http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/113387 en-US Tue, 24 Jul 2007 08:39:38 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 3452156 Tue, 24 Jul 2007 08:39:38 -0700
author: Marc Levy
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 04/04
date added: 07/24/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 2766667 Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:08:34 -0700
This book was set in 17th century Delft and detailed the journey of Griet, a young woman who becomes a maid and, eventually, muse for the artist (who did exist) Vermeer.

The reason why I really liked this book is the extraordinary way Chevalier describes the ordinary: A trip to the butcher or a walk across the city is so beautifully detailed that it really transported me to a landscape that is very different than my own. It is also worth noting that Griet experiences the pain of unrequited love, a universal emotion, with her master. She is also unsure if she loves the young butcher who desires her hand in marriage. Throughout the book, she experiences the jealousy of other women, the burden of her parent's expectations, and the pain of moving away from home. All of these situations are incredibly relatable, which made for a very engaging story.

I am very curious about the movie adaptation of this book. This book relies so much on the unspoken and unseen that I cannot imagine how it was captured. I will soon find out, I'm sure.

]]>
author: Tracy Chevalier
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 07/07
date added: 07/09/07
shelves:
review:
My expectation was low for this book: I just assumed that historical fiction=boring. I was absolutely wrong and I am so glad that I gave this book a chance.

This book was set in 17th century Delft and detailed the journey of Griet, a young woman who becomes a maid and, eventually, muse for the artist (who did exist) Vermeer.

The reason why I really liked this book is the extraordinary way Chevalier describes the ordinary: A trip to the butcher or a walk across the city is so beautifully detailed that it really transported me to a landscape that is very different than my own. It is also worth noting that Griet experiences the pain of unrequited love, a universal emotion, with her master. She is also unsure if she loves the young butcher who desires her hand in marriage. Throughout the book, she experiences the jealousy of other women, the burden of her parent's expectations, and the pain of moving away from home. All of these situations are incredibly relatable, which made for a very engaging story.

I am very curious about the movie adaptation of this book. This book relies so much on the unspoken and unseen that I cannot imagine how it was captured. I will soon find out, I'm sure.


]]> 2277948 Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:48:04 -0700
author: Sam Lipsyte
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 07/07
date added: 07/04/07
shelves:
review:
So I started reading this book and it took me a few chapters to get into it and I was starting to totally like it but then my Klosterman book arrived, so I read that for a bit. I realized that I needed to finish this one though, so I picked it back up last night and whipped through it: The character of Lewis "Teabag" Miner is a total Generation X stereotype: Very intelligent waste of potential who thinks he is so different and his brilliance is the reason that he is failing at life. His peers do not see him in this light. Teabag's obsession is his high school alumni newsletter and every month, he submits an essay, and every month, said essay is never posted, probably because he is obsessed with masturbation, inappropriate women, and drugs. Even though he is never published, month after month Teabag keeps submitting his essays and skulking around his hometown, running into former classmates and his former principal. Teabag's journey is all about discovering why he didn't "pan out" and it culminates at his high school reunion, or "Togethering" where a dramatic act shows his classmates that Teabag may not be the loser that they all assumed him to be.
]]> 1730741 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:10:09 -0700
author: Jeffrey Eugenides
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at: 01/06
date added: 07/03/07
shelves:
review:
I've read this book several times. I love Eugenides' vivid imagery. He really captures the desperation and pain that unrequited love brings. On a shallow note, I love that he sets his novels in Michigan and that the protaganists seem to be obsessed with music.
]]> 2679851 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:58:40 -0700
author: Douglas Coupland
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at: 01/01
date added: 07/03/07
shelves:
review:
I honestly need to reread this as I have no recollection of what I think about it. I know I read it. I know I liked it. I just don't remember why.
]]> 1630091 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:57:40 -0700
author: Douglas Coupland
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.49
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 01/00
date added: 07/03/07
shelves:
review:
This is the first Coupland book I ever read! I found it on the shelves at the library I was working at and the pink jacket and Smiths reference piqued my interest.
]]> 1630080 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:55:51 -0700
I also liked the movie better. SORRY B.E.E.!]]>
author: Bret Easton Ellis
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 02/02
date added: 07/03/07
shelves:
review:
This book made me want to do hard drugs. I'm not alone in this sentiment, which is pretty hilarious, I think.

I also liked the movie better. SORRY B.E.E.!
]]> 2679450 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:52:42 -0700
Did you know that Quentin Tarantino was originally going to play the part of Pei Mei? Crazy, but true, and that is just one of the secrets Carradine divulges to us in this neat book. Also, there are a lot of sweet, insider pictures included.]]>
author: David Carradine
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 03/07
date added: 07/03/07
shelves:
review:
What a cool book. Despite the eye-roll inducing title, Carradine offers a really interesting, first-hand account of what happened before, during, and post-filming Kill Bill.

