This book meandered like a journey. Not a page-turner, but entertaining. Berendt as narrator disappeared into the work, which is fine if you like mor...moreThis book meandered like a journey. Not a page-turner, but entertaining. Berendt as narrator disappeared into the work, which is fine if you like more of the omniscient narrator style. But I enjoyed it when he allowed himself to peak in and ask questions of the people in this play of life in Venice.
There were places where the book dragged, especially in the extensive background narration surrounding the burning of the Fenice opera house and the investigation afterwards. And there were a couple of quirky passages about people dotted throughout who had nothing to do with the main narration, which broke the narration for me a bit.
The most enjoyable section for me was about Ezra Pound's mistress, Olga Rudge, the violinist, about her life after Pound died and the struggles their daughter, Mary, had to control her father's papers.
Now I feel I understand a little about the history and people of Venice.(less)
Fun and entertaining. Not one of Pratchett's better novels, but this really isn't one novel anyway. It is a collection of stories about the Wizard R...moreFun and entertaining. Not one of Pratchett's better novels, but this really isn't one novel anyway. It is a collection of stories about the Wizard Rincewind and the strange tourist, Twoflower. Apparently, it was Pratchett's first foray into Discworld. Lots of fun, but don't expect the total otherworldly wonderfulness of later books such as Feet of Clayor [book:Wyrd Sisters|34504. Interesting to see the beginnings of Discworld.(less)
This book was interesting in that it got me thinking about anxiety and fear and where those feelings came from. The case studies are interesting to r...moreThis book was interesting in that it got me thinking about anxiety and fear and where those feelings came from. The case studies are interesting to read. de Becker threw in references to statistics but did not site any research in support of it, and never got very specific. He does list his resources, though, but not what info he got where. Not an academic work.
This edition is from 1998 and I think gun control laws have changed and society's awareness of how to prevent crime has increased. Especially among women. So some of what he says about the behavior of victims of crime here did not ring true to me in today's world. This is a good book for those living alone in a big city or in high crime areas. I took a self-defense class about 20 years ago, and what I learned then is also emphasized in this book. de Becker's writing style is captivating and his personality comes through in many passages.
When de Becker talks about intuition I think he means the fight or flight response. I think he muddies the psychology of behavior a bit in the writing, although he obviously knows a lot about it. I suggest you read other books on basic human behavior if you want to learn more about intuition and why people do what they do. Again, this is not a reference work.(less)
Gabaldon's descriptions of the Scottish Highlands are fabulous, and she really makes you care about the hero, Jamie. The heroine takes a while to gro...moreGabaldon's descriptions of the Scottish Highlands are fabulous, and she really makes you care about the hero, Jamie. The heroine takes a while to grow on you, though. The book is too long. Some chapters could have been cut: Some subplots don't go anywhere, and there are too many sex scenes that don't add to the story. Publisher's idea, perhaps? But the idea behind the series is interesting and Gabaldon does have me wanting to know what happens next, so that says a lot about her story-telling. At heart, this book is a romance, and I am not a big fan of romances. So that also tells you that Gabaldon must have done a good job of telling her tale, because I did read it cover-to-cover.(less)
**spoiler alert** I always seem to like about half of the Stephenie Meyers Twilight books (except for the first one, which I didn't like much at all)....more**spoiler alert** I always seem to like about half of the Stephenie Meyers Twilight books (except for the first one, which I didn't like much at all). The fourth book in the series starts ridiculously but ends in an entertaining narrative. And I would definitely not recommend as a YA novel.
What I liked about this book was the continuing story of the Voltari and the whole concept of the world that Meyer builds surrounding them and the Cullen family. It is almost as interesting as the culture of the vampire that Anne Rice creates in The Queen of the Damned, a book I loved and plan to re-read one of these days. I wish more of the Twilight series was about the vampire family and history of the Volturi. It's potentially a gold mine of stories.
I also continued to enjoy the point of view of the werewolf, Jacob. He was a real and HUMAN character I understood completely and sympathized with. I enjoyed the lore of the wolves also, but Meyer didn't write enough about them, less than she did about the Volturi and the vampire culture of the Cullens. Only at the end of the last book do we find out what the werewolves are. And it seemed a little pasted on, although it didn't contradict anything that Meyer wrote about them before.
The beginning of the book made my skin crawl. And not in a horrific way. But then, I don't like reading pure romance, and I guess that's what the beginning was. Romance. I really hated the pregnancy idea. I thought it was gross and ridiculous. I skimmed all the way through it. (Thanks to my sister who said something like, "Don't you want to find out what Meyer does with that? Yeah. OK. I'll bite.)
