Review: Animal Wise by Virginia Morell

Animal Wise by Virginia Morell

Non-Fiction (2013)

How and what animals think is a topic I thought I'd be interested in.   Initially comparing it to my favorite book about animal emotions, When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, I struggled with the scientific aspect of Animal Wise. Despite it's subtitle, "The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures," in the book Morell states that although cognition and emotion operate on the same pathway of the brain, less is known about emotion because researchers have not discovered how to study it. And it is because of this proclaimed inability to study animal emotions that critics of Masson's book regard him as guilty of anthropomorphizing.  I myself am guilty of such, which is probably why I enjoyed his book as much as I did.  That said, Animal Wise is a well researched, well-documented book based on actual animal experiments.

Several animals are highlighted in the book:  Dolphins, Ants, Chimpanzees, Rats, Fish, Birds, and Parrots specifically, Elephants, Dogs and Wolves. My favorite chapters were on ants - it's incredible how much they "communicate" and work together - and rats, which I despise, but found interesting that they love to be tickled! And I love everything about elephants, another chapter favorite. Morell may have stated why the animals highlighted were chosen; if so, I don't remember.

Putting aside my initial disappointment that this book was less about animal emotions and more about cognition, I was finally able to enjoy it. It's wonderful to learn how deeply invested scientists and biologists are in understanding the animal world. As this book proves, animals know a lot more than we think they do.

I recommend this book if you have a serious love for animals. It will strengthen your love and broaden your knowledge.

Rating:  4/5

Thank you to Crown Publishing for this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not otherwise compensated.

Review: Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Court Cases, and Finding Redemption

Author:  Shon Hopwood (with Dennis Burke)

Genre:  Memoir (2012)

About:  Shon Hopwood was a good kid from a loving family. He played high school basketball, had friends and attended church.  After serving in the Navy and bored at home with no job prospects or money, Shon enlisted the help of his friend to rob a bank. The thrill of the first robbery led to more. Four more, as a matter of fact. At age 23 he was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. While there, Shon worked in the prison law library and learned of his knack for learning the laws (not just breaking them!). He soon received respect - and requests for legal help - from his fellow inmates.  

Thoughts:  I enjoyed this.  My only annoyance was in Shon's discounting the seriousness of the robberies he committed.  He may as well have been recounting a trip to Disneyland.  Otherwise, his story is  positive and uplifting, and I can't help but think that his life circumstances - of robbing banks, serving time, working in the prison law library, becoming interested in law, having the right people placed in his path to continue law after prison, AND falling in love with a woman who stuck by his side through it all  - were orchestrated by God. Although he does mention a religious aspect to turning his life around, it's not a main focus of the book. One more thing...the pictures. I always love pictures to help me relate to the story and there were lots! 

Rating:  4/5 

*Thank you to Crown Publishing/Random House for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Through These Veins

Author: Anne Marie Ruff

Genre: Fiction (2011)

Descriptive Words: Drama, death, love, AIDS, cure, scientist, Ethiopia

About:An Italian scientist discovers an Ethiopian medicine man dispensing an apparent cure for AIDS. The medicine man's daughter reveals the plants behind the cure. Their lives along with U.S. government funded AIDS research and the pharmaceutical industry,become entwined.

Rating and Thoughts:Although the blurb referring to research, pharmaceutical companies, and scientific trials isn't one I would normally be drawn to, the reference to Ethiopia, as well as the people involved intrigued me. I never had the "I can't wait to pick up the book again to find out what happens" feeling - which for me earns a book a 5-star rating - but once I did pick it up, the story completely held my interest. The writing was well done, and I especially appreciated the author's thorough research, as well as the glossary of Ethiopian terms at the end of the book. Overall I enjoyed it.

4/5

* Other than the free book given to me by the publicist, I was neither compensated nor swayed in any way for my review

Review: The Source of All Things

Author:   Tracy Ross

Genre:  Memoir (2011)

About:  The author was molested by her stepfather from ages eight to 14, at which time she ran away from home and confided in a family friend about the years of abuse. The police were called and she was removed from her home. Her stepfather, because he admitted to everything, received only 8 weeks of court-appointed group therapy and 10 months of abstinence from Tracy. She was later sent to boarding school and eventually returned home to live with her mother and stepfather.  


