Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Amount of Books I Start Compared to the Amount of Books I Read
Just about every week I check out 5 books from the library. I start all of them, but of the five I generally am only able to finish 2 or 3. I am a lot pickier than I used to be about what I read. If, at any point, I begin to wonder why I'm bothering to read it, I'll put the book down. So keep that in mind when it doesn't seem like I'm reading a whole lot of books. I'm READING a lot, but only FINISHING a few. And, of course, I only review the ones I finish.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
June Book Review #6
Book: Write: 10 Days to Overcome Writer's Block. Period. by Karen E. Peterson, Ph.D.
Age-range: 16 and up
Recommended: No
I've had writer's block for a few months now and I've been reading a lot of writing books to try to get rid of it. This one seemed like a no-brainer when I saw it in the bookstore. It was a very well-written, well-organized book, but it was much too clinical and filled with too much textbook speak for my taste.
The author is a clinical psychologist, so she brings a lot of her experiences doing that into her writing. The crux of this book is her view that the right brain and the left brain don't communicate very well. So to get any writing done you have to trick both sides of your brain into letting you do it. There were quite a few "quizzes" where you were supposed to write with your dominant hand and then your non-dominant hand and the different results would astound you.
Both sides of my brain seem to get along just fine, which made this book sort of obsolete. I did glean a few good tidbits, however, and I'm sure they will help me along the way.
Age-range: 16 and up
Recommended: No
I've had writer's block for a few months now and I've been reading a lot of writing books to try to get rid of it. This one seemed like a no-brainer when I saw it in the bookstore. It was a very well-written, well-organized book, but it was much too clinical and filled with too much textbook speak for my taste.
The author is a clinical psychologist, so she brings a lot of her experiences doing that into her writing. The crux of this book is her view that the right brain and the left brain don't communicate very well. So to get any writing done you have to trick both sides of your brain into letting you do it. There were quite a few "quizzes" where you were supposed to write with your dominant hand and then your non-dominant hand and the different results would astound you.
Both sides of my brain seem to get along just fine, which made this book sort of obsolete. I did glean a few good tidbits, however, and I'm sure they will help me along the way.
June Book Review #5
Book: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Age-range: 16 and up
Recommended: Yes, but with reservations
I keep my to-be-read books in red Moleskine notebooks. I'm just starting my third one. So when someone recommends a book to me I write it down, but it make take weeks, months, even years before I get to it. Such is the case with Water for Elephants. This book came out in 2006 and I had a friend recommend it to me that year. So it took me a while to get to it.
The setting is a Depression-era circus troupe. And it's fascinating. Each chapter begins with an actual picture from a circus in the era. It's sort of a hard book to explain, but I'll try. Jacob runs away from his final exams at Cornell University where he has been attending veterinary school. I won't tell you why. He ends up on a circus train where this old man named Camel takes him in. Through a series of events he ends up being the shows veterinarian, even though he doesn't technically have his degree.
There are amazing details, gorgeous writing, and an intriguing story-line. I found the book so interesting that I stayed up late and woke up early just to finish it. My only reservation in recommending it to other people is there are a few sexually charged scenes and events that might not be something that some of you want to read. For the most part I thought they were a little unnecessary, but that's just me. I was also annoyed at the somewhat perfunctory way a key plot point was taken care of, but I've only realized that as I was writing this.
In short, if you have an interest in the circus, the Depression, or in Jacob's story from the Bible and don't mind a little sex in your story, this book is for you!
Age-range: 16 and up
Recommended: Yes, but with reservations
I keep my to-be-read books in red Moleskine notebooks. I'm just starting my third one. So when someone recommends a book to me I write it down, but it make take weeks, months, even years before I get to it. Such is the case with Water for Elephants. This book came out in 2006 and I had a friend recommend it to me that year. So it took me a while to get to it.
The setting is a Depression-era circus troupe. And it's fascinating. Each chapter begins with an actual picture from a circus in the era. It's sort of a hard book to explain, but I'll try. Jacob runs away from his final exams at Cornell University where he has been attending veterinary school. I won't tell you why. He ends up on a circus train where this old man named Camel takes him in. Through a series of events he ends up being the shows veterinarian, even though he doesn't technically have his degree.
