Friday, March 25, 2011

Speed Reviews

Sorry, sorry. I've been feeling super lazy lately and haven't posted in a while. But today, I'm going to fix the situation by reviewing everything in this blog post. Hold on to your hat, folks.

About Schmidt - Louis Begley: I didn't see the movie, but this is one case where I actually feel like it might have been better than the book. Nothing happens at all. The book is entirely about the strained relationship he has with his daughter which becomes worse when she gets engaged to a guy Schmidt doesn't like, and his decision about whether he should give her the house worth millions of dollars. She's an ungrateful spoiled brat, he needs to get a grip, and the only person likeable in this book is the fiancée, who we're not supposed to like. Verdict: Pass.

Endangered Species - Louis Bayard: A heartwarming story of a single gay man on the quest to father a child. The book is funny, a little bit sad, but mostly just feels like you sat down with a friend over coffee and he told you the story of the time he tried to have a kid. Verdict: Perfect light reading.

Little Bee - Chris Cleave: This is the kind of book that makes me think publishing needs a rating system like movies. Had I known this book would give me terrible nightmares rivaled only by the time I accidentally watched the first 5 minutes of Law Abiding Citizen, I definitely would not have brought it on a vacation. The writing is good but ultimately I didn't think it was worth it for the years of therapy I will now require. Verdict: If you can handle graphic rape, violence, and murder, it's a thought provoking story. 

It's Not About the Bike - Lance Armstrong: For someone who has limited interest in biking or Lance Armstrong, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected. It's a quick read that follows his early biking career, battle with cancer, and then focuses heavily on the Tour de France victories. At the end of the book he's still with his wife so that tells you something about when it was published. Verdict: Amusing.

The Troublemaker - Rexanne Bechnel: A good old fashioned steamy romance novel. Wealthy socialite meets dangerous man with a secret that could destroy her and her family. It's a little darker than some of the other trashy romance books I've read, but on the plus side I actually didn't know how it would end. I thought the main characters could have been slightly more personable, at times they came off as a little harsh, but overall I really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting the book down. Verdict: A good read if you like romance novels. 

Very Truly Yours - Julie Beard: This romance novel on the other hand felt like every other romance novel ever written. Another wealthy socialite with a secret?! This time, the hero saves her from being blackmailed by an evil Lord/Earl/other noble title but their chemistry feels forced, or maybe just too predictable. It was fun, perfect for an afternoon by the pool, but I'd recommend novels by Julia Quinn, Suzanne Enoch, or Loretta Chase over this one. Verdict: Fine, but not the best. 

The Power of Persuasion - Robert Levine: This book definitely wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but I ended up really liking it. The subtitle being "How we're bought and sold", I was expecting it to relate more to consumers and their purchases. Instead, the book is very much about the psychology of persuasion, ranging from kitchen knives (a section in which he reveals the sales tactics of a door-to-door cutlery salesman after going through the training to become one himself), to cults. It's easy to read, not at all textbook-ish, and peppered with personal stories from Levine's life. Verdict: A fun read with some interesting lessons. I recommend it.


Whew, ok, that was intense. Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

FAIL

I failed the challenge :(  


Everything was going so well. On day 1 of the trip I finished 2 books. On day 2 I finished two more. On day 3 it all started to go downhill when I finally succumbed to the lure of all you can drink margaritas, yoga on the beach, and aqua-aerobics. But coming back from this vacation with new friends and a tan (a big deal for me!), I'd say I definitely won.
Here's the list and how I did with it. I'll definitely be reviewing Little Bee in the near future. The others, maybe/maybe not.


Fiction (real literature)
About Schmidt - Louis Begley Finished!
Fool's Errand - Louis Bayard 
Endangered Species - Louis Bayard Finished!
Little Bee - Chris Cleave Finished! (Last minute addition for those of you who noticed this wasn't on the original list)
It's Not About the Bike - Lance Armstrong Finished! (Another last minute addition courtesy of one of my coworkers)

Fiction (trash)
The Troublemaker - Rexanne Bechnel Finished!
Mr. Cavendish, I presume - Julia Quinn (My all-time favorite romance author) Finished and reviewed!
Very Truly Yours - Julie Beard Finished!
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea - Chelsea Handler Finished and Reviewed!

Non-Fiction
The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness - Keltner, Marsh, and Smith
Bursts: The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do - Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
Body Language - Julius Fast
The Power of Persuasion - Robert Levine Finished!


Also, for those who are interested, I ordered the shoes anyway. 

