Other Books I've Read

Monday, August 29, 2005 , late evening

Down Came the Rain

Down Came the Rain is the rather infamous book by Brooke Shields about post-partum depression—it’s the book that got Tom Cruise’s shorts in a knot, and revealed him to be an even bigger creep than I’d ever taken time to imagine.  Brooke can thank Tom for increasing her sales, because I know both Flippy and I ran to Amazon to order this book just to reinforce that we think Tom Cruise is a jerk.  I normally wouldn’t have purchased a book about post-partum depression, but it was my chance to thumb my nose at Tom so I couldn’t resist.  This is the first “protest” book purchase I’ve ever made.

The book was a real downer.  I didn’t expect a book about depression to be too “uplifting”, but I actually found this book a bit disturbing.  Brooke Shields is a smart woman and well-educated, but her book was completely devoid of humour (except for the comic-relief provided by her husband) and the personal comments seemed to mostly be therapy-speak.  I don’t even have kids, but reading this made me depressed, and I started to dread reading it (but I hate leaving a book unfinished).  Shields’ descriptions of her anxiety were almost “triggering” for me, that’s how awful it was.  Like those dreams where you’re trying to run but your feet are stuck in quicksand, this book just dragged me down and enveloped me in a big grey cloud of moodiness.  There’s also something very odd about the timing in the book.  I’d think that the events in a particular chapter had reflected, say, a two month period, but then I’d be told that only two weeks had passed.  It was disorienting, and it happened again and again, so I don’t think it was just my imagination. 

I didn’t “hate” this book, but I don’t want it around anymore, and we’re giving it away to a friend who wants to read it.  If you have post-partum depression, I’ve no doubt you’ll gain something from reading Down Came the Rain, (even if it’s just a more thorough knowledge of the condition, or the knowledge that you’re not alone), but if you just want to read this because you’re a Brooke Shields’ fan, I’d take a pass.  If you want to take a poke at Tom Cruise though, by all means, don’t let me stop you.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/29 at 10:04 PM
Other Books I've Read • (2) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

We Thought You Would be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive

With an bonus performance of, “Autobiography of a Fat Bride”.

Normally I try to write separate entries for all the books I review, but I’m making an exception this time and I’m clumping together two books by Laurie Notaro, We Thought You Would Be Prettier:True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive and Autobiography of a Fat Bride.  I’ve written about Notaro’s other books before, and as always, these were excellent.  Funny, cynical, sarcastic, and self-deprecating, Notaro makes everyday life seem hysterical. I’ve been quite spoiled because there were already four titles by Laurie Notaro available by the time I found them, so I’ve been able to gobble them up, one after another, like a really great box of chocolates.  Or potato chips.  Or chocolate-covered potato chips.  I’m now going to have to learn some patience though, because Notaro’s fifth book, An Idiot Girl’s Christmas : True Tales from the Top of the Naughty List won’t be released until November.  I’ve already pre-ordered it, and I’m counting the days smile

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/29 at 09:49 PM
Other Books I've Read • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Friday, August 19, 2005 , late afternoon

Smoothies! The Original Smoothie Books (vol. 1 and 2)

These books are winning the “biggest disappointment” contest for 2005—I found very little of redeeming value in Smoothies! The Original Smoothie Books.  I ordered the two-volume set because Flippy and I have recently become smitten with our local Smoothie King, and are spending far too much money there, so I thought these books would help me make tasty smoothies at home (in my poor, beleaguered blender).  The books promise “professionally developed” recipes from such large chains as Smoothie King, Jamba Juice, Juice Zone, etc., so I mistakenly assumed I’d actually be getting a recipe or two of smoothie blends you can buy at these establishments.  Alas, all you get in the book is literally what is promised, “professionally-developed” recipes—recipes which don’t seem to have been good enough to make it into the regular rotation at smoothie outlets.  There’s an “apple smoothie” recipe from Smoothie King—blah.  Could they really not have parted with one signature recipe, like “Light and Fluffy”?  “Light and Fluffy” certainly isn’t the brain surgery of smoothie recipes - I think it’s just strawberries, bananas, and orange juice—but it would have been a nice gesture and would have made me feel like I was being taught the secret to a “real smoothie”.

My other big beef about these books is redundancy.  Volume one features a history of the smoothie industry, a list of potential ingredients, a glossery, a guide to techniques, and a list of online resources, and Volume two features all the identical information!  As this information comprises 75% of the pages of both books, you’re only getting 25% of new material in the second volume.  What a waste of paper!  It’s not even good redundant material, either—the online resources section features links to shareware programs about dieting, for example.  If I wanted to know about shareware, I’d buy a book about shareware.  It seems like a really obvious effort to fill up pages and to make a “second volume”, when they should have just reprinted the first volume and raised the price to account for the extra recipes.

