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July 15
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Kelly
is currently reading:
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (Paperback)
by Malcolm Gladwell
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Kelly
gave
to:
Ubiquity: Why Catastrophes Happen (Paperback)
by Mark Buchanan
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recommended for: people who are interested in catastrophes and like a good dose of hard science
read in July, 2008
Kelly said:
"This is an interesting exploration of the reasons that many types of catastrophes are genuinely unpredictable. The explanation has to do with chaos theory and more. It reminds me in some ways of The Tipping Point, prima...more
This is an interesting exploration of the reasons that many types of catastrophes are genuinely unpredictable. The explanation has to do with chaos theory and more. It reminds me in some ways of The Tipping Point, primarily because one of the key examples in the book is of a sandpile that is stable until one particular grain of sand causes an avalanche (although this book is more scientifically robust). It's a pretty interesting read, but at times I found it a bit challenging, even though Buchanan generally writes at a good level for popular science. I also did not find the book as interesting as I did one of his other books, Nexus.
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July 10
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Kelly
gave
to:
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness and the Fair that Changed America (Audio Cassette)
by Erik Larson
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my rating:
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recommended for: people who like historical tales with an element of creepiness
read in June, 2008
Kelly said:
"I only read this book because it's the June pick for a book group I keep meaning to go to. The book tells two only peripherally-related stories: the creation of the landmark Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the doings of a serial killer operating in ...more
I only read this book because it's the June pick for a book group I keep meaning to go to. The book tells two only peripherally-related stories: the creation of the landmark Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the doings of a serial killer operating in Chicago at the time. The murderer, H. H. Holmes, devised a clever way of luring his victims, young women: a hotel to house the mobile people passing through to see the world's fair.
The first half or so of this book had this escalating creepiness, because Larson was giving us all this information about Holmes and hints about what he was doing, but not actually revealing a single murder. Eventually this tactic had to stop, and we started actually seeing what he was doing (which was still really creepy). Interlaced with Holmes' story is that of the fair, which is a story entirely about the men of the fair. (Well, actually there was one woman, as they thought it would be cute to get a woman architect to design the Women's Building. Some high society witch-with-a-B compromised the building by forcing the contractors to deviate from the original design, culminating in the architect having a nervous breakdown after she had fought this every way she could. So nice to see women supporting each other. :| But of course this is all an aside.) The fair almost didn't happen because there was so much bureaucracy and political crap going on. Once its design and construction was underway, we learn about the various architects involved. They were definitely a cast of characters. Eventually they managed to construct a small city, overcoming so many barriers. And the people did come to the fair. So it was a pretty interesting tale, really. ...less
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June 22
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Kelly
gave
to:
Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole (Hardcover)
by Benjamin R. Barber
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recommended for: people who are interested in capitalism and consumerism
read in June, 2008
Kelly said:
"This was an interesting enough book, though I have a couple gripes about it. It's about the rampant consumerism that is present in the West, but especially the U.S. His key argument is that adult consumers are infantilized by the current economy, whi...more
This was an interesting enough book, though I have a couple gripes about it. It's about the rampant consumerism that is present in the West, but especially the U.S. His key argument is that adult consumers are infantilized by the current economy, which primarily produces needs rather than goods. He also criticizes the economy for targeting children as consumers. Later in the book, he criticizes capitalism for developing the way it has developed, and provides several suggestions for fixing all of the problems caused by the current consumerism. Barber writes from an American perspective, but he discusses the global scene pretty well.
So, what I didn't particularly like was that it seemed like Barber was exceptionally repetitive, especially in the first half. This is largely a result of the fact that this is written as an academic book. Because Barber needs to make sure that everyone knows that he did his research, he says the same thing different ways and then backs everything up with multiple points. Another thing that irritated me was that his writing style was sometimes less accessible than it could have been. This is also because of the academic nature of the book. This kind of writing bugs me because it's unnecessary--big words I don't know don't impress me that much. ...less
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June 18
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Kelly
gave
to:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Signet Classics)
by L. Frank Baum
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my rating:
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recommended for: people who want to have read every classic
read in June, 2008
Kelly said:
"I know this is probably sacrilegious or something, but I was mostly just bored by this book. I know it's a kids book, but I guess I expected more. Everyone knows the basic story: Dorothy of Kansas gets swept away in a tornado, and ends up in some far...more
I know this is probably sacrilegious or something, but I was mostly just bored by this book. I know it's a kids book, but I guess I expected more. Everyone knows the basic story: Dorothy of Kansas gets swept away in a tornado, and ends up in some faraway land called Oz. She desperately wants to get back to Kansas and embarks on a quest to meet the most powerful wizard of the land, who people believe could help her get back. On the way she makes an odd combination of friends, each with some goofy trait or two (and their own greatest wish to ask Oz for). They make it through several dangerous adventures on the way to see Oz and after visiting with him. Everyone gets what they want eventually, except Dorothy, who gets sent to see Glinda the Good Witch. Finally she is told the secret to getting back, and all her friends get what they want, too.
So why didn't I think it was great? It was just too predictable and there was too much deus ex machina action. They wouldn't really have been able to overcome most of the challenges they faced, if things had been more realistic (and I mean realistic according to the reality in the book). I also found the fact that she was a much younger girl than in the movie somehow a bit creepy. Still, I'm glad I read it, as it is considered a classic.