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea - Chelsea Handler

I have only seen Chelsea Lately twice. But even with my limited sample size I've made some judgments about her. After reading her book, let's see how they compare:

After seeing 2 episodes of Chelsea Lately              After reading the book
She's doesn't seem very nice                                  She's really mean
She's pretty funny                                                  She's moderately funny
What's with her midget obsession?                        Midget fetish confirmed
                                                                 
I'll keep this review short and to the point: I did not like the book one bit. I thought it was offensive, mean-spirited, and not funny. The writing isn't great and feels rushed. The chapters are disjointed and out of order. Her age skips from 7 to 20 to 12 so things have sometimes already occurred in one story that don't actually take place until later in the book. Not only that, but the stories are ridiculous and not at all believable.

Honestly, the best laughs I got out of this book were from the typos. To quote Publisher's Weekly: "[Readers] might find themselves asking for Vodka to help reach the end of this production." 

I'll drink to that!






Tuesday, March 8, 2011

1 down, 10 to go...

Can you guess which one I finished first? If you know me, which I assume most of you do minus the two people who stumbled onto this blog via dentalimplants.com (side note: seriously?), then this is an easy one. I immediately devoured Mr. Cavendish, I presume by Julia Quinn. If you guessed correctly, give yourself a pat on the back.


I love a good trashy romance novel and Julia Quinn has yet to disappoint. That said, Mr. Cavendish was not my favorite of her books (if you're looking for a recommendation I LOVE her Bridgerton family series) and here's why: this book was written concurrently with The Lost Duke of Wyndham* which is the exact same story, told from someone else's perspective. At first I thought I had made a mistake, and that I had already read Mr. Cavendish, but the déjà vu turned out to be temporary and then I was even more confused. I have read this, no I haven't read this, wait, I definitely have... 


Plot teaser:  Thomas Cavendish is the Duke of Wyndham via a complete fluke. His father was the youngest of 3 sons, but the older two died unexpectedly and thus his father inherited the title which then passed to him, but not before his father signed a marriage contract binding him to Lady Amelia. Unfortunately for her, he has no desire to marry any time soon. In fact, he hasn't even taken the time to get to know her at all, and needless to say, her parents are getting pretty antsy to marry off at least one of their 5 daughters. The pressure is on high and it's just at this time that a highwayman (a term for someone who robs people in coaches as they pass on the road) decides to attack the carriage carrying grandmother Cavendish and her young companion, Grace. Grandma Cavendish isn't having it and in a ridiculous "that would never happen" turn of events, kidnaps the highwayman only to discover he's actually her grandson, the son of her second son, which would make him the duke. If the marriage between his parents was in fact legitimate...


Plot spoiler: In the midst of this, Thomas gets to know his bride-to-be and discovers that she's not so bad after all. But, she's betrothed to The Duke of Wyndham, it doesn't specify who that is and if he turns out not to be the duke, well, she's no longer his. Thus, they all head to Ireland to find the marriage records and determine who is really the duke. Luckily for Thomas, the highwayman/potential new duke falls madly in love with Grace, the companion, on the way. It turns out that the marriage was legitimate and Thomas loses his title, but by that time, he and Lady Amelia are in love and decide to get married anyway. A good move for her since in predictable romance novel fashion, she already gave it up to him and would otherwise be totally ruined.


The book had all the right elements of character chemistry, drama, and a fairytale ending for all, but lacked the warmth found in some of her earlier novels. The Bridgerton books are filled with families who sometimes bicker but really do love each other, characters you aspire to be for their kindness, bravery, or morality, and the kind of passion that Disney movies are made of. Not to mention sex scenes so graphic they'll make you blush! This book seemed to be filled with families who hate each other, characters with (gasp!) flaws, and really nothing about either Mr. Cavendish or Amelia that made them especially...special. As for the sex scene, doing it in the grass with your clothes mostly on doesn't seem like the most romantic way to lose your virginity, but to each her own... And the creepy guy next to me on the Caltrain reading over my shoulder? Well he was definitely blushing. Good to know some things are consistent.


*As I recall, The Lost Duke of Wyndham was actually very good.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Reading binge!

In preparation for my upcoming vacation, I made a trip to one of my favorite places: the library. Unfortunately, it turns out that the library does not love me as much as I love it. I owed $9.25 in late fees which I was required to pay before checking anything else out. Oops! The love/hate relationship continued when I discovered all the books on my reading list were checked out. But in the end, I found some things that looked interesting and came away with 11 books. Yes, you read that correctly, 11 books. I am going on what is best known as a "reading binge".

