I picked this up from my library because I found the cover art to be amazing! Unfortunately, that's pretty much as good as it got.
There were only two stories that I enjoyed from the entire set (the first one in particular I thought was funny and a unique take on the fairy tale hero).
My main gripe is most of them are not of a good grammatical or orthographical quality: sometimes grammar, sometimes semantics, sometimes sentence structure, sometimes simply stodgy writing. Some of the stories I think do have real potential with the solid hand of a good editor.
However, most stories I found to be either significantly underdeveloped or written badly enough as to make for frustrating reading.
The cover, though... I really, really like the cover. Best one I've seen in years.
There were only two stories that I enjoyed from the entire set (the first one in particular I thought was funny and a unique take on the fairy tale hero).
My main gripe is most of them are not of a good grammatical or orthographical quality: sometimes grammar, sometimes semantics, sometimes sentence structure, sometimes simply stodgy writing. Some of the stories I think do have real potential with the solid hand of a good editor.
However, most stories I found to be either significantly underdeveloped or written badly enough as to make for frustrating reading.
The cover, though... I really, really like the cover. Best one I've seen in years.
This was a long, long read... I forced myself to finish out of sheer bloody-mindedness rather than real desire...
The religious aspects are, for the most part, Catholicism with a few inconsequential changes. The gender roles also don't deviate from the traditional - men fight, women heal. I found the male protagonist to be interesting, though he is a literary stereotype (see more details for all points under SPOILERS).
I found the latter half of the book a bit tedious, as it seemed just one awful, violent, barely-survived-that episode after another.
That all said, I liked that the story often switched between the now - Gabriel telling his vampire captor his life story - and the story itself. It wasn't entirely linear, which I thought was well done under the guise of Gabriel refusing to tell certain parts of his life story in sequence. The little interjections into the story itself, by Gabriel or his vampire captor, was a nice touch, I thought.
*** SPOILERS ***
The religion is basically Catholic: instead of a cross, there's a wheel; the protagonist wonders why the symbol of torture is used as a sign of faith (i.e. make the sign of the 'wheel'); there's a religious inquisition; male-dominated heirarchy; there's a female-only order that serves the church and the 'Silversaints', clearly in a subservient role.
The gender roles are traditional: the 'palebloods' (vampire father, human mother) are all male; women can fight, but mostly don't appear to; the female-only religious order show more serves to pray, heal and tattoo the warrior Silversaints, but holds little power.
Gabriel is a stereotypical male protagonist: lost faith due to brutal murder of wife and child, self-destructive, and gains some faith back through a younger person who shows he that there is some meaning left in life. show less
The religious aspects are, for the most part, Catholicism with a few inconsequential changes. The gender roles also don't deviate from the traditional - men fight, women heal. I found the male protagonist to be interesting, though he is a literary stereotype (see more details for all points under SPOILERS).
I found the latter half of the book a bit tedious, as it seemed just one awful, violent, barely-survived-that episode after another.
That all said, I liked that the story often switched between the now - Gabriel telling his vampire captor his life story - and the story itself. It wasn't entirely linear, which I thought was well done under the guise of Gabriel refusing to tell certain parts of his life story in sequence. The little interjections into the story itself, by Gabriel or his vampire captor, was a nice touch, I thought.
*** SPOILERS ***
The religion is basically Catholic: instead of a cross, there's a wheel; the protagonist wonders why the symbol of torture is used as a sign of faith (i.e. make the sign of the 'wheel'); there's a religious inquisition; male-dominated heirarchy; there's a female-only order that serves the church and the 'Silversaints', clearly in a subservient role.
The gender roles are traditional: the 'palebloods' (vampire father, human mother) are all male; women can fight, but mostly don't appear to; the female-only religious order show more serves to pray, heal and tattoo the warrior Silversaints, but holds little power.
Gabriel is a stereotypical male protagonist: lost faith due to brutal murder of wife and child, self-destructive, and gains some faith back through a younger person who shows he that there is some meaning left in life. show less
The problem I had with the book was that the second sentence of the prologue indicated failure of a most simple scientific error:
"For reasons that are not totally clear, there has been a marked increase in its [Austism's] prevalence in recent years."