P.S. Strangely, I don't think I've ever watched the movie. I think I've seen bits of it, but never in its entirety. Maybe I would have liked the book more if I liked the movie. ...less
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June 16
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Kelly
gave
to:
Fat: The Anthropology of an Obsession (Paperback)
by Don Kulick, Anne Meneley
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my rating:
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recommended for: people who are interested in people
read in June, 2008
Kelly said:
"This is a collection of essays relating to fat, by anthropologists. Overall, I found the collection really interesting, but some were better than others. Generally these are musings on aspects of fat on humans, although there is one article that focu...more
This is a collection of essays relating to fat, by anthropologists. Overall, I found the collection really interesting, but some were better than others. Generally these are musings on aspects of fat on humans, although there is one article that focuses on olive oil and another about lard as a delicacy in some parts of Italy. One of the more interesting articles is about a culture in Niger where women should be as fat as possible, rather than thin. Stretch marks and big buttocks are considered beautiful and young girls are force-fed to fatten them up as much as possible. There are articles about people in the Andes who fear the pishtaco (a white attacker who will steal all of their fat), obesity in the popular rap scene, straight porn with big women, gay porn with big men, and shrine to a "saintly" lady in Portugal who claims to have not eaten for the last 13 years of her life. There is an interesting article about how Swedish teenage girls talk about fat. Basically, they complain about their fat only if they aren't fat at all; to complain about it if you are actually overweight is a faux pa. Another article talks about the products Brazilian women use to avoid gaining weight, products that do things like alter your body chemistry so it doesn't absorb fat. Others deal with the fat-related side-effects of some HIV treatments, the importance of Spam and other fatty foods to native Hawaiian cuisine, and the goings-on of a women's fat activist group. One article looked at the way we use coffee drinks to treat or indulge ourselves occasionally or even daily. The author found that many people would request skim milk but then order whipped cream. I thought this was funny, especially because I generally request them to hold the whipped cream. I ought to be skinny, I'm so saintly.
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June 15
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Kelly
marked as to-read:
The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession with Weight is Hazardous to Your Health (Hardcover)
by Paul Campos
bookshelves:
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my rating:
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Kelly
gave
to:
PopCo (Paperback)
by Scarlett Thomas
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my rating:
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recommended to Kelly by:
Gwen
recommended for: people with enquiring minds who have at least a little patience
read in June, 2008
Kelly said:
"This was really an awesome and exciting book. I couldn't really name what kind of book this is, as it interweaves so many topics (and well) that it's unbelievable. Foundational themes include cryptanalysis and marketing, but the author also touches o...more
This was really an awesome and exciting book. I couldn't really name what kind of book this is, as it interweaves so many topics (and well) that it's unbelievable. Foundational themes include cryptanalysis and marketing, but the author also touches on several other interesting areas, including 17th-century pirates, artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, virtual worlds, gaming, mathematics in general, and British schoolgirl life in the 80s. I loved the nod that Bletchley Park got, as I worked on a project there during my time in England.
As you might imagine, the story is kind of unusual for bringing all of these things together in a coherent way. The basic premise is that Alice Butler works for PopCo, an internationally successful toy company. She was brought into a long-term focus group that was supposed to come up with a Big Idea relating to a specific demographic that the company has trouble selling to. The group is staying at an isolated estate, cut off from the Internet and any other non-PopCo-related media. They go to all these seminars and mingle with each other and so on. While she's there, Alice is getting mysterious encoded messages from some unknown person. The book sleeve made it sound like this was a huge part of the story, but really it's not, at least until the end. A bigger part of the story is her relationship with the people at the estate and the tale of her childhood, right after her father abandoned her. The other constant theme is marketing, marketing, marketing.
One of the things that's interesting about the book is that before you read it, you are given the impression that PopCo is sinister or evil. But in reality it's not really different from any other company, as it's just a normal company with normal, aggressive marketing tactics. People sometimes forget that with capitalism, the number one goal is for the individual to make as much money as possible, without consideration for the safety/sanity of others. And companies are just collections of individuals. These ideas come out in the end of the book.
I do have two slightly negative things to say about the book. First, it was a really slow read for me. I can't say exactly why, but it took a long time for me to get into it, even though I found it interesting. And even then, my reading pace didn't really speed up like it normally does. I read that Thomas is part of a group of writers who intentionally write in a very simple, straightforward manner. Personally, I think a little embellishment doesn't do any harm and sometimes can really move things along. The other thing is that I do have to admit that the ending did disappoint me just a little. It was just a bit of a let-down, as it didn't stand up to the rest of the book somehow. I just expected something more impressive. But I still thought it was great, overall. So read it but be forewarned. ...less
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Kelly
gave
to:
Sardine in Outer Space (Paperback)
by Emmanuel Guibert
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my rating:
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recommended for: people who like goofy and colorful artwork and silly space stories about kids
read in June, 2008
Kelly said:
"I am a big fan of Joann Sfar, primarily because of Vampire Loves, which he wrote and illustrated. Sardine was written by a frequent collabo...more
I am a big fan of Joann Sfar, primarily because of Vampire Loves, which he wrote and illustrated. Sardine was written by a frequent collaborator of his and illustrated by Sfar. It is the story of two kids, Sardine and Little Louie, and Sardine's space pirate uncle, Yellow Shoulder. They get involved in some crazy antics, indeed. I love the artwork in Sardine (lots of goofy space monsters) but was a little bored by the writing. To be fair, this is a book targeted at 4th to 8th graders--though I've read other kids books that entertained me more. I have not decided yet if I will read the follow-up Sardine books, but there's a chance I might get them just for the artwork.
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June 07
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Kelly
marked as to-read:
Isaac's Storm: The Drowning of Galveston (Paperback)
by Erik Larson
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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