Here's what came home with me:

Fiction (real literature)
About Schmidt - Louis Begley
Fool's Errand - Louis Bayard
Endangered Species - Louis Bayard

Fiction (trash)
The Troublemaker - Rexanne Bechnel
Mr. Cavendish, I presume - Julia Quinn (My all-time favorite romance author)
Very Truly Yours - Julie Beard
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea - Chelsea Handler

Non-Fiction
The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness - Keltner, Marsh, and Smith
Bursts: The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do - Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
Body Language - Julius Fast
The Power of Persuasion - Robert Levine


If I "win" by reading all 11 books by next Tuesday (March 14th), I'm going to reward myself by finally using my zappos.com credit to buy these. And maybe if I don't finish all of them... No sense in holding on to the credit for a rainy day, I already have galoshes.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Snoop: What your stuff says about you - Sam Gosling, Ph.D.

Snooping through a friend's bookshelf, refrigerator, or cd collection (if anyone still has one) can reveal more about that person than we might think. Sam Gosling, a psychology professor at the University of Texas, studies stuff for a living to determine exactly what we can assume from someone's space, and the assumptions we make that we probably shouldn't.

There were a couple surprise findings: did you know that the more alcohol bottles in a room the more likely the person is conservative? And a couple "gee...ya think...?" obvious ones: men are more likely to have a hat collection. But otherwise, I didn't learn much from the book. And, in what I would consider a huge flaw in his research, all of the bedrooms his team studied belonged to college students at the University of Texas, Austin. So the findings of this book apply to a very specific group: 18-22 year olds in Austin, Texas who can afford a college education (and have the grades/test scores to be accepted), live on campus, and have enough of an interest in psychology to be willing to participate in an unpaid experiment that requires allowing strangers into their room to analyze their personality.

So, let's take a step back to the findings I noted. I would guess that college students have more alcohol bottles sitting around than the average 40 year old. I would also guess that despite Austin being a pretty liberal city, that the average student is more conservative than someone at UC Berkeley. So, is there a really a strong correlation between the amount of booze and their political leanings, or is each one individually correlated to being in college and their geographic location? As my favorite statistics professor once said, "correlation does not imply causation", and that's exactly where I think the problem lies with this book.

Putting the major issues aside, there's not nearly as much information as I would have hoped. A large and diverse book collection is a sign of someone's openness. A highly organized space can give you clues about someone's conscientiousness. Lots of photos of friends can give clues about their level of extroversion, and dark clothing or motivational posters indicate the person is a little bit neurotic. But, there are quite a few caveats: just because their space is organized the day you see it, doesn't mean they always keep it that way (I am a prime example of this). Geographic location and season heavily influence a person's clothing, as does their profession. And of course, we all have things lying around that are unwanted gifts (or gifts we like but might not necessarily have bought for ourselves), items left by a friend, and if we share our space with a roommate or significant other, things that don't actually belong to us.

So how useful is "snoopology" really? Why not just ask a date or friend about a piece of artwork on their wall or the crazy light hanging over their dining room table? Isn't it kind of invasive to go poking through someone's medicine cabinet when you excuse yourself to use the bathroom? I'd be weirded out if I came back to find someone checking out the insides of my refrigerator; which sometimes resembles a health food store, sometimes is filled with takeout and/or leftovers, and other times contains a redbull and some hot sauce...What would they assume about me based on each of those scenarios?

Despite there being 230 pages of text about it, ultimately it seems there's a very limited amount of information you can learn from someone's stuff, and the risk of being caught rifling through someone's personal belongings...well, hopefully that's enough to keep even the most curious snoopers out of my underwear drawer.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay

The Caltrain is a bad place to read. There's the crunching of food, crinkling of paper, talking on the cellphone, announcements from the train operator, and the constant whistle of the train as it declares its presence on the tracks. It's rare that I'm able to block out the sounds and invest myself fully in whatever I'm reading. But with this book, I didn't hear a thing. 

I'll do my best not to give away too much plot. The chapters alternate between 10-year old Sarah who lives in Paris in 1942, and Julia, a 45-year old American living in Paris in the present day. Their stories intersect when Julia, who is a journalist, is assigned to cover the 60th anniversary of vel d'hiv (a roundup of the Jews in France before they were deported to concentration camps) and in the process of her research discovers the apartment she is about to move into once belonged to Sarah's family. 

The first half of the book found me with a lump in my throat, on the brink of tears, my heart racing. I was completely engrossed (and simultaneously terrified). 

The second half of the book is exclusively in Julia's voice and much more about her personal problems, which was a nice break for my emotions, but also significantly less moving. The book picks up again towards the end, when after losing her voice at the halfway point, we finally find out what happened to Sarah. The very end on the other hand, is a disappointment. Had the book ended 2 pages earlier, I would have loved it. But the last bit was so Hollywood I felt like it was a sellout. 

If you're going to read this one, and I highly recommend it, stop at the bottom of page 289 at "he grinned" to reflect on the book, probably calm yourself down, and then see if you can guess what's about to happen. Proceed with the next 2 pages, and then feel free to snort in disgust.