Did you know that Quentin Tarantino was originally going to play the part of Pei Mei? Crazy, but true, and that is just one of the secrets Carradine divulges to us in this neat book. Also, there are a lot of sweet, insider pictures included.
]]> 2625619 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 08:20:51 -0700
author: Suroosh Alvi
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 04/07
date added: 07/02/07
shelves:
review:
VICE magazine is ultra funny. I had just broken up with my boyfriend and was feeling weepy and open and this book allowed me to laugh at the expense of strangers and get back to my normal, wry self. For that I am so grateful.
]]> 2625507 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 08:19:13 -0700
author: Chuck Klosterman
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 07/07
date added: 07/02/07
shelves:
review:
Chuck Klosterman has the biting humor and encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture that I hope my future husband will posess. I love this man and I adore his style of writing. I was having a brutal week and this arrived on hold for me at the library and it cheered me right up. Klosterman's essays to me are as good as ice cream, bubble baths, and puppy dogs-they bring me up when I'm feeling down. I hope to hug him someday.
]]> 2137985 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:54:01 -0700
author: Mary Gaitskill
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/22/07
shelves:
review:
This book was the journey of Alison. She was a rebellious teenager, then successful model, then a faded beauty, and finally, a middle-aged, somewhat unhappy woman. This book was very true-to-life in that it captured how, even when we are doing one thing, our thought process may be completely contrary. I also liked how important music was to all of the characters.
]]> 1730781 Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:36:53 -0700
author: Jeffrey Eugenides
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 01/03
date added: 06/06/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1687911 Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:13:34 -0700
author: Dean Koontz
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 01/07
date added: 06/05/07
shelves:
review:
The title is accurate! This book was a real thriller and I whipped through it in a few nights.
]]> 1687851 Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:11:53 -0700
author: Tom Robbins
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1980
rating: 4
read at: 01/06
date added: 06/05/07
shelves:
review:
I do not know how to make love stay.
]]> 1687729 Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:08:15 -0700
author: Stephen Chbosky
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 01/01
date added: 06/05/07
shelves:
review:
This book is the perfect book for high school nerds/outcasts/etc. I loved it as a sophomore in high school, but I'm sure that if I read it now, I'd find it to be a lot less moving.
]]> 1663626 Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:06:43 -0700
author: Charles Frazier
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 01/04
date added: 06/05/07
shelves:
review:
I'm guilty of seeing the movie first and then reading the book. The book was better.
]]> 1663898 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:39:25 -0700
I still have not seen the movie version of "The Shawshank Redemption." I probably should...]]>
author: Stephen King
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.51
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at: 01/02
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
The version of the I read also had "Apt Pupil" as a novella and I was impressed with both.

I still have not seen the movie version of "The Shawshank Redemption." I probably should...
]]> 1663803 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:36:30 -0700
I read this because the movie "Secretary" was adapted from a short story of the same name in this book. I was not disappointed.]]>
author: Mary Gaitskill
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at: 01/05
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
I like stories about people who live ordinary lives but are secret perverts. I find my own appetites to be positvely tame by comparison.

I read this because the movie "Secretary" was adapted from a short story of the same name in this book. I was not disappointed.
]]> 1663723 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:34:00 -0700
author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 01/05
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
I reread this book when I took an oral interpretation course in school. Palahniuk creates the most memorable, interesting characters. I liked this story because it was told in a female voice which was unique for CP.
]]> 1663679 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:32:07 -0700
I still like this book a whole lot. ]]>
author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 01/03
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
I saw the movie before I read the book and I read the book hoping that it would answer some questions. It did not.

I still like this book a whole lot.
]]> 1663583 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:29:10 -0700
author: Bruce Campbell
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 01/05
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
Bruce Campbell is a god among men.
]]> 1630088 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:28:07 -0700
author: Bret Easton Ellis
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 01/05
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
This was a great comeback novel from Bret Easton Ellis. I liked the style-part fiction, part memoir; hard to tell what was true and what was fabricated. It was interesting, though; gave a lot of insight about what it's like to be so well-known and then become an ordinary person, how jilting that can be.
]]> 1630087 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:26:18 -0700
author: Bret Easton Ellis
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at: 01/02
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
Ahhh, the plane crash scene of this book ruined it for me. I don't like feeling like I'm going to vomit while I am reading.
]]> 1630094 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:25:16 -0700
I give this book a "meh" plus.]]>
author: Douglas Coupland
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2004
rating: 2
read at: 01/07
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
This book was disappointing to me. First of all, it's unfair to use a Beatle's song as a title-expectations will be way too high. Secondly, it seems that Coupland's last efforts have all been about lonliness which is getting a little tiresome.

