07 - Q, by Evan Mandery, Harper Collins, 359 pages, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT: Saw it at the airport book store
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Not Good
So I must start with an admission: I did not read every page in this book. The protagonist is an author, and not a very good one... so when Mandery includes chapters from this protagonist's book, I skipped them.
The premise of this story is a good one: A guy is about to marry the love of his life when a future version of himself comes and tells him a story from his future... One that drives him to leave her. Six months later, a different version of himself (from the new life path), tells him to marry someone else. A third version tells him to leave her. A fourth version tells him to write funnier books. A fifth tells him to go to law school. A sixth tells him to explore the world. A seventh to become a Buddhist... and so on and so forth.
But the protagonist isn't a strong character (and as a result, not very engaging), until he starts telling these future versions to stop interfering with his life. A realization that I made long before him.
In short... I do not recommend this book. Save your money... and more importantly use your time in a different way.
SPOILER ALERT. STOP IF YOU ARE GOING TO IGNORE THIS RECOMMENDATION AND READ THE BOOK NONETHELESS
So what would cause a guy to leave the love of his life? If he married her, and had a son... and they were extremely happy. They doted on this child who is smart and funny, and well liked. And they love each other. But the child gets sick. And the child ultimately dies. And their relationship ends because of the strain.
Would you seek to avoid 30 years of sorrow if you knew it was coming after 10 happy years? Would you give up the 10 happy years to ensure that was the case? I don't know what I'd do... I like to think that I'd take the happiness, despite the sorrow that was to follow.
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!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
2012-06 - The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
06 - The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, Dutton Juvenile, 336 pages, 2012
WHY I PICKED IT: I've read every book of fiction that John Green has written
ELAPSED TIME: 7 days
RATING: Good
16 year old Hazel is dying. Hanging on with help from a miracle drug and a tank of oxygen she has to drag around, Hazel is waiting for the terminal cancer that she's had for most of her life to ... well to take it. But when Augustus comes into her cancer support group, Hazel finds her soul mate; a cancer survivor who has lost his first girlfriend to cancer.
An interesting question arises: If you knew of an emotional trauma that is coming, would you avoid it simply because you could see it... despite the fact that the trauma is only as a result of the happiness you're currently feeling?
If you like John Green, you'll love this story... If you don't, you may simply find this to be an engaging tale that sucks you in. As always, Green writes for young adults, but doesn't write down to them... I continue to be a fan.
WHY I PICKED IT: I've read every book of fiction that John Green has written
ELAPSED TIME: 7 days
RATING: Good
16 year old Hazel is dying. Hanging on with help from a miracle drug and a tank of oxygen she has to drag around, Hazel is waiting for the terminal cancer that she's had for most of her life to ... well to take it. But when Augustus comes into her cancer support group, Hazel finds her soul mate; a cancer survivor who has lost his first girlfriend to cancer.
An interesting question arises: If you knew of an emotional trauma that is coming, would you avoid it simply because you could see it... despite the fact that the trauma is only as a result of the happiness you're currently feeling?
If you like John Green, you'll love this story... If you don't, you may simply find this to be an engaging tale that sucks you in. As always, Green writes for young adults, but doesn't write down to them... I continue to be a fan.
Friday, February 10, 2012
2012-05 - Only Time Will Tell, by Jeffrey Archer
05 - Only Time Will Tell, by Jeffrey Archer, Pan MacMillan, 450 pages, 2011
WHY I PICKED IT: I've read every book of fiction that Jeffrey Archer has written
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Good
This book is classic Archer. A character that is "good" (Harry Clifton) another that is "not good" (Hugo Barrington) and a tale that spans decades that sucks you into their lives.
Harry Clifton is a lower class-born child in Bristol in the aftermath of the Great War ... his natural talents, great role models and advocates, and hard work all combine to get him opportunities to move up in society. Hugo Barrington is the father of his best friend... will do anything he can to keep Harry down (despite being the grandson of a dock worker himself).
This is an engrossing story and a fast read. I can't wait for Volume Two of the Clifton Chronicles.
WHY I PICKED IT: I've read every book of fiction that Jeffrey Archer has written
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Good
This book is classic Archer. A character that is "good" (Harry Clifton) another that is "not good" (Hugo Barrington) and a tale that spans decades that sucks you into their lives.
Harry Clifton is a lower class-born child in Bristol in the aftermath of the Great War ... his natural talents, great role models and advocates, and hard work all combine to get him opportunities to move up in society. Hugo Barrington is the father of his best friend... will do anything he can to keep Harry down (despite being the grandson of a dock worker himself).
This is an engrossing story and a fast read. I can't wait for Volume Two of the Clifton Chronicles.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
2012-04 - The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid
04 - The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid, Penguin, 209 pages, 2007
WHY I PICKED IT: Book Club
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Good
This is an engrossing tale... told entirely in the first person. Changez is a Pakistani living in Lahore... telling the story of his experience in the USA to an American stranger in the market: From Princeton on scholarship, into the Manhattan corporate world, and his relationship with Erica, a girl from the Upper East Side (read: from old money). The struggle of a man from a formally wealthy Pakistani family, working hard to succeed in the USA, derided and derailed in the aftermath of September 2001 is compelling... despite written in the first person (which you would think would be hard to read).
