940s Poland just as all the Jews in the village are being rounded up to be taken to a concentration camp. I’ve read about the Holocaust on a number of occasions, but every new account reveals new horrors. Though this particular story is fiction, a lot of the details were straight from survivors. For a young adult novel, this is a pretty detailed description of life in the camps without being excessively graphic, and as expected, it’s something that will stay with me for a very long time.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Trackers by Deon Meyer

Posted by melydia on November 29, 2011 None comments

Trackers by Deon Meyer (unabridged audiobook read by Simon Vance, translated by K.L. Seegers; 16 hours on 14 CDs): Recently divorced housewife Milla gets a job writing reports for the South African government. She doesn’t know what she’s writing for; she’s given a subject to research and some additional intelligence and compiles it into a coherent story. When she meets one of the subjects of her reports and falls in love, things get really complicated. Lemmer is a paroled bodyguard who is asked to watch over the transport of a couple of endangered black rhinos. Mat is an ex-police private detective searching for a woman’s husband who suddenly went missing several months before. Yenina is a high-ranking government official attempting to intercept a mysterious shipment planned by some religious extremists. What do these all have to do with each other? Honestly, even after finishing the book, I’m not entirely certain. Milla’s story had me cheering her on despite the somewhat morally ambiguous circumstances surrounding her. Lemmer was amusing but his story felt unfinished; however, I understand this was not the first Lemmer book and probably not the last, so I can live with that. I was pretty lost for the entire detective story, and the epilogue really didn’t illuminate much for me. I was fascinated to learn more about South African history and culture, and as I said, Milla’s story was very good. It just felt more like separate stories set in the same universe rather than one coherent novel. Perhaps something was lost in translation.

A note on the audio: I’ve enjoyed Vance’s narration of several other books, and this was no exception. However, it did cause me to discover something: you know how in the Matrix movies, Agent Smith (played by Hugo Weaving) talks kind of … strangely? Turns out that’s Weaving’s attempt at an American accent. I only know this because Vance is British as the day is long, and all his American characters talk like Agent Smith. It’s rather unintentionally hilarious, but luckily did not detract from my enjoyment of the story. I guess not all British people can be Hugh Laurie. :)

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Last Cowgirl by Jana Richman

Posted by melydia on November 25, 2011 None comments

The Last Cowgirl by Jana Richman: Dickie Sinfield grew up an unwilling ranch hand when her father suddenly sold their suburban home and purchased a piece of land out in the wilds of Utah. Though her sister doesn’t take to the life and her brother seems born to it, Dickie is an unhappy in between, pleased with the work and the land but having convinced herself from an early age that she hates it. This sort of cognitive dissonance is a theme throughout the novel, from Dickie’s cowgirl roots to Utahns’ attitude toward the testing and disposal of deadly chemical weapons in their backyards. When Dickie’s brother dies suddenly, she is forced to face the past she has been avoiding for thirty years. This is not the sort of book I normally would pick up – I don’t really have much interest in westerns, or coming-of-age stories, or tales of redemption. (Or Mormonism, though that was more backdrop than main theme.) I only read this one because I found it by chance while traveling (thank you, BookCrossing!), and you know what? I enjoyed it. I loved the scenery and the quiet intensity of the characters, especially Merv, though Bev was definitely my favorite. A nice change of pace for me.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life by Douglas T. Kenrick

Posted by melydia on November 22, 2011 None comments

Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life by Douglas T. Kenrick (unabridged audiobook read by Fred Stella; 7.5 hours on 6 CDs): I suspect most people’s objections to psychological research that demonstrates a trend toward our more base instincts (e.g., it’s all about mating!) is rooted in a basic misunderstanding of how said research is conducted. It’s a series of surveys and other tests administered to a semi-random group of volunteers. The findings imply general tendencies – none of which are all that surprising, by the way – but that does not mean we are mindless automatons at the mercies of our impulses. Obviously. For example, women tend to notice and remember powerful men regardless of looks while men are more drawn toward beautiful women regardless of status. Does this mean I judge every male I come across by his earning potential? Of course not. But it’s not a shocking notion that we may subconsciously be more aware of those more ideally suited to pass along our genes. And that’s most of what this book is about: our view of the world through the eyes of our evolutionary makeup, most of which has to do with creating viable offspring. I do wish homosexuality had been mentioned earlier and delved into more deeply, but if you’re only curious in heterosexual reactions, this could be quite interesting. Alas, there was very little I hadn’t heard before, and nothing I could not have suspected on my own, but this might serve as an interesting book to one new to the field of evolutionary psychology.

