Jaime (ibeforem) - Christiansburg, VA (1,634 books)

Jaime gave

to:

Fly Away Home
by Jennifer Weiner (Goodreads Author)

read in December, 2011

My rating:

I’ve been a little reluctant to read more from Weiner, because the first two books I read focused so much on the weight of the protagonist that it was a little bit of a turn-off. Thankfully, Weiner has grown as a writer and moved away from that to fo...moreI’ve been a little reluctant to read more from Weiner, because the first two books I read focused so much on the weight of the protagonist that it was a little bit of a turn-off. Thankfully, Weiner has grown as a writer and moved away from that to focus on more important issues.

Fly Away Home is about what happens to a family when a betrayal is revealed in a very public way. Sylvie, the victimized wife, decides that she needs some time away. She moves to her mother’s vacation home, hoping to figure out who she is now that she’s not being the Senator’s wife. Her oldest daughter, Diana, is a busy doctor with an inattentive husband who finds excitement in the arms of another man, despite seeing what adultery has done to her parents. Her youngest daughter, Lizzie, is a recovering drug addict who is relishing the chance to be the caretaker for a change. I’d tell you more about the men, but they are rather one-dimensional.

I rather enjoyed Sylvie and Lizzie’s parts of the story, but had major issues with Diana, for several reasons. First, she’s basically a bitch. From the beginning to the end, I had a hard time mustering up any sympathy for her. Weiner tries really hard to make her husband, Gary, as distasteful as possible, but the more distasteful she made him, the worse Diana looks. In fact, I felt bad for Gary, because he married a woman who obviously never loved him to begin with and only married him because she figured she might as well get that part of her life over with. Box checked. I also didn’t like the hot and cold relationship she had with her young son, who seemed so much better off with his recovering addict aunt. And finally, the event that forces Lizzie out of Diana’s house made no sense to me. It seemed like an incredibly huge over-reaction. I think we’re supposed to accept it because Diana is lashing out at someone else to assuage her own guilt, but it didn’t work.

I also found the ending to be a bit disappointing. It’s open-ended, and I would have preferred at least a little resolution.

I listened to this on audio and enjoyed Judith Light as narrator.(less)

Jaime gave

to:

A Dangerous Mourning (William Monk, #2)
by Anne Perry

read in December, 2011

My rating:

William Monk is an unusual character. Because he doesn’t know anything about his own background, the reader has nothing to pull from to understand his motivations. For instance, why does he hate his boss so much? Is it just because he rubs him the wr...more

Jaime gave

to:

The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life)
by Chris Hardwick

read in December, 2011

My rating:

I generally don’t read self-help books, but I picked this up because I am a fan of Chris Hardwick. Hardwick, who some may recognize as being one of the hosts of MTV’s Singled Out way back in the 90s, spent much of his 20s partying, drinking, and gene...moreI generally don’t read self-help books, but I picked this up because I am a fan of Chris Hardwick. Hardwick, who some may recognize as being one of the hosts of MTV’s Singled Out way back in the 90s, spent much of his 20s partying, drinking, and generally ruining his life. What happened when he hit 30 is best expressed in his own words:

"Then, when I hit thirty, I began to look around at my life: I was consuming a baby elephant’s weight in alcohol EVERY DAY. I lived in a shitty apartment near UCLA … my place was always a mess, I had ruined my credit, and I had no real work prospects. I had become a thing I had always feared–the fat, drunk guy who used to be on television."

Hardwick quit drinking in 2003 and started trying to improve his life. Now he has multiple projects on the go, including a successful (and extremely entertaining) podcast, a new podcast network, and several TV gigs.

The secrets to Hardwick’s success aren’t anything new. Basically, he was able to harness his innate nature (his nerdiness, so to speak) and use it to his advantage. And that’s what this book is about.

His techniques aren’t going to appeal to everyone, but if you enjoy the quantitative over the qualitative, you may find some ideas here. In general, he is advocating identifying your goals and developing a way to track your progress in a visible way. He also talks a lot about how to deal with the generally obsessive "nerdist" brain, something which I could relate to. It’s nice to know that you’re not the only one who thinks the way you do. In the final section, he talks a lot about his diet and fitness, even providing a starter fitness plan that is modeled after what he has done with his trainer.

One thing you can’t forget is that Hardwick is a comedian. The tone of the book is funny and descriptive, even during the more serious parts.

All-in-all, I enjoyed the book, even if I won’t adopt some of the more time-consuming tracking techniques. However, there is one big ding against it. Hardwick spends a fair amount of time on the development of a "character tome" that is the heart of his goal-tracking technique. He sends readers to a web site for sample templates, but that website is not functional. We’re now almost 3 months after the release of the book, and that’s really not acceptable.