I give this book a "meh" plus.
]]> 1662428 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:22:51 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 01/07
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
Weetzie Bat grows up! This is a terrific end to her adventures and I was not disappointed. I love these books-Block's style sparkles. It's like the book form of spun sugar-light and sweet.
]]> 1662921 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:14:23 -0700
Rock memoirs are fun. Manson is an interesting character or at least he was. Alice Cooper did it better and did it 20 years before Mari, but hey, who's splitting hairs?]]>
author: Marilyn Manson
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 01/01
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
I read this when I was a weird high school kid. Maybe a reread is in order. I did like it, though I questioned the validity of all of his stories.

Rock memoirs are fun. Manson is an interesting character or at least he was. Alice Cooper did it better and did it 20 years before Mari, but hey, who's splitting hairs?
]]> 1662801 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:11:51 -0700
author: Dita Von Teese
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 01/06
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
Dita Von Teese is gorgeous and this amazing coffee table book is loaded with portraits of her remarkable body and perfectly painted face. This book offered insights about burlesque and how it grew from secret shows to a cultural phenomenon, but the stunning photography is the main draw.
]]> 1662746 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:08:26 -0700
author: Chuck Klosterman
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 01/05
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
Chuck Klosterman's unique style of writing coupled with his choice of rants made me laugh and laugh. As a "Saved by the Bell" fan (I say this with no irony), I really appreciated the Tori essay. Some of my friends feel that Klosterman is too smug but I find him clever and entertaining.
]]> 1662723 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:06:14 -0700
author: A.N. Roquelaure
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.37
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 03/04
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
This was the first "erotica" that I ever read and I really enjoyed it.
]]> 1662566 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:04:14 -0700
The great thing about this entire trilogy is you gather ideas about what you may want to add to your own sexual menu, or at the very least, start fantasizing about pouncing on your partner. ]]>
author: A.N. Roquelaure
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
I read this book while on a plane to Florida and I found that I hid the cover because I didn't want others to see what I was reading.

The great thing about this entire trilogy is you gather ideas about what you may want to add to your own sexual menu, or at the very least, start fantasizing about pouncing on your partner.
]]> 1662568 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:01:24 -0700
author: A.N. Roquelaure
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.53
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
Erotica is definitely my porn of choice. I find this type of sexuality a lot more interesting than skin mags or net porn.
]]> 1662434 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:54:15 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1662431 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:54:11 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1662426 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:53:59 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1662424 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:53:57 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1662422 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:53:56 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1662420 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:53:54 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1662419 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:53:52 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1662417 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:53:46 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1662411 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:53:36 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1662338 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:52:52 -0700
author: Francesca Lia Block
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 01/03
date added: 06/04/07
shelves:
review:
This book and all of the Weetzie Bat books are perfect lazy weekend books. Run a bath (preferably one with pink bubbles), lock the door, and just escape for a bit into the world of Weetzie Bat and her fantastic friends.
]]> 1630114 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:23:30 -0700
This book tried to enforce the idea that feminists are not haters of sex-in fact, feminists are quite the opposite. However, what is considered "sexy" now does not promote positive feelings toward young women; this new sexuality is male-driven and promoted and is not exactly healthy.

I don't expect this book to change the world, but I think that it encourages healthier ideas about sex and femininity and feminism.]]>
author: Ariel Levy
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 05/06
date added: 06/03/07
shelves:
review:
I was taking a Women's Studies class in school and, what can I say, this book touched a nerve. Like Ms. Levy, I do not like the incorrect assumption that, by adopting a "Girls Gone Wild" mentality, young women are making a powerful, feminist statement.

This book tried to enforce the idea that feminists are not haters of sex-in fact, feminists are quite the opposite. However, what is considered "sexy" now does not promote positive feelings toward young women; this new sexuality is male-driven and promoted and is not exactly healthy.

I don't expect this book to change the world, but I think that it encourages healthier ideas about sex and femininity and feminism.
]]> 1630098 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:12:55 -0700
author: Douglas Coupland
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/03/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1630096 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:12:48 -0700
author: Douglas Coupland
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 06/03/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1630084 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:11:48 -0700
author: Bret Easton Ellis
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/03/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1630072 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:11:22 -0700
author: Bret Easton Ellis
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/03/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1630063 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:10:57 -0700
author: Michael Cunningham
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 06/03/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1629969 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:10:42 -0700
author: Michael Cunningham
name: Ashley
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at: 05/07
date added: 06/03/07
shelves:
review:
I enjoyed this book. The novel jumped from character to character, telling the story of how two young men fell into a sort of love and how their families and friends reacted to this. Throughout the novel, we meet other characters but the book is really about how these men remain in each others lives.
]]>