41 - The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook, by Matt Dunn, 407 pages, Simon and Schuster, 2006
WHY I PICKED IT: Re-read one of my favourite books
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Very Good
As part of my library purge, I need to decide which of the "guy-lit" section will be retained. High Fidelity and About a Boy, both by Nick Hornby for sure. Probably a few by Mike Gayle and Jonathan Tropper... and this one too. I hate the title, but the story itself is well written, funny, poignant, with a very likeable protagonist.
This is the story of Ed, whose girlfriend leaves and says, "it's not me, it's you"... and he decides to do something about it. The three months where he cleans up his look, his image, his self image, and ultimately his life.
Total brain candy, but excellent if that's what you're looking for :)
This blog is a simple review of every book that I read... For all books I’ll tell you why I picked it, how long it took me to read it, and give it a rating (burn it, not good, meh, good, very good, and required reading). I ask (encourage?) all readers of my blog to post their thoughts of any of the books in my comments :). Thanks!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
2011-40 - Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland
40 - Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland, 371 pages, Harper Perennial, 1995
WHY I PICKED IT: Re-read one of my favourite books
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Required Reading
As part of my library purge, I will be re-reading a lot of my favourite books this year. This is the book that got me into Douglas Coupland, and this remains one of my favourite books.
This is a coming of age story of a group of late bloomers... as told through the journal of Dan, a 20-something ex-Microsoft, current-start-up employee, in the middle of the 90's internet bubble. As Dan and his friends shed the no-life work focused geek culture of Microsoft and adapt to the culture of Silicon Valley, they consider the influence of technology on society and how they relate to one another.
This story is humourous, quirky, and has enough in there to make you think. If you've never read Coupland, I highly recommend this story.
WHY I PICKED IT: Re-read one of my favourite books
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Required Reading
As part of my library purge, I will be re-reading a lot of my favourite books this year. This is the book that got me into Douglas Coupland, and this remains one of my favourite books.
This is a coming of age story of a group of late bloomers... as told through the journal of Dan, a 20-something ex-Microsoft, current-start-up employee, in the middle of the 90's internet bubble. As Dan and his friends shed the no-life work focused geek culture of Microsoft and adapt to the culture of Silicon Valley, they consider the influence of technology on society and how they relate to one another.
This story is humourous, quirky, and has enough in there to make you think. If you've never read Coupland, I highly recommend this story.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
2011-39 - Will Grayson, will grayson, by John Green and David Levithan
39 - Will Grayson, will grayson, by John Green and David Levithan
WHY I PICKED IT: Written by John Green
ELAPSED TIME: <1 day
RATING: Meh
This is the story of two guys with the same name. Both are in high school, and are roughly the same age, and both live in the Greater Chicago Area... but otherwise they're quite different. Green's character has good friends and comes from a family of achievers. Levithan's character is somewhat self loathing, tolerates people, and has only a Mom (who is pretty great, but irritates her teenaged son.
This is the weakest of John Green's books... and it's not at all his fault. Rather, the chapter-by-chapter interruptions to read Levithan's will grayson was distracting and not really all that enjoyable.
Although an interesting intellectual exercise, to experience two writers taking the perspective of different characters in an interwoven story; ultimately, this book failed because an intellectual exercise should not a novel make.
WHY I PICKED IT: Written by John Green
ELAPSED TIME: <1 day
RATING: Meh
This is the story of two guys with the same name. Both are in high school, and are roughly the same age, and both live in the Greater Chicago Area... but otherwise they're quite different. Green's character has good friends and comes from a family of achievers. Levithan's character is somewhat self loathing, tolerates people, and has only a Mom (who is pretty great, but irritates her teenaged son.
This is the weakest of John Green's books... and it's not at all his fault. Rather, the chapter-by-chapter interruptions to read Levithan's will grayson was distracting and not really all that enjoyable.
Although an interesting intellectual exercise, to experience two writers taking the perspective of different characters in an interwoven story; ultimately, this book failed because an intellectual exercise should not a novel make.
2011-38 - There are no Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz
38 - There are no Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz, 309 pages, Doubleday, 1991
WHY I PICKED IT: Kotlowitz was one of the producers of an awesome documentary called The Interrupters that I saw at HotDocs earlier this year.
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Good
This book is engaging and disturbing... if you want to know what it is to experience growing up in an American ghetto, this book is it. Kotlowitz follows Lafeyette and Pharoah for three years - hanging out with them and interviewing them and their friends. From the gang-based gunfire and friends who die young, to their mom who is barely hanging on to her sanity, through to the schools ill equiped to handle educating the kids, forget about supporting their psycho-social needs... these kids are living in a war zone.