So, I’m still looking for a good smoothie recipe book.  If I find one that I really like, I’ll be sure to write about it.  In the meantime, I’ll keep buying pre-made smoothie mixes that I can doctor with my own fresh fruit.  I also really love Big Train’s Fruit Tea Blast—the Peach Pizazz flavour is delicious!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/19 at 05:53 PM
Other Books I've Read • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Wednesday, August 03, 2005 , late evening

All In My Head

Remember when I said I was slow to start reading Harry Potter because I was reading something else?  Paula Kamen’s incredible book, All In My Head was the tome keeping me distracted from the goings-on at Hogwarts.  All In My Head has continued to distract me since I finished reading it, as I want so badly to do it justice here that I’ve been worried about how to review it.  In short, it’s an amazing, valuable, irreplaceable first-person account of dealing with the medical establishment while trying to find a cure for a chronic headache.  Just like me, Paula Kamen came from a normal, happy family, and had a normal, happy life, until one day she was hit by a headache that never went away.  In my case I was hit with fibromyalgia, but as Kamen discovers on her path to “medical enlightenment”, most chronic conditions have something in common, and in fact, they might all be off-shoots of the same imbalance in the brain.  Kamen’s headache throws her life into turmoil, preventing her from working as a writer, and sending her to seek treatment from headache specialists to chiropractors to psychic healers, and everything in-between.  If you’ve ever wanted to know about alternative healing methods, you’ll find this book very revealing on just about every topic except Ayurvedic medicine (which Kamen avoids because of the excessive number of Ayurvedic methods which involve vomiting and/or enemas). 

Sadly, there’s no happy ending—Paula Kamen has spent tens of thousands of dollars and been to world-famous headache treatment centers, but she still has a headache which never goes away.  On the bright side, she’s discovered that a number of elements of all the different therapies she’s tried do provide a degree of relief, so she incorporates things like massage and aromatherapy into her daily routine of prescription medications.  It’s a good lesson for those of us dealing with difficult chronic health issues, that there may not be “one” answer, but perhaps many smaller partial answers which fit together to form a whole.  It’s an even better lesson to be reminded that we’re not alone, and that’s one of the reasons Kamen’s book had such an impact on me.  There are thousands of other “tired girls” out there, and we struggle to live normal lives and we blend in, all the while thinking we’re the only ones who are coping with such overwhelming pain and fatigue.

So, if you’re suffering from chronic headache, you may find that this book offers you some ideas and treatment options you hadn’t considered.  If you’re just suffering from chronic anything, I think you’ll find that the book gives you a bit of hope, and helps you feel less alone.  This book is an incredible gift from Paula Kamen to the rest of the tired girls, and I hope you’ll find comfort from it like I did.  Oh, and I don’t want to neglect to mention that the book is funny.  Even though it could easily be a downer of a book, it’s not, so it’s informative and good for a chuckle.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/03 at 10:30 PM
Other Books I've Read • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I finally finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  I’d planned to be finished a lot sooner, but had already started another long book right before “Harry” arrived, and besides, it took me another week and a half to figure out a way past the gargoyle guarding the book:

image

I love the Harry Potter books, and the 6th in the series was good enough to keep me up past my bedtime, reading, and to entice me to leave the computer to go read during the day.  However, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped I would.  I’d read some reviews which opined that The Half-Blood Prince was the best of the series, but I found it lacking in the “fun” department.  Hagrid was practically missing from the entire story, and mainly appeared when a very specific plot device was needed about three-quarters of the way through.  I don’t think Professor McGonagall had more than half a dozen lines, and the usual “guest professor” who generally shows up each school year to teach “Defense of the Dark Arts” was pompous and rather dull.  There were cursory appearances by Luna Lovelood (her name should really be “Luna Lovejoy”, no?), and Moaning Myrtle and Dobby the house elf, but they never stayed long enough.  I miss the grandeur of plots like the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and I miss being introduced to new weird and wonderful characters.  I’m also getting a bit blase about the “Harry Potter knows something is going on but no one will believe him until it’s too late” storylines, because after always being right on previous occasions, shouldn’t all the residents of Hogwarts be hanging on Harry’s every word?!

Most people already know there’s a death in the book, but I won’t spoil it by revealing who dies.  Some reviewers have said they wept when the death occurred, but I didn’t really feel anything except regret at the loss of an interesting character.  I’ll give J.K. Rowling props for actually killing a major character, though—it’s not like when she killed off Cedric Diggory.  This is a death which will change the course of book 7.

Speaking of book 7, I’m anxiously awaiting its release because book 6 has ended with yet another “danger” cliff-hanger, as well as some unresolved issues between Ron and Hermione, Percy Weasley and his family, etc.  How many years until book 7?  Will I need reading glasses by then?

