http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/394729 en-US Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:03:28 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 28234643 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:03:28 -0700
author: Ann Gentry
name: Amey
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/24/08
shelves:
review:
one of the best vegan cookbooks out there. The desserts aren't so hot, but the entrees are totally dependable. It's a vegan "meat and potatoes" kind of a book, hearty, healthy, nourishing meals. good.
]]> 28234585 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:01:03 -0700
author: Joe Sacco
name: Amey
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/24/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 28234581 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:01:01 -0700
author: Joe Sacco
name: Amey
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/24/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 28234576 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:00:55 -0700
author: Joe Sacco
name: Amey
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/24/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 16317625 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:54:29 -0700
author: Suketu Mehta
name: Amey
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 07/24/08
shelves:
review:
Wow. This book is revealing, creepy, disturbing, and compelling. It's a pretty disturbing insight into the darkest sides of Bombay's gangsters, corrupt police, erotic dancers, and movie business. At certain times in the book, I did get a bit weary of the author's relentless, and mostly unexplained, fascination with the crap-side of Bombay. I wished he would have found a good soul or two to focus on, but I guess good souls are less interesting. That said, the book is so extremely well-written that I could hardly put it down. The prose is so evocative.
]]> 16317528 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:46:53 -0700
author: Paramahansa Yogananda
name: Amey
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 01/08
date added: 07/24/08
shelves:
review:
Oh dear. I have been laboriously plowing my way through this book. It's such a famous book, in print for so many decades, but I can't say it held my attention. There are some lovely reflections on yoga philosophy, interesting insights into the guru-disciple relationship, and interesting elements from a historical perspective. Some chapters are more readable than others, but somehow my overall attitude toward reading the book became rather like a burdensome duty. One interesting element is how non-credible Mr. Paramahansa Yogananda is a narrator. It's a bit of mind-bender to suspend your reality and enter into his. I like that part of this book best of all.
]]> 18016674 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:19:07 -0700
author: Ishmael Beah
name: Amey
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 03/18/08
shelves:
review:
This book is perhaps not the most well-written book ever, but the story is engrossing and it's a very hard book to put down. I read the whole thing on a 20-hour flight to India, instead of sleeping. It's painfully sad, but worthwhile in that it gives a personal account of the pain and horror that war causes. It's also amazing and nearly unbelievable that the author manages to regain a sense of humanity and dignity by the end of his plight. I would definitely recommend it.
]]> 9194656 Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:46:25 -0800
author: Martin Luther King Jr.
name: Amey
average rating: 4.52
book published: 1981
rating: 4
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/25/08
shelves:
review:
What a thought-provoking book. It's a collection of speeches, and it's beautiful, timely & timeless, inspiring, and interesting. I definitely recommend this.
]]> 9194482 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:56 -0800
author: Rupert Snell
name: Amey
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 02/08
date added: 11/16/07
shelves:
review:
well, it's a bit of a lie to say that I've "read" this book, but it's off my list for now. Due to various circumstances, I only made to about chapter 3 or so. But I'm definitely hanging on to it for the next time I go to India. It's a good little text book - useful information presented in managable chunks... and the accompanying CDs are really essential to help with the pronunciation. Hindi has a number of subtle sound distinctions that we don't have in English, so the CDs were very helpful.
]]> 6438358 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:30 -0800
That said, there are some lovely little passages in it that accurately capture fleeting experiences.

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author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Amey
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 11/07
date added: 11/16/07
shelves:
review:
I can't say I loved this book. I heard about it from so many people... For my tastes, the author's tone is a bit too whimsical, too inward-looking without actually being very intimate or vulnerable. In the end it felt weirdly self-involved and not otherwise interesting enough for me.

That said, there are some lovely little passages in it that accurately capture fleeting experiences.


]]> 6676283 Sat, 06 Oct 2007 07:55:02 -0700
At least, the first 3/4 of it is like that. For me, the ending dragged out and was no longer mesmerizing - although certainly still interesting enough to read.

The book tells the story of her childhood - in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya & Ethiopia. Her tales are told with intelligence, compassion, and humanity - but not self pity or even an excessive worship of her own self identity. It's quite a refreshing tone for an autobiography, especially about a life so horrific and difficult.

