T.H. Waters (Author of Ghellow Road)

T.H. Waters liked Laura (booksnob)'s review of The Forgotten Garden:

" Nell's life has been a complete lie until now and she has no idea who she is. On what she thinks is her 21st birthday, her father, the man who Nell thought was her father, told her the truth about her life. He told Nell that she arrived in Austral... "
Read more of this review »

T.H. Waters gave

to:

The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
by J. Maarten Troost

My rating:

Dang. This book really bummed me out. It's one of the few that have come my way which I wish I wouldn't have read. It's billed as a humorous book about a dude who lived on a tiny island near the equator for a few years. Sure, it starts out funny enou...more Dang. This book really bummed me out. It's one of the few that have come my way which I wish I wouldn't have read. It's billed as a humorous book about a dude who lived on a tiny island near the equator for a few years. Sure, it starts out funny enough. I did laugh during the descriptions about the author's mishap when a turd was relentlessly tracking him in the water during an afternoon ocean dip and again at his inescapable battle with the ubiquitous La Macarena song that incessantly blared from every house and shop on the island. But after awhile, J. Maarten's cavalier observations merely left a bad taste in my mouth rather than urging me to gleefully turn the pages. Observations like: considering eating one of his dogs (Brown Dog) for dinner after an islander suggested Brown Dog would be very tasty or finding a stray pup and trying to muster the courage to snap its neck then toss it in the ocean or this line about Princess Diana - "The government of Kiribati was well informed about all things Diana. I no longer cared about Princess Diana. She's dead. Let it go." I'm certainly no royal watcher, but come on. Taking jabs at Diana? Really? And I really love dogs, so I was mortified by his contemptuous attitude towards them. J. Maarten's view of the islanders themselves was just as nauseating. The only impression of them I now hold is that they are lazy slobs who don't give a damn about their jobs or their island and think nothing about living in absolute squalor. Oh, but they can sing well and dance, too. Um... what? Don't get me wrong. I love to laugh and have fun as much as anybody, but shock jock humor just isn't for me. My brand of humor is much more aligned with such fantastically written books as Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian." I had the same experience with J. Maarten Troost as I often do at a cocktail party when I'm stuck next to "that guy" who exudes self-importance and entitlement from every single one of his pores and loves to hear himself chatter so much that he doesn't even notice how bored I am - I figure out the most ingenious way to get the hell away from him.(less)

T.H. Waters liked Kiribatidaughter's review of The Sex Lives of Cannibals:

" To Mr.Troost,
I learned that you are a liar and a disgraceful man, and my opinion about you lay on the beaches of Tarawa. You wrote about my culture, my people and my island I dearly love so you can be famous and rich!!! The title is a scheme and a... "
Read more of this review »

T.H. Waters liked Eric Hendrixson's review of The Sex Lives of Cannibals:

" Every once in a while, a writer comes along with a voice that makes you wish you knew the author so you could meet him for a drink, congratulate him on his book, and then, when his guard is down, punch him in the cock. For me, that author is J. Ma... "
Read more of this review »

T.H. Waters gave

to:

Act Of Treason (Mitch Rapp, #7)
by Vince Flynn

read in May, 2012

My rating:

I enjoy reading a thriller once in a while and have wanted to give Vince Flynn a shot, mainly because he is from my hometown in Minnesota. "Act of Treason" turned out to be a good choice for this genre. There's no question that Flynn has done his hom...more

T.H. Waters gave

to:

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
by Sam Kean

My rating:

Wowee. What an ingenious book. It was absolutely fantastic, and I loved every second of reading it. If you find science thrilling, as I do (or are even mildly interesting), get your paws on a copy of The Disappearing Spoon asap. It is the perfect ble...more

T.H. Waters gave

to:

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation
by Cokie Roberts

My rating:

When I first spied the title of this book, I thought, "Why in the world wasn't I taught about this stuff in high school?" What good does it do to memorize historical date after historical date in a classroom when it's really the PEOPLE of specific pe...more When I first spied the title of this book, I thought, "Why in the world wasn't I taught about this stuff in high school?" What good does it do to memorize historical date after historical date in a classroom when it's really the PEOPLE of specific periods in time and their real life stories that truly matter. Cokie Roberts delivers the goods in enlightening us about the significance of women during one of the most important periods in the life of our country. Kudos to her for spending what must have been countless hours of research in learning about who those women were and what their lives were like in relation to their husbands, in relation to their country, in relation to each other. I learned a great deal and am still awestruck by what those amazing women endured during the U.S. Revolution. Not only were they perennially pregnant, but, in addition to that hardship in and of itself, they were forced to face enormous obstacles: frequent disease, encroachment/occupation from the enemy (the Brits), not only on a daily basis, but for year upon year until peace was finally achieved, living apart from their husbands for months and sometimes years at a time while the men delegated in foreign lands on behalf of the United States, and last but not least, frequent death of spouses, children, parents and friends. Living with the threat of death was far more pervasive during the U.S. Revolution than it is today, and I have to imagine that extracted quite a toll on loved ones. I, myself, would have been an alcoholic mess had I been forced to deal with all that weight. In her book, Cokie Roberts focused on the lives of women of stature and means. Just think of what life must have been like for the "common" woman.
I did encounter a little frustration when reading Founding Mothers. I mean no disrespect to Ms. Roberts because she is to be applauded for attempting such a difficult endeavor, however I felt her book lacked a solid spine, a direct path for her storyline from which supporting stories would sprout. Her style was far more rambling, as if she were casually chatting with friends over a good meal. That works great in person-to-person contact, but a book requires more discipline. Ms. Roberts used the story of the American Revolution and the key male players as her canvas, then fit the female leads in wherever appropriate, mainly via letters to one another or letters to and from the primary male characters. This left me unfulfilled, wanting to know more about the lead women themselves, wanting to see them fleshed out into whole persons. In addition, several minor women were name dropped throughout the book with quotes from obscure letters that happened to fit the topic at hand, but for me, all that did was add to the confusion and make the telling of a marvelous historical tale more convoluted rather than adding substance.
All in all, I'm quite glad that I read this story. I am thankful to know at least a little bit about some of the women who helped raise our country and have a much greater appreciation for all that they sacrificed, not only for themselves but for future generations to come. And sacrifice is what they did... in spades.
Thank you for the enlightenment, Ms. Roberts.(less)

T.H. Waters joined the Connecting Readers and Writers group.