Unbelievable. Her family refused to believe or accept that the husband/stepfather was capable of such a horrific act, and if a small part of them did believe it happened, they just wanted to sweep it under the rug and move on.  Her mom constantly pushed Tracy into uncomfortable situations with her stepdad despite all he did to her! I didn't understand their behavior at all. I even felt that Tracy herself at times downplayed the atrocity of what he did.

In addition to the details of the abuse (touching and fondling only), much of the book focused on her relationships, including a failed marriage, and how the abuse affected them.

Rating:  4/5   I wanted to give this fewer stars because of the content, i.e. the stepdad's crime, as well as the dysfunctional behavior of everyone involved, but it is what it is and I can't judge the book based on what happened.  I enjoyed the writing, even though it was difficult to read. The jobs she had as a young adult and the adventures she experienced were fascinating.  She had an interesting life after she moved out of her house.  But how in the world she forgave her creepy, pedophiliac (that's not a word, but...) stepfather for what he did is beyond me. She even thanks him at the end of the book for "having the grace to let me tell this story."

Source: Library

Why I chose:  I read about this - along with the book Tiger, Tiger, another child abuse memoir I'm now reading - in Oprah or People.

Recommend?   You decide. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

Review: Operating Room Confidential: What Really Goes on When You Go Under

Author: Paul Whang, MD
Genre: Non-Fiction/Medical (2010)
About: The inside scoop of the operating room and hospital.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Written by an anesthetist, the book covers absolutely everything you wanted to know about what goes on in the operating room and during specific operations. There's also a chapter called "Outside the O.R." where he writes about the autopsy room, the morgue, pathology, the cafeteria and administration. There is an entire chapter on anesthesia, which was very interesting. Did you know the chances of having post-operative nausea increase more with these surgeries: plastic, eye, shoulder, gynecological and dental? And that you have a higher risk of nausea and vomiting if you're female, have experienced previous nausea and vomiting after surgery, are having a surgery lasting longer than 30 minutes, are a non-smoker, and have a history of motion sickness? I'm in the 'all of the above' category, unfortunately.

One of my favorite chapters, called Off-Label Truths About Doctors, noted the characteristics of specific medical professions. For example, urologists are a content and happy group with the lowest divorce rate of the specialties, are open minded and like to travel. Psychiatrists are thoughtful, over-analyze faults in their own lives, and have the highest divorce rate. Orthopedic surgeons have the most sex per week. General surgeons are close-minded and judgmental.

Oh yeah, and you can find out all the scoop about sex in the operating room, what doctors talk about while operating, people who wake up during an operation, pain, missing sponges, reactions to anesthesia.  It's all there.

Source:  Library

Why I Chose:  I love medical-related books.

Recommend?  Yes, especially if you are a medical junkie or will be having surgery and want to be informed.

Rating:  4/5

Review: Strangers at the Feast

Author: Jennifer Vanderbes
Also Wrote: Easter Island

Genre: Fiction

About:  Three generations of the Olson family gather on Thanksgiving in 2007. Hosting the dinner is single daughter Ginny, who will be introducing her newly adopted daughter from India. The chain of doom is set in motion when Ginny’s oven fails and they decide to move the gathering to her brother Douglas' house.  At the same time, 17-year-old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider set out from a housing project intent on carrying out a job. Their two worlds collide in a string of tragic events.

Descriptive Words: Dysfunction, tragedy, coincidence, misfortune, death

Overall:  Enjoyed

Liked 

• how well formed and slowly each character was introduced.
• how dysfunctional - bordering on unlikeable - each family member was - and just like watching MTVs Real World, I couldn't tear myself away. 
• how the story went back and forth between past and present and from character to character but in an organized, easy-to-keep-track way.
• that I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to find out about the impending "tragic events" that were mentioned but not disclosed until the very end.

Didn't Like

• the vague ending, and I'm not sure if it's the ending itself I didn't like or that the story was over! I don't like when books end and I think, That's it? It's over? Just like that? I like when I close the book and think, Oh, that was soooo good!  I've been critical of the last few book endings I've read.

Source: Library

Why I Chose: I was intrigued by the storyline and synopsis of "tragic events."

Recommend? Yes

Rating: 4/5

Review: Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo

Author: Vanessa Woods

Genre: Memoir (2010)

About: The author's life while working with bonobos in the Congo.