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/03 at 03:16 PM
Other Books I've Read • Permalink

Friday, July 01, 2005 , early evening

Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy

What an enjoyable book this was!  Author Lindsay Moran is entertaining and engaging as she writes about her experiences training to be—and working as—a CIA agent.  She’s not some superwoman and wasn’t raised in exotic foreign lands, she’s just a curious and well-educated person who thinks she’d enjoy being “a spy”.  Moran was working as an English teacher at the Community College of San Francisco at the same time that I was taking computer classes there, so we’ve both covered a lot of ground in the last 7 years, but I’ll give Moran the edge on having the more interesting story to tell.  She spent time in Bulgaria on a teaching fellowship, applied and was accepted to the CIA, completed her training, worked in the field, and eventually resigned.  Her book reveals that life as a spy is really quite mundane and entails a lot of paperwork, and that in many cases, the whole concept of having “secret agents” is an idea whose time has come and gone.  After reading this book I find it hard to look at the CIA as anything but a bunch of old guys playing an expensive version of “spy vs. spy”, while wasting billions of dollars in the process.  I’d happily read any other book that Lindsay Moran cares to write, and I’ll pretend that the publication of Blowing My Cover: My LIfe as a CIA Spy, might actually lead to important reforms in the organization.  Ha ha… I made myself laugh with that one.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/01 at 07:34 PM
Other Books I've Read • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 , late evening

The Plot Against America

This book tried so hard to be a great book.  It had an interesting plot, a plot politically relevant to the current climate in this country, and some really frightening scenarios to keep the reader motivated.  I was just loving it and looked forward to reading it every night when all of a sudden… it just wasn’t very interesting anymore.  It’s like getting socks for Christmas—all the anticipation, and then a big letdown.  It felt to me like Philip Roth had this amazing idea for a book, but after he started writing The Plot Against America, he realized he didn’t have an ending.  So, it just sort of… ended.  It was all so anti-climactic.  Well-developed characters were sent off to live in other cities, never to be heard from again, and I felt there were all sorts of loose ends that were never settled to my satisfaction.  After waiting almost a year to read this in paperback (I was too cheap to buy the hardcover), it was a disappointment.

This was my first exposure to Philip Roth’s writing, and I did enjoy his long, almost “lanky” sentences.  His writing has a pleasing rhythm to it, and I will read at least one more book by him before I toss him on my “least-favourite author scrap heap” (where he can keep John Grisham company).

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 06/29 at 10:27 PM
Other Books I've Read • (2) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Thursday, May 05, 2005 , early evening

Lonely Planet’s The Falklands & South Georgia Island

Here’s a perfect book for the armchair traveller—me!  Ever since I read about Shackleton’s voyage which ended up on South Georgia Island, I’ve wondered what it would be like to visit such a majestic and isolated place.  Just in case I ever get the chance to find out, I’ve been reading up on the details of life near the South Pole in Lonely Planet Falklands & South Georgia Island.  It’s an interesting read for a travel book, because it dwells more on the geography and the history of South Georgia and the Falklands than it does on tourist attractions (which are few and far between!).  The islands are still pristine and rarely visited since the end of most commercial whaling, so it’s almost like reading about an archeological site.  South Georgia is riddled with remnants of whaling boats and whale and seal processing plants, but otherwise tends to belong to the penguins.  When I become incredibly wealthy from some idea that I’ve yet to think of, I hope I’ll be able to make an Antarctic cruise a reality (if it hasn’t all melted away from global warming).

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 05/05 at 07:59 PM
Other Books I've Read • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies)

I knew nothing about Laurie Notaro when I purchased, I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies) : True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl.  I didn’t know if the book would be great or a waste of time or fiction or non-fiction or anything else, I just knew that I loved the title and had to read any book with such a wonderful name.  Right from the first page the book was snappy and hilarious, and it would definitely be on any “must read” list that gave to friends and family.  Notaro is funny and sarcastic and self-deprecating to just the right degree—you wish she was living next door, or worked at your office, or had married into your family so you could hang out with her on a regular basis.  We’ve got Notaro’s two earlier books here on the bookshelf, and she’s just released a new title called We Thought You Would Be Prettier : True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive, so I hope my relationship with Laurie Notaro will be long and rewarding.  Here’s to books with great titles, because in this case you can judge a book by its cover.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 05/05 at 07:35 PM
Other Books I've Read • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Practical Demonkeeping

I began my love/hate relationship with Christopher Moore right after Christmas when I read The Stupidest Angel.  I loved the book and couldn’t put it down, but at the same time it was so fast-paced that it almost gave me a headache.  A glutton for punishment, I picked up Moore’s very first book about the town of Pine Cove, Practical Demonkeeping, and it didn’t disappoint.  It was fast-paced, humourous, and (of course), weird, and it was good enough that I immediately went and ordered 3 more of Moore’s books from Amazon.  Many of his older titles are available at “bargain prices” (i.e. $4.95), so snap them up while they’re available.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 05/05 at 07:27 PM
Other Books I've Read • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Page 2 of 4 pages  <  1 2 3 4 >

Adopt a Big Dog!