I was rewarded by sticking with it and getting to read more about Jacob. The baby does add an interesting twist to the growing and changing vampire lore. In retrospect, it was a good idea to have Bella get pregnant, except for writing it as romance (ick) and for the character of Bella herself. There really isn't enough dynamite in the world to get rid of that pathetic human. She makes only a slightly better vampire. She and Edward are my least favorite vampires. I am much more drawn to Carlisle and Alice and now Renesmee (although she isn't a vampire, technically).
If I hadn't been interested in writing YA novels, I don't think I would have finished this series. I've enjoyed talking about it with others who have read these books and feel I have learned more about how I see myself as a writer. However, I always feel a little dirty when I've finished one these books. They feel a bit gimmicky.(less)
Not as scientifically analyzed as The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, but still an important book for our times. I think the cor...moreNot as scientifically analyzed as The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, but still an important book for our times. I think the corollary to this book would be one on understanding how supplements fit into our diet. How do we figure out what we are likely deficient in given our current diet and then what is the best bet for getting that mineral or fatty acid or vitamin into our diet. For example, what's the best way to get enough vitamin C and vitamin D in the winter months?(less)
I really like Pollan's writing. He is an everyman approaching a huge, complex subject that no one of us completely understands. But he does a terrif...moreI really like Pollan's writing. He is an everyman approaching a huge, complex subject that no one of us completely understands. But he does a terrific job of examining the Omnivore's dilemma from every angle. I learned a lot about the food chain and what it means to be organic from this book. I also gained a lot of insight into how big the dilemma is and that there are no easy answers for the world. All we can do is make the best choice as individuals and as families to answer the question, what's for dinner.(less)
I was hoping that the relationships with the parents would be developed and bring some balance to the main character and vampire thing. I was disappo...moreI was hoping that the relationships with the parents would be developed and bring some balance to the main character and vampire thing. I was disappointed. But like the werewolf!(less)
I read and worked through the exercises until page 9 in the library's copy of this book, then decided to buy the book. This book challenged me and con...moreI read and worked through the exercises until page 9 in the library's copy of this book, then decided to buy the book. This book challenged me and convinced me to commit myself to becoming a critical thinker. I bought the "Concise" edition on a gamble. It was half the price of this edition. But I couldn't "look inside" it to find out exactly which topics it covers. If it covers half the topics of this book, it should be good enough to get me started in the practice of critical thinking.
This book was a good overview of critical thinking pitfalls in modern times and a good introduction to critical thinking in general. Kida has a friend...moreThis book was a good overview of critical thinking pitfalls in modern times and a good introduction to critical thinking in general. Kida has a friendly style which draws you in and makes you feel like we are all in it together trying to become better critical thinkers. I suggest if you read this book to also plan to read a book that focuses more on the basics of critical thinking such as Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life(less)
Unlike,Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking this book is not as friendly. Riniolo's style is a bit more stand-...moreUnlike,Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking this book is not as friendly. Riniolo's style is a bit more stand-offish, even cocky, which was a turn-off for me. I read to page 50 and decided to skip ahead. Some of the topics were covered in other books I had read, so that was part of my reasoning as well. The content, however, is excellent, covering many of the bases required for understanding in a broad way what is required for critical thinking. Riniolo understands statistics well because he is a researcher himself (in psychology), and his discussions of claim examinations using statistics are good, but he doesn't explain terms enough for us non-stats people. I am aware that a good grasp of statistics is essential to the toolbag of an active critical thinker and skeptic, so it is on my list of things to re-learn. (I was a math major who hated stats!)
I did read in depth the chapter that examined global warming claims using the same techniques as one would for examining paranormal claims (Chapter 10). This is the only book I found in my local library that was recent enough to even mention global warming. I was excited. I thought this was an excellent techique for testing your ability as a critical thinker with such an immediate and divisive issue.
I was a little concerned that he focused on the claim of global warming instead of the claim of climate change, which is now the more correct theory of what is happening to our planet, according to climate scientist. The book was copyright 2008, so perhaps that was not as common an understanding as it is now. So, Riniolo's focus on global warming claims rendered arguments that focused on temperature data and warming trends.
Also, I became disappointed when Riniolo took upon himself to decide if global warming claims were true based on statistics alone. He is careful to repeat many times that he is not an expert on climate change, but this does not stop him from using the following reasoning, which I found somewhat flawed:
(page 150) "... the majority of scientists who investigate climate and climate change do believe global warming is occuring ... and that human activity is contributing."
[page 151:] quote from Hook, "The fact is that experts are sometimes wrong.... where our welfare is at stake we must do our own thinking."