Did You Know... that bonobos are an extremely endangered ape that share 98.7 percent of our DNA? ...that chimpanzees live in male-dominated societies and resolve conflict with violence and war, and bonobos live in female-dominated societies and resolve conflict with sex? ...that bonobos live only in the Congo?

Overall:  Enjoyed

Liked... reading about the author's bond with the bonobos. Many of them died after she'd become emotionally attached; I can't imagine how that must have felt, especially because they were so human-like. I also liked reading about how she met her husband while doing bonobos research and some of the difficulties they had as a couple, as well as dealing with war and disease.

Didn't Like...the war and politics in the book. I was bored and skipped over a lot of it. Also, because bonobos are extremely sexual creatures, the talk about clitorises and penises and orgasms and rubbing was a little overboard. I know, it is what it is. They're animals. What are ya gonna do.

Source: Library

Why I Chose: I've seen this book around the blogosphere and I love animals. Easy choice.

Recommend? Yes, if you would be interested in reading about bonobos and how much they love sex. Just kidding. It really is fascinating how they resolve conflict with sex and what a peaceful, loving species they are.

Rating: 4/5

I plan on reading Sara Gruen's Ape House, now that I'm on a primate roll.

Review: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Author: Aimee Bender

Genre: Fiction (2010)

About: A young girl, Rose, can taste the feelings in the food of the people who make it.

Descriptive Words: Family dysfunction, bizarre abilities, emotions, coming of age, acceptance

Thoughts: I enjoyed the writing more than the story. The author writes in a sing-songy, rhythmic and easy to read way. The story was strange. Just when I accepted that people's feelings could be tasted (huh?!), the author added another character with an unusual ability, the girl's brother, but I liked in the end how that all came together. Although the tone of the characters was drab and boring and their quirky personalities irked me halfway through, each was distinct and well formed. One comment I related to and laughed at was when Rose said her brother Joe wished there was a Breakfast pill, a Lunch pill, and a Dinner pill. I thought that was funny, and it pretty much sums up my relationship with food.

Overall, I'm glad I read it, but if you don't get to it because of your overflowing stacks, it's not the end of the world.

Source: Library

Why I Chose: I wanted to know what the buzz was about.

Recommend? Yes. Although it's the same kind of bizarre as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and The Unnamed - neither of which my brain could wrap around - the literary aspect was brilliant.

Rating: 4/5

Other Reviews:

Book Nut
Bibliophile By the Sea
S Krishna's Books
Booking Mama

Review: Beneath the Lion's Gaze

Author: Maaza Mengiste

Genre: Historical Fiction (2010)

About: A family's struggle during the Ethiopian revolution in 1974

Descriptive Words: Pursuit of freedom, family, torture, uprising, violence

Thoughts: How are those for some uplifting descriptive words? How about the first sentence of the book... "A thin blue vein pulsed in the collecting pool of blood where a bullet had lodged deep in the boy's back."

I like books that start with sentences that grab me and don't let go until the end. Unfortunately, the first sentence grabbed me, but not very firmly and for only a few pages. After that it was me doing the hanging on! For 150 pages I clung desperately and almost gave up, but thankfully the story came together in the second half and made my clinging worthwhile. :)

I'm still reading Cutting for Stone on my iPad (it's a long one) - which also is set in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) during the revolution - and it's much more interesting than this book. There's nothing wrong with the prose in this one, but with names like Shiferaw, Emana, Almaz, Melaku, Hailu, Abbaye, it was hard to keep track of who was who, and to put personalities with names. Eventually I figured it out, but I don't like having to work so hard to figure out the characters and would rather focus on the storyline.

Overall, even though it was intense, depressing at times, and way too slow in the beginning, I'm glad I read it. I love to learn about different cultures.

Source: Library

Why I Chose: I'm reading Cutting for Stone and was curious to read another book about the Ethiopian revolution. I'd also seen it mentioned on a few other blogs.

Recommend? Yes, if you like historical fiction.

Rating: 4/5 (although the beginning was a 2/5)

Other Reviews:

My Friend Amy
Fizzy Thoughts
By Book or By Crook

Review: Who Killed My Daughter?

Author: Lois Duncan

Genre: True Crime (1992)

About: The author's search for her 18-year-old daughter's murderer.