The author clearly assumes a rise in diagnoses as indicative of a rise in Autism. This is fallacious reasoning.
Firstly, the Autism diagnosis has changed several times over the past few decades (as well as still favouring male symptoms, resulting in consistent under-diagnosis of women).
Secondly, the rise in public awareness of Autism, through advocacy groups, (social) media, and the popularisation in entertainment ('The Big Bang', 'The Good Doctor' - all, incidentally, focusing on male Asperger's) has meant that both parents and professionals are far more aware of the condition, thus making it far more likely be diagnosed.
I couldn't bring myself to finish this book for the reason given above: I have no faith in an author that makes such a mistake in the very first lines of their work. Apart from that, the book pathologises Autism and Aperger's - not surprising given the author is a psychiatrist - but quite sad as it is aimed at parents as well as professionals.
"For reasons that are not totally clear, there has been a marked increase in its [Austism's] prevalence in recent years."
The author clearly assumes a rise in diagnoses as indicative of a rise in Autism. This is fallacious reasoning.
Firstly, the Autism diagnosis has changed several times over the past few decades (as well as still favouring male symptoms, resulting in consistent under-diagnosis of women).
Secondly, the rise in public awareness of Autism, through advocacy groups, (social) media, and the popularisation in entertainment ('The Big Bang', 'The Good Doctor' - all, incidentally, focusing on male Asperger's) has meant that both parents and professionals are far more aware of the condition, thus making it far more likely be diagnosed.
I couldn't bring myself to finish this book for the reason given above: I have no faith in an author that makes such a mistake in the very first lines of their work. Apart from that, the book pathologises Autism and Aperger's - not surprising given the author is a psychiatrist - but quite sad as it is aimed at parents as well as professionals.
A frustrating, patronising, and sloppily researched book.
The author all but ignores women with Asperger's, focusing on the theory of the 'extreme male brain' without ever explaining how this has resulted in women being under-diagnosed. There is no exploration at all of the differences between the genders, even though they are significant enough to mean most women don't get a diagnosis (or even realise they have) Asperger's until later in life.
I found the book to be simplisticly written, almost patronising at times; I'm unsure who she felt her intended audience was, but it doesn't seem to have been any semi-educated person, either with or without Asperger's.
I agree with the review by askajnaiman here on LibraryThing: I, too, periodically felt the need to set it on fire.
The author all but ignores women with Asperger's, focusing on the theory of the 'extreme male brain' without ever explaining how this has resulted in women being under-diagnosed. There is no exploration at all of the differences between the genders, even though they are significant enough to mean most women don't get a diagnosis (or even realise they have) Asperger's until later in life.
I found the book to be simplisticly written, almost patronising at times; I'm unsure who she felt her intended audience was, but it doesn't seem to have been any semi-educated person, either with or without Asperger's.
I agree with the review by askajnaiman here on LibraryThing: I, too, periodically felt the need to set it on fire.
This felt like a book (barely 100 pages, so book is a generous term) written quickly in an attempt to cash in on a trend.
The writing is quite dense, full of specialised and obtuse terms - there is no attempt to make it approachable to anyone outside of gender or perhaps media studies. The authors do make several good points, though there is an almost superficial treatement of several that should have been taken much further.
A disappointing (and very short) read for me.
The writing is quite dense, full of specialised and obtuse terms - there is no attempt to make it approachable to anyone outside of gender or perhaps media studies. The authors do make several good points, though there is an almost superficial treatement of several that should have been taken much further.
A disappointing (and very short) read for me.
I really enjoyed this selection of short stories.
Each one is discrete, but there are some instances of subtle overlap between them. The very last story draws the book together, again with subtle references to characters or events of previous stories.
The writing is clear and subtle, even when it is heavily inflected with Aussie slang. There's an authenticity to the characters, particularly the male characters, that is touching.
The stories are original in their content - often including fantastic elements rendered ordinary, or drawing on cultural concepts and making them literal.
I found the stories moving, funny, and engaging - a joy to read.
Each one is discrete, but there are some instances of subtle overlap between them. The very last story draws the book together, again with subtle references to characters or events of previous stories.
The writing is clear and subtle, even when it is heavily inflected with Aussie slang. There's an authenticity to the characters, particularly the male characters, that is touching.
