false 16 332 315 true 5668388 read 3 true 2085529 currently-reading 14 true 2085528 to-read 83 false 4818801 young-adult 35 false 2085858 nonfiction 33 false 2085859 memoir 10 false 2085718 dessert-books 9 false 5051948 didn-t-finish 7 false 6355234 read-for-school 7 false 4607274 graphic-novel 1 false 8519338 glbtq http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34362503 to: The Shack (Paperback) by William P. Young
I'm torn about what to write in this review. On the one hand, I think the book has a lot of potential to reach out to people who are struggling with issues of God and religion and spirituality. Indeed, it already has, if you look at the number of hands that have received it. But has it made a lasting difference in the world? I don't know.

I'm also perhaps being unreasonably critical and stubborn about the book simply because it has gotten so much popular attention. But I felt like the book was trying to be two different things - a novel, and a philosophical treatise. I would have preferred it to be one or the other. If it was the former, then I could judge it on it's literary merits. If it was the latter, I could judge it on it's reasoning, logic, or philosophy, ignoring the writing style. So I guess I'll give two different reviews...

Novel: Two stars
I did not like the writing style. I thought that the author was too formulaic and not imaginative enough in the way he wove his philosophy into the story. There were whole pages worth of,
"Jesus said, "[...:]" Mack looked confused. "I don't understand," he said. Jesus replied "[...:]" "Oh, now i get it," said Mack. "But what about [...:]?" And Papa jumped in, saying, "[...:]" etc, etc, etc. Where is the real dialogue? You could take any philosopher and do this to their work, but that wouldn't make it a novel any more than it makes this into a novel. But I suppose that's what it takes to sell it to the masses...

Philosophical treatise: Four stars
It's easy to like a philosophy that you agree with. This one happens to fall pretty close to my own spiritual leanings. I didn't find it all that revolutionary, but it was explained well, using metaphors that are fairly familiar to those of us with a WASP background. Would it resonate with non-Christians (even though in the last part Jesus says it should)? I kind of don't think so. There was just too much Judeo-Christian leaning and references. I know there are a lot of other folks with more rigorous arguments about the book, so I'll leave it at that. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77223427 to: Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood (Hardcover) by Julie Gregory
bookshelves: memoir
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77223466 to: King's Property (Queen of the Orcs, #1) by Morgan Howell
Ehhh... wasn't that impressed. Morgan Howell builds a strong female character who moves through her world and fights against the gender roles and social norms that have put her in a position of slavery to other humans and Orcs.

Unfortunately, everything in the story is just too convenient to be really believable. For instance, she's just naturally good at languages (even though she's lived in a backwoods place with little or no outside exposure to other languages). Second, the Orcs just automatically listen to her, questioning her line of thought just enough to make conversation, but not so much that she has to work hard. And more stuff like that, throughout. I don't really care to read the second one.

Oh yeah, and I thought that the thinly veiled attempts to avoid sexual language without actually avoiding sexual situations was kind of a weird cop-out. It's not like it made it less provocative for young people or those with sensitive minds, it just made you think harder about it to make sure you were following what was insinuated. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77222993 to: Catching Fire (Hunger Games, #2) by Suzanne Collins
bookshelves: young-adult
Why didn't I give this five stars? Because I'm a little bitter that reading this book has made all other novels seem boring and slow as molasses. Yep, it's good. At least as good as "Hunger Games," if not better simply by virtue of the fact that I didn't have to spend time getting to know characters or being shocked by the violence. It's almost too fast paced. I read it in about 8 hours, straight through - I'd suggest taking at least 3 days (one for each section) if you can make yourself wait, simply because it won't leave you shaking from withdrawal quite so badly when you finish. :) Can't wait for the next one... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77222235 to: Mothers (Hardcover) by Jax Peters Lowell
At first I felt the author spent too much time on descriptions - everything was mulled over in great, artistic detail. For a small boy to be the narrator, this was a little overdone. But as I got farther in, I found that I liked the story told from this point of view, even if it was a little unrealistic. There was an incredible depth to this book, with characters who were fully realized. It was also long enough that I spent several days reading it, thinking about it, and looking forward to more, but at the end I felt satisfied.

In some ways, I am always looking for books with gay characters where being gay is not an issue (or at least the major plot focus). This was strangely true and at the same time false. The story wasn't really about a pair of lesbian mothers so much as it was about how society changes both our inner and outer lives, and how family can mean many different things.

My only disappointment was in the way that the narrator never goes back to find Shorty and either return the pin or at least make sure he is constantly fed. It seemed the least he could do, and while I guess it makes the boy more human, it also made me think just a little less of him. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75563497 to: Candyfreak (Library Binding) by Steve Almond
bookshelves: nonfiction
Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for this book. I found the parts about candy and the candy factory interesting and vaguely informative, but the book was so liberally sprinkled with Steve Almond's weird digressions into the ecstasies he experiences and the accompanying letdowns, that I just couldn't fully enjoy it. If he had stuck to one theme - candy, for instance - and done a more full investigation, it would have been better. However, he tells these odd half-stories about himself (like losing his driver's license - what was the point of that, again?) like one of those friends who wants to talk about themselves all the time but never tells you the whole story, just the parts they are obsessing about.

Anyway, it was fine for a couple of days worth of randomness, but I was unimpressed by Almond's writing. Let me know when he comes out with a revised edition. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74980771 to: The Dazzle of Day (Paperback) by Molly Gloss
I had a hard time getting into this one, and all the esperanto thrown in didn't make it any easier. As soon as I got in the groove with one character, she'd switch and I'd have to really work to get back into the book. However, the last two chapters made it all worthwhile, especially the last chapter. It was so lyrical and evocative with the way she wove descriptions of the planet into the way it affected the culture and this character in particular. I loved that part.

I also got a kick out of learning about the Quaker way of solving problems. The ultimate in democracy, their decision-making process was incredibly time consuming and yet so wonderfully contemplative and intentional. For that reason alone I'm really glad I read this book. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74980881 Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (Paperback) by Azar Nafisi
bookshelves: didn-t-finish
(Still working on this one, but didn't want to put it on my "currently reading" list because I only pick it up when I go home to visit my folks. Obviously it isn't so engaging that I can't put it down. A very thick and laborious read, in my opinion.) ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74979302 to: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia (Paperback) by Elizabeth Gilbert
bookshelves: memoir
I am torn about how I feel about this book because it is such a bestseller (which makes me automatically suspicious - I'm that kind of person) and because I just liked The Last American Man so much better. But I found some great tidbits of wisdom in here about finding your spiritual self and being good to yourself, which I appreciated.

On the other hand, I found some of her revelations about talking to her rational self when she's upset to be over the top (doesn't everyone do that? I do. You're not so special.) and I guess I was also disappointed that her situation didn't give me very much hope about my own because, quite frankly, how many of us can afford to take a year off and go travel and live like that? If that's what it takes to find yourself and be happy, well then, I might as well give up now.

That said, it was a mostly enjoyable read, easy to get through, approachable, funny. Gilbert is a good writer (when she's not navel-gazing too much) and I can see why people like the book. ]]>