There are amazing details, gorgeous writing, and an intriguing story-line. I found the book so interesting that I stayed up late and woke up early just to finish it. My only reservation in recommending it to other people is there are a few sexually charged scenes and events that might not be something that some of you want to read. For the most part I thought they were a little unnecessary, but that's just me. I was also annoyed at the somewhat perfunctory way a key plot point was taken care of, but I've only realized that as I was writing this.
In short, if you have an interest in the circus, the Depression, or in Jacob's story from the Bible and don't mind a little sex in your story, this book is for you!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
June Book Review #4
Book: Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen
Age-range: 5 and up
Recommended: Yes
This interesting and succinct book is beautifully illustrated with information on famous female pirates. Jane Yolen only chose the ones about who the most is known. In every country and time-period where pirating was prevalent there have been female pirates. I've never cared much for books about pirates, but this was so intriguing, I had to read it. You know me, I'm a sucker for strong women in books.
Even though it's about women I think this would still be a good book for a boy. If the kid in your life (or an adult) likes pirates then this book is an excellent quick read.
Age-range: 5 and up
Recommended: Yes
This interesting and succinct book is beautifully illustrated with information on famous female pirates. Jane Yolen only chose the ones about who the most is known. In every country and time-period where pirating was prevalent there have been female pirates. I've never cared much for books about pirates, but this was so intriguing, I had to read it. You know me, I'm a sucker for strong women in books.
Even though it's about women I think this would still be a good book for a boy. If the kid in your life (or an adult) likes pirates then this book is an excellent quick read.
Monday, June 14, 2010
June Book Review #3
Book: A Dab of Dickens and A Touch of Twain by Elliot Engel
Age-range: If you're old enough to read the authors in the book you're old enough to read the book
As good as the first time?: Yes
Recommended: Yes
This book is divided into authors. One chapter for each author. It's full of the little details of their lives that people like me find fascinating. Even authors I don't care for (stupid Hemingway) are still interesting to read about.
The authors included (in order) are: Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Emily Dickinson, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Thomas Hardy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, D.H. Lawrence, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Robert Frost.
Quite the collection, right? If you even have a passing interest in any of the above-mentioned authors READ THIS BOOK! It's fascinating, I promise.
Age-range: If you're old enough to read the authors in the book you're old enough to read the book
As good as the first time?: Yes
Recommended: Yes
This book is divided into authors. One chapter for each author. It's full of the little details of their lives that people like me find fascinating. Even authors I don't care for (stupid Hemingway) are still interesting to read about.
The authors included (in order) are: Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Emily Dickinson, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Thomas Hardy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, D.H. Lawrence, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Robert Frost.
Quite the collection, right? If you even have a passing interest in any of the above-mentioned authors READ THIS BOOK! It's fascinating, I promise.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
June Book Review #2
Book: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Age-range: 13 and up
Recommended: Yes
As a writer of young adult fiction it's an enormous travesty that I have never read this book before. My friend told me this book was one of the reasons he became an author and I couldn't put off reading it anymore. I read it and I loved it.
It's sad, so terribly sad, but so beautiful and poignant and... you just have to read it. It's the first book of it's kind and what makes it even more amazing to me is that it's written by a woman. The cast of characters is almost exclusively male, but she writes them so realistically. It's a definite must-read.
Age-range: 13 and up
Recommended: Yes
As a writer of young adult fiction it's an enormous travesty that I have never read this book before. My friend told me this book was one of the reasons he became an author and I couldn't put off reading it anymore. I read it and I loved it.
It's sad, so terribly sad, but so beautiful and poignant and... you just have to read it. It's the first book of it's kind and what makes it even more amazing to me is that it's written by a woman. The cast of characters is almost exclusively male, but she writes them so realistically. It's a definite must-read.
June Book Review #1
Book: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Age-range: 13 and up
Recommended: No
This novella is available online for free right now. I had just gotten some bad news and couldn't sleep, but didn't have anything to read. So I read it.
Stephenie Meyer has definitely improved as a writer. There are some really beautiful passages, but it ultimately did nothing for me. I don't feel that it's a must-read, unless you're a die-hard Twilight fan.
Age-range: 13 and up
Recommended: No
This novella is available online for free right now. I had just gotten some bad news and couldn't sleep, but didn't have anything to read. So I read it.
Stephenie Meyer has definitely improved as a writer. There are some really beautiful passages, but it ultimately did nothing for me. I don't feel that it's a must-read, unless you're a die-hard Twilight fan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