Descriptive Words: Hit man or random shooting?, Vietnamese boyfriend, car accident/insurance scam, drug dealing, psychic, unsolved.

Thoughts: At first I thought the author was kooky when she began hiring psychics to solve her daughter's murder because the police were of no help. But after several psychics "saw" the same images, and because of my own frustration towards the police and my sympathy for the mother, I realized that she had to become her own detective. I probably would have hired psychics too! I enjoyed the story. It's hard to believe her killer is still on the loose.

Source: Bought at book sale (Yay, I finally got a book off my tbr shelf!)

Why I Chose: I love True Crime and hadn't read any lately.

Recommend? Yes

Rating: 4/5

Review: Where's My Wand: One Boy's Magical Triumph over Alienation and Shag Carpeting

by Eric Poole
Memoir (May 27, 2010)

My Synopsis

Hilarious memoir about the author's life growing up with a mom who was an obsessive clean-freak, a dad who gladly let her wear the pants, and the author's desire to wear her dress. Or something like that.

My Thoughts

I saw this book highlighted in People magazine and then read The Girl from the Ghetto's review , and I had to get it. Since I've been reading so many depressing memoirs lately, I was ready for some humor. So ready, in fact, that I spent full price on it at Borders. $24.95 plus tax. (Why is it that when I have a coupon I don't want a book, and when I want a book I don't have a coupon?)

Murphy's Law - which also applies to the above coupon dilemma - says that if I buy a book at full price I usually end up hating it. But this one was good. Some people may find the one liners a bit much, but it was just what I needed.

Eric Poole is from St. Louis, and I had fun reading about his high school, his hometown (Florissant), the street he lived on, and the local hospital where my son was born. It felt homey :) But besides that, the stories he told were hilarious. My favorite story was when he and his sister went camping with their aunt and found out they had to poop where the bears poop. Poole also makes fun of his gay-ness, his mom's OCD-fueled rants to keep the shag carpet raked at all times, and his unpopularity in school. Really, you can't help but laugh.

He has been mentioned along the likes of David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs. I agree with the Augusten Burroughs comparison; Sedaris I have not yet read (I know, I know...accepting title recommendations in comments).

Do I Recommend?

Yes

Source

I bought my copy from Borders.

My Rating

4/5 (I enjoyed it)

Other reviews

The Girl from the Ghetto

Beth Fish Reads - Not a review but she highlights it here

Review: Spoken from the Heart (Laura Bush)

by Laura Bush
Memoir (May 2010)

My Synopsis

Former First Lady Laura Bush writes about her life - as a child, a teenager, and wife of a President.

My Thoughts

I saw Laura Bush speak a few weeks ago in St. Louis. Her sweet Southern accent and easy-going demeanor made her likeable. She took questions from the audience and was down to earth. When someone asked what she was reading, she said she just finished "My Name is Mary Sutter" and loved it. (She needs to become a book blogger and be our friend. She would fit right in.)

I started the book a few days later, and because I had just heard her speak, her Southern accent was fresh in my mind and I felt like she was reading to me.

I was surprised at how much she talked in her book about books and reading. That was probably my favorite part. She mentioned Stephen Ambrose, Mary Higgins Clark, Carol Higgins Clark, Alexander McCall Smith and the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, and many others. She definitely knows her authors. And you know that she was a librarian, right? What I didn't know was that she initiated and helped organize the National Book Festival, which debuted in Washington, DC, on September 8, 2001.

Sadly, three days later, the world changed forever. She talks about what she was doing at the time of the terrorist attacks and what happened in the days and weeks after. A couple of times she and staff members had to go to the underground shelter of the White House due to terrorist false alarms.

I loved all the inside scoop. For instance, before a state dinner at Buckingham Palace (I think that's where it was), someone told her that for fun she should peek into the dining room to see what goes on in preparation for such a dinner. She did, and there walking on TOP of the enormous table were numerous staff in clean white socks, setting the table and using measuring tapes to measure the distance between each place setting. Isn't that crazy?

And I love what she says here in defense of her husband: I wondered if Barack Obama, who spent far more time attacking George than he did his opponent, John McCain, would want to amend his words once he discovered the reality of the White House and was himself confronted by the challenges and crises that hit a president every day, all day. It's so true. It's like I told my brother, who doesn't have kids and who used to give me advice on how to parent my son - it's easy to parent when you don't have kids! He agreed. And he backed off. lol

Besides books and reading and her time in the White House, former First Lady Bush discusses her passion for advocating for women's rights and women's health in Afghanistan and the Middle East, with which she still is involved.