Having read this, I think American ghettos are scarily comparable to Internally Displaced Persons camps:
a) Limited access to clean water.
b) Fewer men around... and those that are, are typically dangerous.
c) Dependent on the goodness of a government that oftentimes doesn't trust or respect you.
d) A dangerous place to live, but with few alternatives.
Given that this was written so long ago, I'd be curious to know where these two boys are today.
As a reader, I must admit that this book left something to be desired. Kotlowitz does a tremendous job in articulating the multitude of ways that these boys are failed by the system - from schools that are ill equipped so educate them, to the welfare people who fail to feed and clothe them, through to the justice system who fail to protect Lafeyette when he's obviously innocent of a crime... Where he fails is in suggesting a path forward, or identifying ways that we may each get involved... although, I guess that's not a bad thing. Understanding the problem is necessary before we can truly solve it... something to consider.
WHY I PICKED IT: Kotlowitz was one of the producers of an awesome documentary called The Interrupters that I saw at HotDocs earlier this year.
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Good
This book is engaging and disturbing... if you want to know what it is to experience growing up in an American ghetto, this book is it. Kotlowitz follows Lafeyette and Pharoah for three years - hanging out with them and interviewing them and their friends. From the gang-based gunfire and friends who die young, to their mom who is barely hanging on to her sanity, through to the schools ill equiped to handle educating the kids, forget about supporting their psycho-social needs... these kids are living in a war zone.
Having read this, I think American ghettos are scarily comparable to Internally Displaced Persons camps:
a) Limited access to clean water.
b) Fewer men around... and those that are, are typically dangerous.
c) Dependent on the goodness of a government that oftentimes doesn't trust or respect you.
d) A dangerous place to live, but with few alternatives.
Given that this was written so long ago, I'd be curious to know where these two boys are today.
As a reader, I must admit that this book left something to be desired. Kotlowitz does a tremendous job in articulating the multitude of ways that these boys are failed by the system - from schools that are ill equipped so educate them, to the welfare people who fail to feed and clothe them, through to the justice system who fail to protect Lafeyette when he's obviously innocent of a crime... Where he fails is in suggesting a path forward, or identifying ways that we may each get involved... although, I guess that's not a bad thing. Understanding the problem is necessary before we can truly solve it... something to consider.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
2011-37 - Little Princes, by Conor Grennan
37 - Little Princes, by Conor Grennan, 282 pages, William Morrow, 2010
WHY I PICKED IT: My friend Eileen recommended it
ELAPSED TIME: 4 days
RATING: REQUIRED READING
Telling the tale of how Grennan went from volunteering in an orphanage during a civil war so that he could say "I volunteered in an orphanage in a civil war" to loving the kids, and starting his own NGO to help return these children to their families.
The relationships that he builds with his friends and colleagues to are also passionate about this kind of work, the relationship he builds with Liz, and most importantly the relationships he builds with so many of these kids are all so well written and expressed.
Grennan is open about the lessons he learns:
- The need for patience - That "Nepal time" isn't about incompetence and laziness, but when putting families together that have been apart for more than 4 years, you can't just drop the kids off and wave goodbye, but allow the relationships between parent and child to be reformed.
- The humility - These parents sent their children with the wealthy man from Kathmandu not because they wanted their kids to be turned into slaves, but because they genuinely thought that was the best option for their child because the alternative is being kidnapped and turned into a child soldier... and being the preaching Westerner is the absolute wrong thing to do.
This is way, way, WAY better than Mortensen's Three Cups of Tea. The best book I've read this year (so far); I highly recommend it
WHY I PICKED IT: My friend Eileen recommended it
ELAPSED TIME: 4 days
RATING: REQUIRED READING
Telling the tale of how Grennan went from volunteering in an orphanage during a civil war so that he could say "I volunteered in an orphanage in a civil war" to loving the kids, and starting his own NGO to help return these children to their families.
The relationships that he builds with his friends and colleagues to are also passionate about this kind of work, the relationship he builds with Liz, and most importantly the relationships he builds with so many of these kids are all so well written and expressed.
Grennan is open about the lessons he learns:
- The need for patience - That "Nepal time" isn't about incompetence and laziness, but when putting families together that have been apart for more than 4 years, you can't just drop the kids off and wave goodbye, but allow the relationships between parent and child to be reformed.
- The humility - These parents sent their children with the wealthy man from Kathmandu not because they wanted their kids to be turned into slaves, but because they genuinely thought that was the best option for their child because the alternative is being kidnapped and turned into a child soldier... and being the preaching Westerner is the absolute wrong thing to do.
This is way, way, WAY better than Mortensen's Three Cups of Tea. The best book I've read this year (so far); I highly recommend it
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)