false 2 88 71 true 5814438 read 3 true 5201985 currently-reading 14 true 5201959 to-read <![CDATA[Jason is on page 100 of The Brothers Karamaz... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73681457 Jason is on page 100 of 776 of The Brothers Karamazov ]]> <![CDATA[Jason added 'The Brothers Karamazov']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73681457 The Brothers Karamazov (Paperback) by Fyodor Dostoevsky
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Jason added 'American Gods']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59379770 to: American Gods (Paperback) by Neil Gaiman
]]> <![CDATA[Jason added 'The Graveyard Book']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58985525 to: The Graveyard Book (Hardcover) by Neil Gaiman
What a wonderful story! It's no wonder that the book was awarded a Caldecott Medal.

I wanted to get this book for my oldest at Xmas (she was 7 then), but my mom thought (from reading the dust jacket) that it was too frightening. Too dark. Too bloody. So she didn't get that book as a gift. This meant that I had to get it. And read it. And enjoy it. And sublimate all desire to tell me familiy how good a book it is. Until I read it to all of them (which I'll do, soon).

My mom's reaction was reasonable, and I shared a bit of that concern, too, when I read the dust jacket. A man knife-kills an infant boy's family but the boy escapes to a graveyard and is raised by ghosts. What a grim frame for a story. No wonder my mom was apprehensive.

But, reading further, Gaiman unravels a tale that is so human and life affirming, and that makes the murders that kicked off the story so fantastical, that young people who hear the story will not have the nightmares that my mom had feared for my kids.

I can't wait to finish the current book I'm slogging through with my oldest so we can get to this one. Thanks, Neil!!! ]]> <![CDATA[Jason added 'Lost in the Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70904093 to: Lost in the Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods (Paperback) by Cary J Griffith
I'm a Minnesota boy, through-and-through. Growing up, summer treks into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area were expected of me. My dad make such trips when he was a lad, or so he claimed in his fire-side stories, so my northward wanderings (with Church groups and with buddies) were supported and celebrated. And a trek into Quetico was something many people, including me, only dreamed of. So when my mom showed me this book saying that it was an interesting read about a couple guys who had traveled North for their own treks, I borrowed it and read it, too.

It took me a to get into the book. The author's style is less of a story teller and more that of a journalist. This isn't a criticism, it's backward looking observation. A story teller tries to hook you right away, but the journalist that wrote this book DOES hook you. It just takes a little longer.

If you're a fan of hiking, canoe camping, or of the North Woods (be they in MN, MI, or elsewhere), this is a good read.

And if you are, or know, someone who volunteers their time to carry out rescue operations in the backcountry, this book is a celebration of your efforts and your creativity. Cheers to your spirit and your work. ]]> <![CDATA[Jason added 'Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68446597 to: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (Shambhala Pocket Classics) by Natalie Goldberg
This was one of the first books on writing that I read seriously in the 80s. It started my addiction to books on writing, fountain pens, and it helped me rationalize my attraction to writing itself. I remember the author's admonition to 'write everyday if you can' just like a runner runs every day, and to not have high expectations of preconceptions of what you are going to produce.

Now that I've reread it after 15+ years, I can say that the book bears up very well against the passage of time. I reread it via an Audible.com re-release of the book that included commentary of the author after most chapters of the book. Hearing her reflections on what she was thinking at the time and how she now views herself then were a savory addition to the text, but... if you're a beginning writer, just stick with the written version of the book. (Her commentary softens her enthusiasm a bit, which is OK for old folks like me but not for idealists. Go idealism!)

I won't say much more here in the manner of a review of the book, except to say that it should be required reading for anyone who takes writing seriously. This is a broad statement, meant to include those who do 'something else' for a living but for whom writing is an important component. Me, I write homework assignments and memos and grant proposals. I'm not a 'professional writer' but this book has helped me use writing to become a better professional in my chosen area. Google me to find out what that area is, if you're curious, and prepare to be stunned. (Most of my students believe their major excuses them from the need to improve their writing! Such fools.)
]]> <![CDATA[Jason added 'Practical Ethics']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70902887 Practical Ethics (Paperback) by Peter Singer
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Jason added 'Red Mars']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68446498 to: Red Mars (Mars Trilogy, #1) by Kim Stanley Robinson
]]> <![CDATA[Jason added 'Blue Mars']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68446492 to: Blue Mars (Mars Trilogy, #3) by Kim Stanley Robinson
]]> <![CDATA[Jason added 'Green Mars']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68446488 to: Green Mars (Mars Trilogy, #2) by Kim Stanley Robinson
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