The stories are original in their content - often including fantastic elements rendered ordinary, or drawing on cultural concepts and making them literal.
I found the stories moving, funny, and engaging - a joy to read.
I really enjoyed this set of stories. Well-written and well-plotted, the characters were believeable and very much enjoyable to read. I really enjoyed the oddness of the collection: the one man who could walk through walls, but was otherwise utterly normal; the story where it was decided that, since daylight savings was a thing, why not just skip 17 years ahead?
The only gripe I have is the deeply misogynistic theme in the second story (and somewhat less so in 'The Wife Collector') - partly explained by being written in 1940s France, to be sure, but disturbing to a modern audience anyway.
The only gripe I have is the deeply misogynistic theme in the second story (and somewhat less so in 'The Wife Collector') - partly explained by being written in 1940s France, to be sure, but disturbing to a modern audience anyway.
I loved this book and I didn't... I loved the premise, the characters, and the set-up. I did not like the typos and continuation errors (e.g. two characters walk to the theatre to talk, but the next scene has them talking in one of the characters' sleeping quarters; at least twice the name of the character talking was the wrong one - i.e. Maria was said to be talking but it was actually Joanna). The entire book read as if it needed another good going through by an editor and then author: one draft short of being really good.
This all said, it was a book I that started and then read exclusively of the other books I was currently reading, which only happens when I'm truly captivated. The errors really bothered me, however... hence the 3.5 stars.
This all said, it was a book I that started and then read exclusively of the other books I was currently reading, which only happens when I'm truly captivated. The errors really bothered me, however... hence the 3.5 stars.
I really wanted to like this book - the tongue-in-cheek humor in a fantasy setting, regarding a Dark Lord rising, a less-than-dashing hero to oppose him, some capitalist-minded aristocrats, and a damsel who's not in distress as much as she's pissed off.
However, I found it difficutl to get into it - I think that what bothered me was that it was a bit rambly. Some editing to cut out unnecessary and wordy sentences, as well as more concise characterisation would have made this a book I couldn't put down.
At this stage, I can't see myself reading any sequels... maybe I'll come back to, because, as I said, I really do want to like this.
However, I found it difficutl to get into it - I think that what bothered me was that it was a bit rambly. Some editing to cut out unnecessary and wordy sentences, as well as more concise characterisation would have made this a book I couldn't put down.
At this stage, I can't see myself reading any sequels... maybe I'll come back to, because, as I said, I really do want to like this.
I really enjoyed this. I've read most of Andrew Jennings' books and have always been left with the understanding of widespread corruption among FIFA but I couldn't have put it into words (Bensinger is right in staying Jennings needs a good editor to go through his work). But Bensinger's book has made it all crystal clear for me.
The corruption isn't widespread so much an intrinsic aspect of FIFA as it now stands. The book was well written, the characters came to life and the entire narrative was well structured. Bensinger does a very good job of clarifying and explaining the complex nature of the corruption.
I'll recommend this to anyone who has any interest in football (or corruption!).
The corruption isn't widespread so much an intrinsic aspect of FIFA as it now stands. The book was well written, the characters came to life and the entire narrative was well structured. Bensinger does a very good job of clarifying and explaining the complex nature of the corruption.
I'll recommend this to anyone who has any interest in football (or corruption!).
I found this book disturbing in the author's quite cavalier approach to the sexual assaults perpetrated by Rasputin. For example, "There was the odd scandal, including a woman who claimed he [Rasputin] raped her in his cellar." (p.45) In another instance, Welch describes a woman who, "as a nun, ... had suffered a run-in with the mad monk Iliodor, in the course of which she claimed he raped her..." (p.125) What I find disturbing is that she precedes this comment by stating this woman "had been distincly unstable when Rasputin met her." Perhaps the woman was "unstable" because she'd been sexually assaulted? Welch never draws attention to that possibility.
These are only a few examples - the book is rife with this kind of thoughtless and sexist discussion. There is a distinct sexist streak in the entire book - often subtle, but in many cases (as above) glaringly obvious.
I will not recommend this book to anyone, as I find that kind of insensitivity disturbing.
These are only a few examples - the book is rife with this kind of thoughtless and sexist discussion. There is a distinct sexist streak in the entire book - often subtle, but in many cases (as above) glaringly obvious.