[page 151:] "... the history of science continually reminds us that the prevailing opinion of today is often the laughingstock of tomorrow."
[page 151:] "Does that mean we should simply defer to the experts...?"
His answer is a resounding "no." He refers to Sagan, Randi, the Skeptics Society, and Shermer to support this conclusion. OK. I can believe that it is important to learn as much as you can from direct, primary sources, but climate change data is so subtle and complex, how can a layman understand the data when climate scientists have trouble coming to the same conclusions?
Riniolo uses the argument that because climate scientist don't agree, he (and you and I) should go in, look at the data and make our own conclusions. And he does, doing an impressive job of analyzing statistically the temperature data available on the internet. He makes his argument, and quite well, that the data does not back up the claim of global warming. I am aware that climate change is more at issue now (which supports his point about the changing of science, but also argues against a layman making his own conclusions about science).
He also argues (without looking directly at the data this time and quoting secondary sources) that the data is inaccurate. Does he have all the tools he needs to make a cogent argument? Probably not because he is not a scientist. But we can't know for sure. He comes off sounding like he thinks he knows more about global warming than climate scientists do. He is basically implying that because experts are human and make mistakes, he, a non-expert, is better equipped to make a conclusion about a scientific claim than they are. I gotta think there is something flawed in this logic.
I agree, if a claim effects us personally in a dramatic way we should do our own thinking, but we shouldn't substitute it for the thinking of experts. Now, Riniolo claims that he isn't doing that, but the tone of this chapter belies that claim.
I have to admit that this was a Good book for getting my critical cogs rolling!(less)
I read to page 23 and decided I would put this book aside until I could focus more on it. It looks like a heavy-duty logic and argument handbook for m...moreI read to page 23 and decided I would put this book aside until I could focus more on it. It looks like a heavy-duty logic and argument handbook for modern times. I think it will be a good study for me when I have the time to focus on it.(less)
Not as good as some of Willis' other time travel novels (Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog) but entertaining and interesting. If you like the ...moreNot as good as some of Willis' other time travel novels (Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog) but entertaining and interesting. If you like the concept of everyday time travel, Willis does a good job of sticking an everyman or everywoman into that world and putting them under a spotlight as they try to manage it when things don't go according to plan.
Willis' books have influenced me to write my own time-travel novel. (less)
Book 2 is a much more interesting read than Book 1. The main character is darker and the beautiful vampire is not so much the focus of the book. I fo...moreBook 2 is a much more interesting read than Book 1. The main character is darker and the beautiful vampire is not so much the focus of the book. I found myself getting tired of Edward. I really enjoyed the character of Jacob Black and look forward to reading more about him in the next book. Jacob is more interesting than the main character. It's funny, but I am having trouble writing an interesting female protagonist for my science fiction/time travel novel myself. Maybe it's a common problem? Not just female MCs, but MCs in general? Or maybe Meyer just wants the protagonist to be a little weak in these books so teen girls can continue to pretend she is not there...?(less)
**spoiler alert** I understand why this book is popular and why it was made into a movie. What I don't understand is why it won so many prizes. I don'...more**spoiler alert** I understand why this book is popular and why it was made into a movie. What I don't understand is why it won so many prizes. I don't intend to sound petulant because I admire any person who has finished writing a novel and sold it to a publisher, period. But as a writer myself, I have to ask the questions about the industry that I don't understand.
This book was OK. It is basically a romance for teens who like vampires. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I was bored after the first few chapters. The middle third of the book doesn't move from crisis to the next crisis. I think a YA reader would be bored, too. YA readers are smart and need challenging reading.
The basic idea is pretty cool for YA, but the characters are underdeveloped so their motivations are unclear and they seem to act for reasons of forwarding plot and not to help you understand them as characters better.
The main character, Bella, is bland. That really made the book hard for me to enjoy. My sister is a YA author and she suggested that perhaps Meyer made Bella bland on purpose so that YA readers (teenage girls) could insert their own personalities into Bella and thereby really get into the romance of it.
On the other hand, the atmosphere of the town Bella moves to, Forks, is tangible and well rendered. It is almost another character in the book. It is dark, sunless, wet, and outrageously lush and green. You can find metaphor pretty easily in its description, which relates directly to the concept of "twilight." Bella went to Forks to get away from her life, and maybe find a new life, but everything is dark and cold and remote. Yet that seems to suit Bella just fine. She is kind of dead herself, or maybe just asleep. I would have liked to have a strong sense of what drove her.
WARNING: There are SPOILERS throughout the next part of this review.
