For future reference here is my book rating system:
0: waste of time
1: entertaining throwaway read
2: striking page turner, interesting throughts, but might not read again
3: very good, would read again, but not quite fave
4: one of fave books
Monday, January 5, 2009
Drop City by T.C. Boyle
This was a story about hippees, who claimed to strive to be close to nature, be free to do whatever you want, live in a close community, and share free love - but their lifestyle was anything but that, especially when contrasted with a true mountain man from Alaska.
The hippees wanted to be close to nature, but didn't know anything about it. One of the characters in the story notes that they'd all have starved to death if it wasn't for supermarkets and food stamps. They want to be free to do whatever you want, but then no-one wants to clean the dishes, dig ditches for the toilets, or take care of the pool, and the society turns into filth. They want to live in a close community, but when resources get tight people start to get suspicious about those who aren't pulling their weight and want to turn people out. They want to share free love, but couples quickly form and soon things aren't free at all.
It felt like to me that this book was showing that all of the fundamental goals of being a hippee were wrong. I mean here they were out in the Alaska wilderness, but they were all so bored and miserable and the only high point of their day was to take artificial drugs and get stoned. However it seemed like there was something good about the hippee lifestyle - sometimes there were true friendships and true community, something that was missing out in the all-man-for-himself wilderness of Alaska.
I really liked the character Sess in the book - he was admirable for his know-how and ability to truly survive off the land. I was glad he found a wife - and I choose to imagine things working out for him. Would I like to live a life like his? I don't know - there are a lot of pleasures in life that he is missing out there in that lonely cabin.
Rating: 2/4 (riveting page turner, definitely worth reading, but probably won't read again).
The hippees wanted to be close to nature, but didn't know anything about it. One of the characters in the story notes that they'd all have starved to death if it wasn't for supermarkets and food stamps. They want to be free to do whatever you want, but then no-one wants to clean the dishes, dig ditches for the toilets, or take care of the pool, and the society turns into filth. They want to live in a close community, but when resources get tight people start to get suspicious about those who aren't pulling their weight and want to turn people out. They want to share free love, but couples quickly form and soon things aren't free at all.
It felt like to me that this book was showing that all of the fundamental goals of being a hippee were wrong. I mean here they were out in the Alaska wilderness, but they were all so bored and miserable and the only high point of their day was to take artificial drugs and get stoned. However it seemed like there was something good about the hippee lifestyle - sometimes there were true friendships and true community, something that was missing out in the all-man-for-himself wilderness of Alaska.
I really liked the character Sess in the book - he was admirable for his know-how and ability to truly survive off the land. I was glad he found a wife - and I choose to imagine things working out for him. Would I like to live a life like his? I don't know - there are a lot of pleasures in life that he is missing out there in that lonely cabin.
Rating: 2/4 (riveting page turner, definitely worth reading, but probably won't read again).
The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble
Do I enjoy reading books where the protagonist is described as intelligent, admirable, historical, while doing absolutely nothing with her life? Do I enjoy reading books where the protagonist asks question after question in an annoying repetitive manner? Do I enjoy reading a historical fiction where the author is deathly frightened of writing anything that may not be a historical fact? Do I think this book was worth reading?
Maybe I just slogged through this book since it was on the list and I am eager to finish it as a personal challenge. Maybe I would have thrown this book on the floor after the first few pages otherwise. Maybe I think the damn princess and her fat professor are both incredibly boring and vacant souls. Maybe I'm being too cruel, but after hearing so many questions, maybes, and terrible writing I just couldn't take it anymore.
Rating: 0/4 (do not read unless you're sadistic and more so than Sado!)
Maybe I just slogged through this book since it was on the list and I am eager to finish it as a personal challenge. Maybe I would have thrown this book on the floor after the first few pages otherwise. Maybe I think the damn princess and her fat professor are both incredibly boring and vacant souls. Maybe I'm being too cruel, but after hearing so many questions, maybes, and terrible writing I just couldn't take it anymore.
Rating: 0/4 (do not read unless you're sadistic and more so than Sado!)
Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
I haven't enjoyed a book as much as this in ages. And the odd thing about it is I don't even consider this book "my type." I tend to like science fiction stories with strong plots - but this was all about the characters.
And characters indeed! The forever likable and affable Nariman, the sharp tongued and clear headed Yezad who drifts astray as the book proceeds, selfish and despicable Coomy, and angelic little Jal. The characters were so human and so believable, and their conversations were so interesting and just plain funny! I haven't laughed out loud so often with a book in a long time, such as Jal being so pleased when he was able to use one of his grandfather's phases, as children often do.
One of the themes in the book was corruption. It took you deep inside the dead-end job of Yezad as manager of a sports good store - everyone expected Yezad to scoop a little profit from under the table, including his boss, but he never did out of honor. And it did him no good - in the end he loses his job in a belittling manner. Jal becomes a homework monitor in his teacher's attempt at showing the children how to form their own perfect society - but ends up taking money from other children for their grades in order to give it to his father to pay the bills. It was interesting because in the end, I was really wishing Yezad would just give it up and take some of the money - but I think that was the point of the author, to show how corruption is so deeply ingrained in Indian society that it can come to almost anyone and it's very hard to get out of that rut.
There were other themes - religion, old age, family. I was touched by the family's care for Nariman, even in very difficult times. I was sad to see religion estrange Yezad from his family, and turn him into everything he hated as a younger man. Maybe it was his way of dealing with his failures in life.