I will not recommend this book to anyone, as I find that kind of insensitivity disturbing.
Pits start opening up in Night Vale and surrounds - sometimes swallowing buildings, people and all. Nilanjana Sikdar, scientist (her wardrobe includes casual and work labcoats) begins to investigate, and even when she thinks she's found out what's causing the mayhem, things turn out to be different yet again.
I really enjoyed this Night Vale sequel. It's very well written - grammatically, stylistically and in terms of plot and characters. The characterization is done very well, and there are frequent instances of honesty and care that come through. Given that this series is based on a short podcast, the writing, plotting and characterization is amazing.
Needless to say, the oddness of Night Vale is all there - surveillance helicopters are rife, the cappuccinos come with metal shavings,Lusia (Nilanjana's colleague) is experimenting with being disappointed in potatoes, and there are six options for public toilets.
I really enjoyed this Night Vale sequel. It's very well written - grammatically, stylistically and in terms of plot and characters. The characterization is done very well, and there are frequent instances of honesty and care that come through. Given that this series is based on a short podcast, the writing, plotting and characterization is amazing.
Needless to say, the oddness of Night Vale is all there - surveillance helicopters are rife, the cappuccinos come with metal shavings,Lusia (Nilanjana's colleague) is experimenting with being disappointed in potatoes, and there are six options for public toilets.
The plot in this second novel was a lot more intense in terms of action, never really letting up. I felt that this detracted from the story somewhat. I also didn't find this as humorous as the first book; although there were a few instances of laugh-out-loud sentences or scenarios, I found the first novel funnier and more engaging. Still, it was a good read and worth it.
I enjoyed the non-traditional take on the vampire protagonist: Jules is obese, a slacker who works as a taxi driver to barely survive, a loner with delusions regarding his own street smarts. I found the story to be more engaging and have more depth than I'd assumed from reading back cover.
I'm vacillating between finding the depictions of black characters racist, tongue-in-cheek, or authentic for that part of the US. Every black character speaks with non-traditional English grammar - whether that's authentic for the area, or whether that's a racist take, I don't know. It did bother me.
Overall, I enjoyed Jules and his inability to get anything right, despite being convinced of himself. I'll read the sequel.
I'm vacillating between finding the depictions of black characters racist, tongue-in-cheek, or authentic for that part of the US. Every black character speaks with non-traditional English grammar - whether that's authentic for the area, or whether that's a racist take, I don't know. It did bother me.
Overall, I enjoyed Jules and his inability to get anything right, despite being convinced of himself. I'll read the sequel.
I was a bit nonplussed with this, the first book in the series. However, I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. There's a strong noir bent to this series, albeit with junior protagonists, and a nix on the latent sex.
The story follows Lemony Snicket as an apprentice, a job he does less than successfully given his mentor's incompetence. There's a similar element of oddness and strangeness to that found in the 'Series of Unfortunate Events' series. I think if I'd have thought of the series as a junior (and cleaner) take on the noir genre, I'd have enjoyed books one and two as much as I did three and four.
The story follows Lemony Snicket as an apprentice, a job he does less than successfully given his mentor's incompetence. There's a similar element of oddness and strangeness to that found in the 'Series of Unfortunate Events' series. I think if I'd have thought of the series as a junior (and cleaner) take on the noir genre, I'd have enjoyed books one and two as much as I did three and four.
I love this series! The writing is wonderful - beautifully constructed sentences, fabulous vocabulary, excellently formed characters.
In this second book, Cabal attempts to steal a book, making yet another enemy, gets entangled in odd circumstances aboard an 'aeroship', all the while (mostly) keeping his cool.
Two of many fabulous quotes:
"Pure brute logic overruled any silly murder shenanigans by pointing out the suicide note, the locked room, and then proceeded to wave Ockham's razor around in a threatening manner." p.122
"Furthermore, she is a member of the Mirkarvian gentry, and they seem very political creatures. I'm sure they read Machiavelli in the nursery, and practise by setting their dolls against one another."
In this second book, Cabal attempts to steal a book, making yet another enemy, gets entangled in odd circumstances aboard an 'aeroship', all the while (mostly) keeping his cool.