Good thing it’s hard to be mad at Hardwick for long.(less)

Jaime gave

to:

Silent Night
by Mary Higgins Clark

read in December, 2011

My rating:

This was an impulse Christmas read and it was exactly what I wanted: short and sweet. Though truthfully, the only thing Christmas has to do with the story is to act as a setting. It’s not like the bad guy has some big moment of redemption. Regardless...more

Jaime gave

to:

Likely To Die (Alexandra Cooper, #2)
by Linda Fairstein

read in December, 2011

My rating:

Maybe it was because it’s been almost 5 years since I read a book in this series, but I was not impressed. If this book had been edited to eliminate everything that had nothing to do with the plot, it could have been half its size. Fairstein gets way...more

Jaime gave

to:

The Red Queen
by Margaret Drabble

read in December, 2011

My rating:

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll first say that I didn’t actually finish this novel. However, I did invest a lot of time (and a book club meeting) in it, so I’m counting it.

This novel is written in two parts, both narrated by the "ghost" of Q...more

Jaime gave

to:

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
by John Boyne

read in December, 2011

My rating:

This book is meant to be a fable, but I’m not sure it’s entirely successful. It is written in the voice of Bruno, the 9 year old son of a high-ranking Nazi officer, and that’s the part that didn’t work for me. Considering the audience and intentions ...more

Jaime gave

to:

Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, #7)
by Jim Butcher (Goodreads Author)

read in December, 2011

My rating:

I listened to this WAY back around Halloween, when zombies were timely. Thankfully, there’s really no wrong time to listen to a Harry Dresden book.

When the book opens, Harry has found himself in a bit of a weird place in his life. His newly-discovere...more

Jaime gave

to:

The Cut
by George Pelecanos

read in December, 2011

My rating:

I’ve been a fan of Pelecanos ever since I found out he was one of the creators of The Wire (I’m surely not the first person to tell you to watch that show), and I actually liked this book a little more than the last couple of his I’ve read. It’s stil...more

Jaime has challenged herself to read 110 books in the 2012 Reading Challenge

Create your own 2012 Reading Challenge »

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Jaime gave to: Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner (Goodreads Author) read in December, 2011	My rating:
I’ve been a little reluctant to read more from Weiner, because the first two books I read focused so much on the weight of the protagonist that it was a little bit of a turn-off. Thankfully, Weiner has grown as a writer and moved away from that to fo...more
Jan 31, 2012 04:47pm · see review
Jaime gave to: A Dangerous Mourning (William Monk, #2) by Anne Perry read in December, 2011	My rating:
William Monk is an unusual character. Because he doesn’t know anything about his own background, the reader has nothing to pull from to understand his motivations. For instance, why does he hate his boss so much? Is it just because he rubs him the wr...more
Jan 30, 2012 07:11pm · see review
Jaime gave to: The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life) by Chris Hardwick read in December, 2011	My rating:
I generally don’t read self-help books, but I picked this up because I am a fan of Chris Hardwick. Hardwick, who some may recognize as being one of the hosts of MTV’s Singled Out way back in the 90s, spent much of his 20s partying, drinking, and gene...more
Jan 23, 2012 02:09pm · see review
Jaime gave to: Silent Night by Mary Higgins Clark read in December, 2011	My rating:
This was an impulse Christmas read and it was exactly what I wanted: short and sweet. Though truthfully, the only thing Christmas has to do with the story is to act as a setting. It’s not like the bad guy has some big moment of redemption. Regardless...more
Jan 20, 2012 01:45pm · see review
Jaime gave to: Likely To Die (Alexandra Cooper, #2) by Linda Fairstein read in December, 2011	My rating:
Maybe it was because it’s been almost 5 years since I read a book in this series, but I was not impressed. If this book had been edited to eliminate everything that had nothing to do with the plot, it could have been half its size. Fairstein gets way...more
Jan 20, 2012 01:09pm · see review
Jaime gave to: The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble read in December, 2011	My rating:
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll first say that I didn’t actually finish this novel. However, I did invest a lot of time (and a book club meeting) in it, so I’m counting it. This novel is written in two parts, both narrated by the "ghost" of Q...more
Jan 15, 2012 12:44pm · see review
Jaime gave to: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne read in December, 2011	My rating:
This book is meant to be a fable, but I’m not sure it’s entirely successful. It is written in the voice of Bruno, the 9 year old son of a high-ranking Nazi officer, and that’s the part that didn’t work for me. Considering the audience and intentions ...more
Jan 15, 2012 11:48am · see review
Jaime gave to: Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, #7) by Jim Butcher (Goodreads Author) read in December, 2011	My rating:
I listened to this WAY back around Halloween, when zombies were timely. Thankfully, there’s really no wrong time to listen to a Harry Dresden book. When the book opens, Harry has found himself in a bit of a weird place in his life. His newly-discovere...more
Jan 09, 2012 06:17pm · see review
Jaime gave to: The Cut by George Pelecanos read in December, 2011	My rating:
I’ve been a fan of Pelecanos ever since I found out he was one of the creators of The Wire (I’m surely not the first person to tell you to watch that show), and I actually liked this book a little more than the last couple of his I’ve read. It’s stil...more
Jan 09, 2012 05:17pm · see review
Jaime has challenged herself to read 110 books in the 2012 Reading Challenge Create your own 2012 Reading Challenge »
Jan 04, 2012 06:55am

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