I was totally captured by reading about her experiences growing up as a girl in Muslim Africa, the source of her independent thoughts, how those thoughts evolved into increasingly powerful forces in her life, the emergence of a feminist again all odds, about Somali clan structure, about the effects of civil war on their lives, about her experience as an African refugee in Holland... Already I have had the experience of reading a news story about Somali in the paper, and felt that I had a better understanding of the lives & history of Somali people.

The end of the book gets into contemporary Dutch politics, as well as her time in forced hiding after her friend and collaborator is murdered... which is still good, but at least let me set down the book for a day and do some dishes.
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author: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
name: Amey
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 09/07
date added: 10/06/07
shelves:
review:
Wow. This book sucked me in and wouldn't let go. It kept me up until 2 am, and had me shirking my responsibilities left and right. It's one of those books that you carry with you in case you have to wait at a stop light for more than 1 minute.

At least, the first 3/4 of it is like that. For me, the ending dragged out and was no longer mesmerizing - although certainly still interesting enough to read.

The book tells the story of her childhood - in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya & Ethiopia. Her tales are told with intelligence, compassion, and humanity - but not self pity or even an excessive worship of her own self identity. It's quite a refreshing tone for an autobiography, especially about a life so horrific and difficult.

I was totally captured by reading about her experiences growing up as a girl in Muslim Africa, the source of her independent thoughts, how those thoughts evolved into increasingly powerful forces in her life, the emergence of a feminist again all odds, about Somali clan structure, about the effects of civil war on their lives, about her experience as an African refugee in Holland... Already I have had the experience of reading a news story about Somali in the paper, and felt that I had a better understanding of the lives & history of Somali people.

The end of the book gets into contemporary Dutch politics, as well as her time in forced hiding after her friend and collaborator is murdered... which is still good, but at least let me set down the book for a day and do some dishes.

]]> 6437380 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:27:04 -0700
author: Azar Nafisi
name: Amey
average rating: 3.41
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 07/07
date added: 09/22/07
shelves:
review:
I loved this book so much, and not just because I am interested in all things Iranian. The author is such a fine writer, and she interweaves the world of fiction with her own day-to-day life to great effect. I particularly loved her ability to be comfortable with the grey area... acknowledging both the good and the harmful in various circumstances, without needing to fixate upon either "good" or "bad."
]]> 6438439 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:26:39 -0700
author: Mahatma Gandhi
name: Amey
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 01/07
date added: 09/22/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 6438288 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:26:23 -0700
author: Pema Chödrön
name: Amey
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 09/07
date added: 09/22/07
shelves:
review:
This is a worthwhile read, even if it's not always 100% gripping. The central arguments revolve around the cycle of aggression starting in our minds, and therefore the path away from aggression also starts in our mind. There are some very lovely passages to this effect, with precise language and specific suggestions on how to reduce all forms of aggression (anger, jealousy, guilt, blame, anxiety...) in our lives. In any case, it is only 100 pages long and definitely worth reading. It's primary message that aggression cannot be stopped by the application of more aggression is something that we all need to be reminded of again and again.
]]> 6504984 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:26:00 -0700
author: Joe Sacco
name: Amey
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 01/06
date added: 09/22/07
shelves:
review:
such an amazing book. A very human & humane look at the struggle of the Bosnian conflict. The drawings are so compelling and add to the power of the story. I couldn't get this book out of my system for weeks after reading it... And when I did arrive in Bosnia, after having read this book, things & faces looked familiar. It's an amazing piece.
]]> 6438508 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:57:53 -0700
author: Jon Kabat-Zinn
name: Amey
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 09/19/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 6437887 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:53:58 -0700
author: Joan Didion
name: Amey
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 09/19/07
shelves:
review:
Oh wow. This book is so amazing... Didion perfectly captures the numb stupor of grief, the phase of information collection (as a tool for coping), and the gradual acceptance of loss. It's a very moving portrait of grief, but also of the relationship that she lost. I was particularly touched by the simple, mundane nature of her memories - and by how profoundly touching they become after his absence.
]]> 6437715 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:51:12 -0700
author: Judith Lasater
name: Amey
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 09/19/07
shelves:
review:
This is one of my favorite books on yoga ever. A wonderful reference in particular... Each accessible chapter introduces a concept from yogic philosophy in a way that is direct & easy to relate to... I always seem to benefit from re-reading it.
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