Two of many fabulous quotes:
"Pure brute logic overruled any silly murder shenanigans by pointing out the suicide note, the locked room, and then proceeded to wave Ockham's razor around in a threatening manner." p.122
"Furthermore, she is a member of the Mirkarvian gentry, and they seem very political creatures. I'm sure they read Machiavelli in the nursery, and practise by setting their dolls against one another."
I didn't find this amusing in any way. Rather, I found the litany of ills and travails of the characters relentlessly sad and depressing.
This surprised me, as I greatly enjoyed both his 'Undermajordomo Minor' and 'The Sisters Brothers'. There was a subtle humor to both of them that I felt came through, unlike 'Ablutions', which I found simply depressing.
This surprised me, as I greatly enjoyed both his 'Undermajordomo Minor' and 'The Sisters Brothers'. There was a subtle humor to both of them that I felt came through, unlike 'Ablutions', which I found simply depressing.
LeVine explains the battery and it's place in society quite well. The importance of the battery to the modern world, especially in terms of electric cars, was explained quite well. A lot more could have been done with it, though, to show how important batteries really are to modern technology. I felt the book read as if a good editor could have cut it in half - it read like an essay based on too little information, dragged out to make a book. A let down for me.
Not what I expected from the blurbs - there was no real sexual tension, the dialogue wasn't really funny, and the main character (and narrator) Mac, isn't really a kick-ass heroine. I did like the world Shearin created - the monsters among the humans, etc. but that's about it.
I was disappointed by this second installment in Gladstone's series. The story moves from New York to LA as Gladstone continues to search for the Internet, involving his ex-wife along the way.
There were numerous grammatical and spelling errors that show a lack of conscientious editing, and are irritating to the readers.
The story itself was let down by the writing, rather than the conception, I think. The twist at the end was interesting, but somehow not that entertaining, as the lead up to it wasn't much to begin with.
There were numerous grammatical and spelling errors that show a lack of conscientious editing, and are irritating to the readers.
The story itself was let down by the writing, rather than the conception, I think. The twist at the end was interesting, but somehow not that entertaining, as the lead up to it wasn't much to begin with.
I was a bit disappointed with this latest installment. There were numerous grammatical errors (there's no excuse for shoddy editing) and I found the book simply less well written than the previous ones (the frequent use of acronyms that weren't explained was frustrating and irritating). Given this is the 6th book in the series, it would have been nice to have a bit more explanation for previous events - I doubt I'm alone when I say I can't remember everything that happened in the first five books.
That said, I enjoyed how the story progressed. I particularly liked Guleed; hopefully she'll feature in coming novels.
That said, I enjoyed how the story progressed. I particularly liked Guleed; hopefully she'll feature in coming novels.
I really enjoyed this. I very much liked the diary style entries, flitting from year to year; surprisingly, I didn't find it confusing at all.
I would give 2 stars for the writing and 4 stars for the concept. 4 stars definitely for the setting, pacing and basic characters of the story. What caused the zombie-ism, the spreading of the virus and so on, that I found great. However, 2 stars for the writing itself and the character development, both which I found to leave a lot to be desired. There was so much scope for more depth to the characters and several of the relationships that were simply missing or just quite shallow.
I enjoyed the plot and the characters - despite the shallowness of their definition - and I enjoyed the ending.
I enjoyed the plot and the characters - despite the shallowness of their definition - and I enjoyed the ending.
I really enjoyed this - Dan's sense of humor, his openness and his obvious love for his partner and his kids.
I have enjoyed this the least of this series so far - the pacing is getting worse: it's one life-altering even after another, with next to no breathing room in between and - perhaps more importantly - no real character development.
I really enjoyed this book. It's well written, well structured, funny and serious in the right places. Couldn't put it down!
A shallow and disappointing read.
Doesn't seriously engage with the main issues of meat consumption:
- there is no mention of the environmental impact meat farming has (that is, the farming of the animals themselves on the environment)
- there is no engagement with the problem of moving meat around the country in trucks and the C02 that creates
- there is no engagement with the fact that there is no way to ethically feed the world meat without either destroying the environment or treating animals exceptionally badly
- there is no mention of the fact that, while meat consumption was essential to human development a few hundred thousand years ago, it now plays no significant role in human health (yes, an argument for meat consumption for pleasure can be made, but he doesn't make that argument as a contrast to the health one)
Entire argument of the book is suffused with white upper-class privilege. The author may be married to a cheesemonger in Brooklyn and have access to delis, butchers, bakers, what-have-you.