A note on the audio: Kenrick mentions early on that he has a New York accent, so Stella is a good choice. As an added bonus, his friendly, conversational tone makes what could in less competent hands (throats?) be somewhat dry material fun, quirky, and personal.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Posted by melydia on November 18, 2011 None comments

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis: Wow. And I mean that in a good way: I am completely awestruck by this novel. Kivrin is an undergraduate historian who wants to visit the Middle Ages. Mr. Dunworthy is a professor in the 20th Century History department who is trying to convince her not to go, since the Medieval History department has never sent anyone back in time and the Middle Ages were totally dangerous. She goes anyway, but while the tech is getting the fix to make sure she ended up in the correct place, he falls ill with a mysterious and possibly deadly virus. Oxford goes under quarantine as Dunworthy scrambles to figure out when and where Kivrin is. Meanwhile, Kivrin has her own set of problems in the 14th century, where she also has fallen ill and no longer knows where the rendezvous location is for when she is to be picked up two weeks later. On top of all this there are the blustery bureaucrat Gilchrist, the obnoxiously overbearing Mrs. Gaddson, the endearingly enthusiastic Colin, and a whole host of other wonderful and memorable characters. This book is nearly 600 pages but not once did it feel long. I was completely absorbed. If you like thrillers and are at all interested in the Middle Ages (and have a strong stomach, for many of the various symptoms and remedies are described in horrifying detail), definitely check this one out. It’s simply marvelous.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

Posted by melydia on November 15, 2011 1 comments

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks: This is quite possibly the most amazing collection of true stories I’ve ever read. I’d encountered Sacks’s work in the past only through the movie Awakenings (which I didn’t even know was him, given that the doctor in the film is named Malcolm Sayers), but that was merely the tip of the iceberg. Herein is described a man whose memory failed him, where he perpetually believes it to be some forty years ago, and cannot remember anything that’s happened since for more than a minute or two at a time. A woman who has trouble hearing people over the deafening Irish music playing in her head. A man whose visual understanding of the world is so diminished that he literally cannot identify a rose until he smells it, though he can describe its shape and colors to the smallest detail. And on and on. The mind is an amazing machine, and this book of various ways it can misfire is not at all depressing, as one might expect. Indeed, it’s actually full of hope, a reminder of how ingeniously mankind can adapt to even the most unusual and strenuous of circumstances.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Posted by melydia on November 8, 2011 None comments

Extras by Scott Westerfeld (unabridged audiobook read by Corine Montbertrand; 11 hrs 45 min on 10 CDs): I almost didn’t read this book at all. I was so upset at the end of Specials that I figured I might as well just give up on the series, since Extras was supposed to be just sort of an additional story rather than a continuation. But a friend of mine convinced me to give it a try and I am so glad I did. While the first three Uglies books took place somewhere on the west coast of what used to be the United States, for this book we have been transported to Japan. It’s been a few years since Tally’s adventures and the Mind Rain (the removal of the lesions causing people to be Pretty-heads) has caused the world to go a little bit crazy. In Japan, Aya lives in a world of face rank – measures to fame compared to the other people in her city. They live in a reputation economy, where relative fame means more credit to purchase items. Aya is a kicker – what we’d call a vlogger – and in order to become famous she goes undercover with a secret clique of fame-shunning maglev-surfing girls. When she unwittingly stumbles upon the biggest story in the world, she attracts a whole lot of unwanted attention.

This isn’t just another story taking place in the same universe as the rest of the series: it actually is connected. Loose ends are tied up and I felt extremely satisfied by the end – and getting there was a hell of a lot of fun as well. Radical Honesty – the physical inability to lie or even hold back the truth – was an interesting plot device that ended up being more funny than contrived. I loved all the new characters and while I guessed at the truth behind the mystery pretty early on, I still enjoyed watching them figure it out. And, of course, the appearance of some of my beloved characters from the previous books was much appreciated. Definitely a worthy finale to the series.

A note on the audio: Despite my dislike of Monterbrand’s stoned-sounding male character voices, I was impressed at how well I was able to distinguish between each of them here. Hiro was especially entertaining.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Posted by melydia on November 4, 2011 None comments

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (unabridged audiobook read by Jim Colby; 5 hrs 34 min on MP3): The story is difficult to describe: basically two men start a club based on emotional release through fisticuffs. Sort of. I saw the movie about a decade ago and recalled liking it, so when a copy of the audiobook fell in my lap (so to speak) I figured I might as well give it a try. Wow, is this one seriously frightening book. Not in a traditional way, where the narrator is being chased by some scary bad guy, but because the narrator is both utterly disturbing and terrifyingly believable. I mean, are those recipes for explosives real? I think this is what bothered me the most: I really felt like I was getting to know Tyler Durden on a personal level, and I didn’t want to. But I‘m glad to have read this. Now I want to see the film again and look for what I missed. There’s a fair amount of absurd and dark humor tucked in among the repetitive statements. I wouldn’t recommend this is you are put off by foul language, violence, or sheer insanity, but if you can accept it for what it is, this is one novel sure to stick with you for a long time.

A note on the audio: The repetition in this book is perhaps a bit more maddening on audio than it would be in print form, but hearing it also made it feel more real.

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