Do I Recommend?

Yes

Source

I bought my signed copy at the author event.

My Rating

4/5

Review: Alex and Me

By Irene Pepperberg
Memoir

My Synopsis

Alex is an African Grey parrot bought by the author for research, and becomes an unexpected, beloved friend.

My Thoughts

The book was a little slow in the beginning, but when Pepperberg provided more detail about Alex's personality, I fell in love...

At one point Alex was sick and needed nebulizer treatments, where he had to sit in a vapor-filled crate. Each time the vet put him in the crate he would say, "Wanna go back....wanna go back," asking to be put back in his regular cage. When the treatment was over a timer went off. He figured out the routine, and as soon as the timer went off he said, "Come here. Wanna go back!" If the staff was busy and couldn't get to him right away, he would yell, "Pay attention!", which he learned from the students who said that to him during research training.

After Alex had been through a few months of training, another parrot, Griffin, was brought in for additional research. If Griffin had difficulty answering a question, Alex would prompt him. For example, if the answer was "7," and Griffin hesitated, Alex would say "ssss..." "ssss..." as a hint, as one would to a kindergartner learning to read. Also, if Griffin didn't speak clearly enough, Alex told him to "say better."

During one training session the author had different colored numbers laid out and asked Alex, "What number is green?" Instead of answering her question he kept asking for a nut. She said, "Alex, I'll give you a nut when we're finished." Pepperberg asked him again, and again he said, "Wanna nut." After going back and forth a few times and thinking maybe she didn't understand, he said, very slowly, "Nu-uh-t." (Can't you just imagine? Like, duh lady, do I have to spell it out for you?)

And for anyone who thinks parrots don't have feelings? How about this exchange between Alex and the author, which was their usual goodbye as she left the lab for the night...

Alex: You be good. I love you.

Pepperberg: I love you, too.

Alex: You'll be in tomorrow?

Pepperberg: Yes, I'll be in tomorrow.

Do I Recommend?

Yes

Source

Bought from an indie store called Sue's News.

My Rating

4/5

Other Reviews

Bibliofreak
Rhapsody in Books
A Bookworm's World
Book Slut

Review: Women Food and God

Geneen Roth
(2010)
Self-Help

My Synopsis

How do you lose weight without dieting? Eat only when you're hungry. Duh. But Roth tells why we eat when we're not hungry and how to be more mindful and present when we do eat.

My Thoughts

It really hit home when after dinner one night I asked my son if he wanted a cookie. A fancy cinnamon kind I had just bought. He said, "No thanks, I'm not hungry." Whaaaaat? What does that have to do with anything?

A lot, it turns out.

That's when I realized how often I eat when I'm not hungry. And how I've gained 10 pounds since I got married almost three years ago.

Roth has written several books based on overeating, one of which was Feeding the Hungry Heart, which I read years ago and enjoyed. She herself had anorexia and bingeing issues in the past, so she knows the topic well.

The basic concept of the book is that if you have a weight problem it means you overeat, and if you overeat it's because you eat when you're not hungry. Pretty simple.

I've never been on a diet for more than 8 hours because I don't like being told what to do, or eat (yes I'm a rebel). So I liked how Roth talked about trusting yourself to know when you're hungry and when you've had enough. And about eating a cookie if that's what you want - if you're hungry. And figuring out what's really going on when you eat just to eat. Boredom, stress, fatigue, anger? She talks about feeling those emotions, not feeding them. They're not hungry.

The one thing I didn't get was why God is in the title, because God is hardly mentioned. And Roth's God (which she admits in the book) is not the same God that many people have a relationship with. Which is fine, but why didn't she just title it Women and Food. Or People and Food for that matter. Women aren't the only ones who overeat. And bringing God into the book seemed forced, like she just threw it in there. Like it would sell more books.

But again, I really enjoyed the book. The simple concept of eating only when I'm hungry - and learning why I don't - was exactly what I needed.

Now, like every other self-help book I've ever read - if I could just remember everything it said.

Do I Recommend?

Yes, but not if you're interested in a faith-based book about losing weight. The "God" in the title is misleading.