- this has no meaning for the millions of poor Americans who cannot afford a $140 turkey (even if they could find one). - this has no meaning for the millions worldwide who have no access to healthy food or the education to know what healthy food is.
- this has no meaning to the millions of people worldwide who do not even have access to clean water, much less a reliable source of food (2.7 BILLION people do not have access to safe toilets or clean water)
- this has no show more meaning to the millions of people who don't even have secure housing, much less a reliable job to buy themselves healthy meat.
The point that the current meat industry is inhumane is valid - the call to install cameras in slaughterhouses is disturbing but valid in calling the meat industry to task. However, this in no way negates the issues listed above. The arguments in this book are further let down - if that's even possible - by the way the author attempts to reframe the slaughter of animals. He says that animals should be 'harvested' in the right season - this is an obvious attempt to reframe what is still the killing of an animal before it's lifespan has naturally come to an end. The animal's life may have been 'happy' and it's death may have been as humane as possible. It is still, however, the killing of an animal though would have lived for years if it hadn't be killed.
A very disappointing read. I'd really hoped for a cogent, well-reasoned argument to ethically consume meat. show less
Doesn't seriously engage with the main issues of meat consumption:
- there is no mention of the environmental impact meat farming has (that is, the farming of the animals themselves on the environment)
- there is no engagement with the problem of moving meat around the country in trucks and the C02 that creates
- there is no engagement with the fact that there is no way to ethically feed the world meat without either destroying the environment or treating animals exceptionally badly
- there is no mention of the fact that, while meat consumption was essential to human development a few hundred thousand years ago, it now plays no significant role in human health (yes, an argument for meat consumption for pleasure can be made, but he doesn't make that argument as a contrast to the health one)
Entire argument of the book is suffused with white upper-class privilege. The author may be married to a cheesemonger in Brooklyn and have access to delis, butchers, bakers, what-have-you.
- this has no meaning for the millions of poor Americans who cannot afford a $140 turkey (even if they could find one). - this has no meaning for the millions worldwide who have no access to healthy food or the education to know what healthy food is.
- this has no meaning to the millions of people worldwide who do not even have access to clean water, much less a reliable source of food (2.7 BILLION people do not have access to safe toilets or clean water)
- this has no show more meaning to the millions of people who don't even have secure housing, much less a reliable job to buy themselves healthy meat.
The point that the current meat industry is inhumane is valid - the call to install cameras in slaughterhouses is disturbing but valid in calling the meat industry to task. However, this in no way negates the issues listed above. The arguments in this book are further let down - if that's even possible - by the way the author attempts to reframe the slaughter of animals. He says that animals should be 'harvested' in the right season - this is an obvious attempt to reframe what is still the killing of an animal before it's lifespan has naturally come to an end. The animal's life may have been 'happy' and it's death may have been as humane as possible. It is still, however, the killing of an animal though would have lived for years if it hadn't be killed.
A very disappointing read. I'd really hoped for a cogent, well-reasoned argument to ethically consume meat. show less
A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy by Sara Bongiorni
I liked the book for the most part. I was diasppointed, however, that Bongiorni never mentioned groceries (apart from one can of tinned mandarin slices). China supplies a lot of the world's food and household items (paper towels, toilet paper, etc.) - I'd have liked to hear how she dealt with that.
In some ways the book read like a padded out blog, but I still enjoyed it.
In some ways the book read like a padded out blog, but I still enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the depth of this memoir - an interesting look into what it's like to grow up as a poor white guy in Los Angeles.
What I did not enjoy was the rape 'jokes' scattered throughout.I have a feeling that's Carolla's style of humor.
What I did not enjoy was the rape 'jokes' scattered throughout.I have a feeling that's Carolla's style of humor.
I quite enjoyed this, although it felt a bit disjointed towards the end: the last few chapters didn't flow on as closely from the previous ones, reading more like separate essays. There wasn't an essay on how she met her husband, for example.