I feel like this is a book you could get more and more from each time you read, and that it would be enjoyable each time.
Ratiing: 4/4 (one of my favorite books, would gladly read again).
And characters indeed! The forever likable and affable Nariman, the sharp tongued and clear headed Yezad who drifts astray as the book proceeds, selfish and despicable Coomy, and angelic little Jal. The characters were so human and so believable, and their conversations were so interesting and just plain funny! I haven't laughed out loud so often with a book in a long time, such as Jal being so pleased when he was able to use one of his grandfather's phases, as children often do.
One of the themes in the book was corruption. It took you deep inside the dead-end job of Yezad as manager of a sports good store - everyone expected Yezad to scoop a little profit from under the table, including his boss, but he never did out of honor. And it did him no good - in the end he loses his job in a belittling manner. Jal becomes a homework monitor in his teacher's attempt at showing the children how to form their own perfect society - but ends up taking money from other children for their grades in order to give it to his father to pay the bills. It was interesting because in the end, I was really wishing Yezad would just give it up and take some of the money - but I think that was the point of the author, to show how corruption is so deeply ingrained in Indian society that it can come to almost anyone and it's very hard to get out of that rut.
There were other themes - religion, old age, family. I was touched by the family's care for Nariman, even in very difficult times. I was sad to see religion estrange Yezad from his family, and turn him into everything he hated as a younger man. Maybe it was his way of dealing with his failures in life.
I feel like this is a book you could get more and more from each time you read, and that it would be enjoyable each time.
Ratiing: 4/4 (one of my favorite books, would gladly read again).
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
More Book Outlines
Here are a few interesting outlines to check out:
- Learned Optimism: Skip down to the the Strengths of the Maximal Self section at the bottom - interesting challenge there.
- Punished by Rewards: Scroll down to the Motivation in the Classroom section - interesting questions to ask about school there to encourage true learning.
- Creating your Best Life: Good book on goals, I liked the password/screen saver idea too.
- The Abracadabra Kid: Interesting thoughts on writing.
- Teaching Children Self Disccipline: Really interesting thoughts about how to raise kids without having to resort to authority. Sounds like Vicki would like this one.
- The First National Bank of Dad: I disagree with many of the ideas in here, but they were thought provoking nonetheless.
Book Outlines: Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
I happened across an interesting web site today: the book outlines wiki. As you might imagine, it's a wiki page where people write outlines of books they read to help them remember it better, and so that other people can learn about some books out there.
I read a particularly interesting outline there for a book called Predictably Irrational, that discusses some of our irrational ways of thinking that can be (and are quite frequently) exploited to make money.
The ideas that interested me the most in the outline were as follows:
I read a particularly interesting outline there for a book called Predictably Irrational, that discusses some of our irrational ways of thinking that can be (and are quite frequently) exploited to make money.
The ideas that interested me the most in the outline were as follows:
- We compare items based on what they are next to rather than their absolute value. So if you take an expensive product and put another next to it 50% even more expensive "deluxe" version next to it, suddenly the expensive product seems like a steal.
- Once we start using a product, we tend to continue using it (if it's still enjoyable) rather than considering the relative value versus other (unknown) options. I.e. going to Starbucks instead of switching to Dunkin' Donuts, eating at our favorite restaraunts, etc.
- Free products are incredibly attractive to people because there is no perceived downside. However, I imagine getting people to convert from free to paid has got to be difficult. Not to mention, to many people they equate free = crap, possibly not even worth doing. Interesting tricks: Amazon's mechanism of giving free shipping once you spend $25, or free soup at a Chinese restaurant after you spend $15. Would like to read some more on this.
- We all tend to procrastinate, but the people who are most successful with avoiding this are the ones who realize it so build mechanisms to help prevent this, such as auto-deducts from paychecks/making appointments with friends to work out/etc.
- We're quite irrational about keeping our options open. I admit I have fallen into this trap many times! I'd like to read more on this as well: The Paradox of Choice is something I'd like to check out sometime. Looks like it's in the library system here too, w00t. Another book to get from the library: Freakonomics.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The Lambs of London by Paul Ackroyd
This was a short book about a young man of 17 who forges several Shakespearean documents in order to impress his father, and a young woman who lives an insignificant life who's driven to insanity. From the book jacket, this is loosely based upon a true story of a Shakespearean forgery.
To me this book was dull and didn't offer much. There was no suspense in the forgery - you knew from the beginning what was going on, and I didn't think the reason it was done (to impress his father) was very well drawn out. The life of the young woman was interesting mainly because it was so sad, but I didn't buy into her descent into insanity.
Anyway - I don't really know why this was on the 1001 books to read before you die, as it didn't really offer me any new ideas and seemed to be just a story (and a fairly boring one at that). I probably would have enjoyed this more if I was familiar with the history that this was based on.
Rating: 0/4 (horrible am sad I wasted my time on this).
To me this book was dull and didn't offer much. There was no suspense in the forgery - you knew from the beginning what was going on, and I didn't think the reason it was done (to impress his father) was very well drawn out. The life of the young woman was interesting mainly because it was so sad, but I didn't buy into her descent into insanity.
Anyway - I don't really know why this was on the 1001 books to read before you die, as it didn't really offer me any new ideas and seemed to be just a story (and a fairly boring one at that). I probably would have enjoyed this more if I was familiar with the history that this was based on.
Rating: 0/4 (horrible am sad I wasted my time on this).
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