Source

Library

My Rating

4/5

Other reviews

Back to Books - this blogger didn't finish the book because she was expecting it to be more faith-based

Excerpt from "O" Magazine

If you're interested in a Christian website for healthy eating and weight loss -
Take Back Your Temple - Healthy Eating God's Way

Have you heard about this book? Have you read it? Plan to? Haven't heard about it but sounds interesting?

Review: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

By Jean-Dominique Bauby
Memoir
1997

My Synopsis

While editor-in-chief of the French Elle magazine, 43-year-old Jean-Dominique Bauby, father of two young children, had a rare type of stroke to the brain stem that allowed him to think clearly but otherwise left him paralyzed and unable to speak. By blinking his only functional eye, he wrote this book which tells of what it's like to be a prisoner in the most unimaginable way.

My Thoughts

While reading each word, I couldn't get out of my mind the laborious task of writing an entire book by blinking, which probably made me like it even more.

Bauby accepts his fate with unbelievable dignity and hope. His writing, as "dictated" to his assistant, is witty yet emotional.

Hunched in my wheelchair, I watch my children surreptitiously as their mother
pushes me down the hospital corridor. While I have become something of a
zombie father, Theophile and Celeste are very much flesh and blood, energetic
and noisy. I will never tire of seeing them walk alongside me, just
walking, their confident expressions masking the unease weighing on their small
shoulders. As he walks, Theophile dabs with a Kleenex at the thread of
saliva escaping my closed lips.

Sadly, Jean-Dominique Bauby died two days after the French publication of the book. What a beautiful memory to leave to his children.

This book was made into a movie, which I have not seen but would like to.

Do I Recommend?

Yes. Short (132 pages) and easy to read.

Source

Library

My Rating

4/5 (I enjoyed it)

Other reviews

Bookopolis
Book Reviews by Bobbie
A Novel Menagerie
Books on the Brain
Hey Lady, Whatcha Readin?
Books I Done Read

Has anyone else read this book or plan to and/or did you see the movie?

Review: I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like

by Dr. Mardy Grothe
Non-fiction (2008)

My Synopsis

An entire book of metaphors, similes and analogies.

My Thoughts

This book inspired me to add a 'favorite sayings' page at the top of this blog.

The author includes a metaphor or analogy for just about every aspect of life.

Here are the chapters:

Life-altering Metaphors
The Human Condition
Wit and Humor
Insults and Criticism
Definitive Metaphors
Life
Relationships
Love
Marriage, Home and Family Life
Sex is an Emotion in Motion
Ages and Stages of Life
Stage and Screen
Politics
Sports
The Literary Life (readers and writers will love this section)

A few of my favorites (there are so many):

• Remarrying a husband you've divorced is like having your appendix put back in. Phyllis Diller
• Writing books is the closest men ever come to childbearing. Norman Mailer
• Going out with a jerky guy is kind of like having a piece of food caught in your teeth. All your friends notice it before you do. Livia Squires

Do I Recommend?

Yes, especially if you like metaphors. You know who you are :)

For more metaphors from this book, go to my Favorite Sayings page.

Source

Library

My Rating

4/5

Dr. Grothe's Website

Review: The Walk

by Richard Paul Evans
Fiction (2010)

My Synopsis

A story about a man named Alan Christoffersen whose wife is injured in a tragic accident and subsequently dies. Because of the time he took off work to care for her, he loses his job and then his home to foreclosure. With nothing but a backpack and bare essentials, he begins walking. The people he meets on his journey change his life.

My Thoughts

Sort of The Shack (spiritual/philosophical) meets The Unnamed (the main character starts walking and keeps on walking).

I enjoyed the spiritual message in this book. The character, Alan, was likable and loving and pathetic all at the same time. Reminds me of Job in the bible with everything he endures. Alan contemplates suicide at one point, but then remembers what his wife, before she died, asked him to promise her to do: "Live." On his journey Alan sleeps in shacks on the side of the road and walks in the rain and snow. He suffers from hunger and pain, and feels lonely and sad. He encounters people along the way who change his life in the most beautiful way. Lovely, inspiring book.

Do I Recommend?

Yes, for everyone.