Bella's relationships to the people in Forks, including her father, Charlie, are almost non-existent. This creates a feeling of alienation, which is good for the atmosphere of the book, but doesn't help in terms of character development. Instead, we get 2-dimensional characters (or 1-dimensional if that is possible) whose lack of motivation leaves too many questions unanswered. For example, why Charlie does leave Bella to fend for herself immediately upon her arrival? He doesn't even try to spend time with her when she has moved so far to live with him. This is convenient to the plot so that Bella can get totally sucked in (sorry, couldn't help it) to a relationship with a vampire. A real father would have been much more concerned or have interesting reasons why he isn't concerned. We don't get any interesting reasons. We know he is married to his job because we are told he is, but we don't see him react to his daughter's presence until towards the end of the book, and then it is halfhearted.
It is also convenient that all the people at school who want to be her friend fall back and take a back seat when Edward makes his move.
The character of Edward is more interesting than Bella's. However, because we don't get his point of view, we can only learn about him through Bella's eyes. She never tires of describing his attractiveness and beauty, but in the same basic words every time. The book does not explain why Edward acts like a teenager in the first part of the book and then transitions into a full-grown man by the end. It gets creepy then because it is obvious hie is too "old" for Bella in many ways. She is so immature. It doesn't fit the "noble vampire" profile to make advances to an under-raged girl.
I would have been happier with the Edward character if Meyers had resolved some issues about his motivations. At first, when he was acting like a teenager, he is impulsive in his decision to reveal all to Bella and make her his girlfriend. He is "being bad" in his own words. He said the other vampires were not happy with his decision, but then they totally except Bella and are even happy about it (with one exception, which is never really explained). As we keep reading, we are given several reasons why Edward should not be with Bella, but no compelling reasons why they should be together. He could easily kill her himself if he is not careful, or bring other vampires around. We read that Edward has finally found the love of his life, which has taken 100 years, and yet, because his love is human, he will be alone again in less than another 100 years.
The only reason for Edward to take such a risk is that he is in love with Bella. But, I was never convinced that Edward really could be that attracted to her She just wasn't that interesting a human. Again, this does make it easier to insert yourself in there and say, "I would be so much more interesting." I would like to see better motivation, though, in an award-winning YA novel.
Bella does finally become a little more independent towards the end, albeit in a very unwise way. That's when the book came alive for me - the last eighth of the almost 500 pages. She finally takes charge of her life again (the last time was before the first chapter when she decides to move to Forks in the first place).
I recommend this book if you like YA romances. Or, if you just LOVE vampires regardless. I will be reading the second book, which I heard is better (but some reviewers on Goodreads do not think so...) If the 2nd book is indeed better, than I might make a stronger recommendation for this book as part of a series for YA readers.(less)
I found this book hard to read at first until I got used to the author's style and began to figure out her goals. (I skipped to the end of the book to...moreI found this book hard to read at first until I got used to the author's style and began to figure out her goals. (I skipped to the end of the book to read her conclusion.) Taylor stated in the beginning that she was examining the concept of brainwashing, but I did not understand what her definition of brainwashing was. She outlines many aspects of brainwashing: as a term of abuse, as a scientific process, as a dream, and as a concept of last resort, but does not obviously pick one definition before discussing the term, usually referring to "brainwashing" without qualification. As a result, I had difficulty following the discussion. I couldn't keep all of these aspects of the term "brainwashing" in my head as I read. This was especially true in the earlier sections about the history of brainwashing and the cultural experiences we have had with it. I understand now that she was trying to step back from any context in which brainwashing had been defined and start with a blank page, but I found it too frustrating. I did not know right away what the foundation of her arguments for deconstructing the concept was at any given time. I took me awhile to catchup.
The book became more focused as it got into discussions of psychiatry. By the time I read the sections on how the brain works, the text flowed more logically, although it was complex and challenging because of the subject matter. A very broad book, Brainwashing was a 5-week investment of my time. It was worth it, but I did struggle at times with the complexity of the issues Taylor was attempting to tackle. She touched the surface of a lot of important interrelated issues surrounding brainwashing. But this book, by itself, does not go into enough depth in any one area to truly make me feel that I understand.
I also thought that Taylor's style was a bit clunky. Maybe it was a cultural barrier between British English and American English. Taylor seemed to be trying to be "hip," which increased the cultural barrier, and which, at times, seemed flippant.
Taylor does deserve kudos for beginning to tackle the concept of brainwashing in a scientific way. She uses both empirical data and laboratory results to support her arguments. I plan to go on to other sources to get more information on the brain, psychiatry and behavioral studies. Taylor includes an extensive reference and further reading list, which I plan to use.
I recommend the book, but not as a single source on the subject.(less)
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