T.H. Waters is currently reading:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
by Michael Chabon

My rating:

T.H. Waters gave

to:

The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

read in March, 2012

My rating:

The Shadow of the Wind is a book about the cruel face of this world we live in, and the paramount importance of love. The author of The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, has a gorgeous way with words. When I initially opened his book, the first...more The Shadow of the Wind is a book about the cruel face of this world we live in, and the paramount importance of love. The author of The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, has a gorgeous way with words. When I initially opened his book, the first few pages were electrifying. "This is going to be amazing," I thought. Tantalizing prose were meticulously thread throughout, and were the single most important ingredient that kept it alive for me. Some were merely lovely descriptions of time and place, while others were thought provoking tidbits such as this: "Bea says that the art of reading is slowly dying, that it's an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming scarce by the day." Breathtaking.

Some people enjoy books that tell a good yarn and nothing more. Just the facts, Sir. Not me. My favorites are ones that use words in glorious and unique ways like The Shadow of the Wind accomplished, but also manage to expertly weave a great tale. For me, The Shadow of the Wind fell short on the story line. Carlos had alluring plot concepts, The Cemetery of Forgotten Books being the most prominent, but never took them to an intriguing level. They became nothing more than charming ideas that were mentioned a few times to pique one's interest then disappointingly discarded. All the characters (except for Fermin) were stiff, cardboard figures on a stage, going through the motions of Carlos' play when they could have been fleshed into more complex, 3-dimensional versions. When Carlos brought doom to several of the main characters (and boy did he ever!), I merely shrugged my shoulders with indifference and quickly turned to the next page without much thought or caring rather than breaking down into tears. And believe me, I'm a sensitive and compassionate person. It doesn't take much to make me cry. But... you have to make me care about you first.

Judging from the praise written about this book in the Goodreads and Amazon reviews, there are many people who absolutely loved this book. Although I personally wasn't able to connect with The Shadow of the Wind, there are many others who did. It's a beautiful read through some eyes.(less)

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T.H. Waters liked Laura (booksnob)'s review of The Forgotten Garden: " Nell's life has been a complete lie until now and she has no idea who she is. On what she thinks is her 21st birthday, her father, the man who Nell thought was her father, told her the truth about her life. He told Nell that she arrived in Austral... " Read more of this review »
May 29, 2012 06:38pm · see review
T.H. Waters gave to: The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost	My rating:
Dang. This book really bummed me out. It's one of the few that have come my way which I wish I wouldn't have read. It's billed as a humorous book about a dude who lived on a tiny island near the equator for a few years. Sure, it starts out funny enou...more
May 28, 2012 06:55pm · see review
T.H. Waters liked Kiribatidaughter's review of The Sex Lives of Cannibals: " To Mr.Troost, I learned that you are a liar and a disgraceful man, and my opinion about you lay on the beaches of Tarawa. You wrote about my culture, my people and my island I dearly love so you can be famous and rich!!! The title is a scheme and a... " Read more of this review »
May 28, 2012 06:30pm · see review
T.H. Waters liked Eric Hendrixson's review of The Sex Lives of Cannibals: " Every once in a while, a writer comes along with a voice that makes you wish you knew the author so you could meet him for a drink, congratulate him on his book, and then, when his guard is down, punch him in the cock. For me, that author is J. Ma... " Read more of this review »
May 20, 2012 06:48am · see review
T.H. Waters gave to: Act Of Treason (Mitch Rapp, #7) by Vince Flynn read in May, 2012	My rating:
I enjoy reading a thriller once in a while and have wanted to give Vince Flynn a shot, mainly because he is from my hometown in Minnesota. "Act of Treason" turned out to be a good choice for this genre. There's no question that Flynn has done his hom...more
May 05, 2012 03:01pm · see review
T.H. Waters gave to: The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean	My rating:
Wowee. What an ingenious book. It was absolutely fantastic, and I loved every second of reading it. If you find science thrilling, as I do (or are even mildly interesting), get your paws on a copy of The Disappearing Spoon asap. It is the perfect ble...more
Apr 22, 2012 08:03am · see review
T.H. Waters gave to: Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts	My rating:
When I first spied the title of this book, I thought, "Why in the world wasn't I taught about this stuff in high school?" What good does it do to memorize historical date after historical date in a classroom when it's really the PEOPLE of specific pe...more
Apr 07, 2012 07:47am · see review
T.H. Waters joined the Connecting Readers and Writers group.
Mar 19, 2012 03:29pm · see group
T.H. Waters is currently reading: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon	My rating:
Mar 07, 2012 07:52pm
T.H. Waters gave to: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón read in March, 2012	My rating:
The Shadow of the Wind is a book about the cruel face of this world we live in, and the paramount importance of love. The author of The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, has a gorgeous way with words. When I initially opened his book, the first...more
Mar 04, 2012 07:46am · see review

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