The tale Changez tells is engrossing, but I am not sure I really understood the underlying "present day" tale that Hamid is telling us. Who is this American that sits for hours with a stranger and listens to the story? What else is going on, I really don't follow...?
WHY I PICKED IT: Book Club
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Good
This is an engrossing tale... told entirely in the first person. Changez is a Pakistani living in Lahore... telling the story of his experience in the USA to an American stranger in the market: From Princeton on scholarship, into the Manhattan corporate world, and his relationship with Erica, a girl from the Upper East Side (read: from old money). The struggle of a man from a formally wealthy Pakistani family, working hard to succeed in the USA, derided and derailed in the aftermath of September 2001 is compelling... despite written in the first person (which you would think would be hard to read).
The tale Changez tells is engrossing, but I am not sure I really understood the underlying "present day" tale that Hamid is telling us. Who is this American that sits for hours with a stranger and listens to the story? What else is going on, I really don't follow...?
Thursday, February 2, 2012
2012-03 - Kiss of the Fur Queen, by Tomson Highway
03 - Kiss of the Fur Queen, by Tomson Highway, Anchor Canada, 306 pages, 1998
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Wendy
ELAPSED TIME: 3 weeks
RATING: Meh
Telling the story of two Cree brothers from Northern Manitoba, Champion and Ooneemeetoo Okimasis... renamed Jeremiah and Gabriel by the Catholics, and raised in a residential school (with all the horrors that entailed)... These two brothers struggle to fit - not able to understand native culture and not able to integrate into White Canada.
Despite the fact that I relate strongly to that experience (the cultural divide)... I just didn't love this book. Highway's voice as an author is too abstract... the time shifts forward felt choppy. And the "Fur Queen," as the Goddess watching down on them, was of a culture that I simply didn't understand, and Highway didn't make accessible enough (to me).
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Wendy
ELAPSED TIME: 3 weeks
RATING: Meh
Telling the story of two Cree brothers from Northern Manitoba, Champion and Ooneemeetoo Okimasis... renamed Jeremiah and Gabriel by the Catholics, and raised in a residential school (with all the horrors that entailed)... These two brothers struggle to fit - not able to understand native culture and not able to integrate into White Canada.
Despite the fact that I relate strongly to that experience (the cultural divide)... I just didn't love this book. Highway's voice as an author is too abstract... the time shifts forward felt choppy. And the "Fur Queen," as the Goddess watching down on them, was of a culture that I simply didn't understand, and Highway didn't make accessible enough (to me).
Sunday, January 8, 2012
2012-02 - City of Thieves, by David Benioff
02 - City of Thieves, by David Benioff, Penguin, 258 pages, 2009
WHY I PICKED IT: Saw it at the airport bookstore
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: REQUIRED READING
Oh what a fantastic story! A gripping tale of one week of a boy's life in St. Petersburg during WWII.
He is caught looting the corpse of a German Paratrooper, and instead of being killed for the crime, gets drafted into a crazy challenge - to find a dozen eggs for a Soviet Colonel's daughter's wedding cake. Along with a deserter named Kolya, Lev Beniov seeks to accomplish this task.
Whether or not this truly is the story of the author's grandfather, it's a beautiful story of a terrible time. A tremendous coming of age story with an amazing adventure thrown in.
WHY I PICKED IT: Saw it at the airport bookstore
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: REQUIRED READING
Oh what a fantastic story! A gripping tale of one week of a boy's life in St. Petersburg during WWII.
He is caught looting the corpse of a German Paratrooper, and instead of being killed for the crime, gets drafted into a crazy challenge - to find a dozen eggs for a Soviet Colonel's daughter's wedding cake. Along with a deserter named Kolya, Lev Beniov seeks to accomplish this task.
Whether or not this truly is the story of the author's grandfather, it's a beautiful story of a terrible time. A tremendous coming of age story with an amazing adventure thrown in.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
2012-01 - Room, By Emma Donoghue
01 - Room, By Emma Donoghue, Harper Collins, 321 pages, 2010
WHY I PICKED IT: It was selected by my Book Club
ELAPSED TIME: 8 days
RATING: Meh
An curious premise... The story of a child who is born in a room where his Mom is being held captive, kidnapped 7 years earlier. The first 100 pages of the book drags, his experience in Room is ... painful to read. His experience of escaping, and trying to integrate into Outside is very well written, but not great. I didn't enjoy this story.
WHY I PICKED IT: It was selected by my Book Club
ELAPSED TIME: 8 days
RATING: Meh
An curious premise... The story of a child who is born in a room where his Mom is being held captive, kidnapped 7 years earlier. The first 100 pages of the book drags, his experience in Room is ... painful to read. His experience of escaping, and trying to integrate into Outside is very well written, but not great. I didn't enjoy this story.
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