Source

Library

My Rating

4/5

Other reviews

Thoughts of Joy
Seattle pi Books

Review: I Barfed on Mrs. Kenley

by Jessica Harper
Young Readers (7-10)
Fiction (2010)

My Synopsis

In this book, the third in the Uh-oh, Cleo series, Cleo is with friends on her way to a party. She ends up in the middle seat of the car and is too embarrassed to mention not only that she tends to get car sick, but also that she ate way too many pancakes for breakfast. So guess what?

Yep, she barfed on Mrs. Kenley.

The author says when she was young she really did barf on Mrs. Kenley so it's kind of a memoir :)

My Thoughts

This was a cute book. My favorite part was after Cleo barfed on Mrs. Kenley. When they got to the pool party, Mrs. Kenley was so sweet and nonchalant about the incident. She cleaned Cleo up, and after making sure she was okay, sent her and the other kids off to the pool, where everyone had a great time.

This would be good for a 7- to 10-year-old who threw up in front of people, say in a classroom or grocery store (like I did when I was 12), and might be embarrassed about it (you know how other kids can tease and be cruel at times.) Or for kids who think the title is funny and possibly entice them to read. Quick, easy read for an independent reader in that age bracket.

Do I Recommend?

Yes.

Source

Library

My Rating

4/5

Author's Page

Review: "I" The Creation of a Serial Killer

by Jack Olsen
Biography (2002)

My Synopsis

Biography about truck driver Keith Jespersen, a husband and father, who killed eight women in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1980s, early 1990s.

My Thoughts


I had read his daughter's book called Shattered Silence and it was okay, not that interesting. I gave it 3 stars. This book was better, I guess because of the detailed murders. The man was nuts (obviously) and it floored me how easy it was for him to kill the women and get rid of them. He met them mostly at truck stops, invited them for a bite to eat, brought them into his truck cab for sex, and when something they did or said made him mad, he killed them and dumped them. He didn't even bury the bodies, just dragged them to the side of the road a little bit and covered them with some brush. He killed the women by pushing down on their throats with his fist, suffocating them.


It was strange because he had children and had never hurt them or his wife (ex- at the time of the murders), but he did abuse animals. The stories about the animal abuse bothered me as much as the murders.


That's all you need to know. It was pretty gruesome and bizarre, and scary to know that there are people out there like that.


Do I Recommend?


Yes, if you like stories like this. It was well written and interesting.


Source


Library

My Rating

4/5

Review: Still Alice

by Lisa Genova

My Synopsis

Novel about a Harvard psychology professor named Alice Howland who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's.

My Thoughts

The story is told from Alice's perspective, and the author (who herself has a PhD in Neuroscience from Harvard) relates what an Alzheimer's patient experiences as they decline. It was scary and eye opening. And sad. At first Alice, who is only 50, doesn't tell her husband about her forgetfulness but schedules a doctor's appointment, thinking maybe she's just stressed out and hasn't been getting enough sleep. But when Alice forgets to go to a major conference in Chicago, her husband is well aware that something is wrong. When Alice tells him that she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, her husband refuses to accept it and scours the Internet for a "different answer."

Alice has three children, and after learning that she carries the mutant gene for the disease and her children have a 50% chance of inheriting it, two of the children decide to get tested and the other one says she would rather not know. The saddest part is when one of her daughters has twins, and by that time Alice has deteriorated to the point where she doesn't even know who anyone is.

Here she refers to one daughter as "the mother" and her other daughter as "the actress."

The mother was sitting on the couch next to the actress, breast-feeding the baby in blue.

And this...

They were talking too quickly and using too many pronouns. And the baby in pink had begun to fuss and cry...

Alice's husband is portrayed as an intelligent and caring man who obviously loves his wife, but at one point, knowing that Alice's time is short and he needs to make a choice about his career, he talks about moving out of state to take a better job. He and the children argue about what is best for Alice, while she sits and listens and is clueless as to what they are discussing.

Overall, even though it was sad, I'm glad I read this book. I learned a lot about Alzheimer's and got a great sense of what patients experience through the different stages. I wish I had read this before my husband's aunt passed away last year. I just remember her asking the same questions over and over and over.

Do I Recommend?

Yes, especially if you know someone with Alzheimer's because it will give you a better understanding of - and make you more sympathetic to - what they are going through.

Source

Bought at a cute little bookstore in town called Sue's News.

My Rating

4/5

Other Reviews

Literary Feline
A Novel Menagerie
Nose in a Book