Disclosure by Michael Crichton
It didn't even take me 24 hours to consume this book. I was so hooked. And what deliciousness to find out at the end that it was based on a true story.
Plus, it's a movie with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. I'd never heard of it!
Set in the early 90s Seattle, Tom Sanders is a department head at a tech company expecting a promotion to VP. When he gets to work, he finds out that his ex-girlfriend from ten years ago got the job instead, and he wasn't even aware she'd been working at the company.
Tom's department is experiencing production problems, so he tries to navigate that storm while adjusting to the changes in his company as it heads into a merger. Tom stands to gain millions if the merger goes through. But his ex-girlfriend makes advances on him in her office that lead him to claim sexual harassment.
The examination of sexual harassment, how murky the subject can get, the biases people bring into it, and the corporate and legal proceedings around it were endlessly interesting. Plus, the plot was a real thriller.
General consensus: Crichton took on such a wide array of subjects in his novels, and they were all brilliant. I'm in awe, and ready to read another one.
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2019
Friday, September 13, 2019
Book Report #222 The Remains of the Day
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stevens is a dignified butler in the great house of Darlington Hall of England. He served Lord Darlington for many years, but since his passing is employed by Mr. Farraday of America.
Mr. Farraday allows the house to be closed for some days, so the staff is able to take time off away from the house. He encourages Stevens to go on a motor trip of the English countryside in his nice Ford car. Stevens accepts, and makes it a point to include a visit to Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) who was formerly the housekeeper at Darlington Hall. From her latest letter, it seems to him that she may be interested in returning to Darlington Hall, and that could potentially solve a staffing problem for him.
Stevens takes his leisurely days to reflect on moments that have stuck with him throughout his career. This is how we learn more about his relationship with Lord Darlington and Miss Kenton.
This story is not fraught with tension or filled with adventure. Like Stevens, it slowly and thoughtfully reveals itself.
While Stevens explains events through the eyes of reason and professionalism, it seems that there could potentially be more at play. In the end, it's clear what has been going on under the surface, and Stevens' humanity is revealed in a tender moment. What he chooses to do with the information he gathers has to be what earned this book the Booker Prize.
General consensus: A relaxed character study that moved me to tears in the end. Beautiful.
Stevens is a dignified butler in the great house of Darlington Hall of England. He served Lord Darlington for many years, but since his passing is employed by Mr. Farraday of America.
Mr. Farraday allows the house to be closed for some days, so the staff is able to take time off away from the house. He encourages Stevens to go on a motor trip of the English countryside in his nice Ford car. Stevens accepts, and makes it a point to include a visit to Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) who was formerly the housekeeper at Darlington Hall. From her latest letter, it seems to him that she may be interested in returning to Darlington Hall, and that could potentially solve a staffing problem for him.
Stevens takes his leisurely days to reflect on moments that have stuck with him throughout his career. This is how we learn more about his relationship with Lord Darlington and Miss Kenton.
This story is not fraught with tension or filled with adventure. Like Stevens, it slowly and thoughtfully reveals itself.
While Stevens explains events through the eyes of reason and professionalism, it seems that there could potentially be more at play. In the end, it's clear what has been going on under the surface, and Stevens' humanity is revealed in a tender moment. What he chooses to do with the information he gathers has to be what earned this book the Booker Prize.
General consensus: A relaxed character study that moved me to tears in the end. Beautiful.
Sunday, September 01, 2019
Book Report #220 Machines Like Me
Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
I borrowed this from the library almost out of a sense of duty. We're supposed to read books by McEwan, aren't we? And even if I didn't particularly enjoy Atonement, that was probably due to my personal shortcomings, especially my most glaring error of not being British. Atonement won all the awards, so case closed, and maybe I should try again with another one of McEwan's books in order to redeem myself. (I have a similar issue going on with Murakami, but that's a story for another day.)
I'm really glad I gave his stuff another go because Machines Like Me is an instant classic, and I'm going to go so far as to call it genius.
I would never have the gall to write technological advances that I reserve for the future into the past, but thankfully McEwan isn't bound in the same way. Machines Like Me takes place in the 20th century when technological advances are one hundred years past where we are in present day, while Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister, and throws in that Alan Turing never died.
And! It centers around thirty-year old wash-up Charlie Friend's relationship with his very human robot, Adam.
We see Adam arrive in his box, and animate slowly over many hours. His pulse registers, his eyes open, and he begins to master blinking. Eventually his consciousness kicks in and he realizes his nakedness. Sensibly, he asks for some clothes.
The writing is on the wall. Adam will sow the seeds of destruction, just like his Biblical namesake. But how will this happen? Adam's programmers are the first mover. When Adam is released into society, they do not have control over each scenario he will encounter. Adam will respond based on his experiences and what he has learned. This will grow increasingly complicated and difficult to predict.
As the political climate of England is thrown into greater and greater chaos, and Charlie's relationship with his neighbor spins out into a web of love and confusion, Adam is growing up, learning, and living a rich inner life. He loves Shakespeare, and writes endless haikus. He is enthused about current events, history, and literature to a point of annoyance for Charlie.
He experiences love and sex. Yet the other robots like him aren't thriving in the same way. Some experience the world through sadness and despair. So what will happen to them all? And what kind of choices will they make to be autonomous in their own lives?
As Turing eventually asks, at what point can they actually be considered conscious and even sentient?
General consensus: An intellectual read that's smart and tight, and poses many important questions that we cannot yet answer. In short: brilliant.
I borrowed this from the library almost out of a sense of duty. We're supposed to read books by McEwan, aren't we? And even if I didn't particularly enjoy Atonement, that was probably due to my personal shortcomings, especially my most glaring error of not being British. Atonement won all the awards, so case closed, and maybe I should try again with another one of McEwan's books in order to redeem myself. (I have a similar issue going on with Murakami, but that's a story for another day.)
I'm really glad I gave his stuff another go because Machines Like Me is an instant classic, and I'm going to go so far as to call it genius.
I would never have the gall to write technological advances that I reserve for the future into the past, but thankfully McEwan isn't bound in the same way. Machines Like Me takes place in the 20th century when technological advances are one hundred years past where we are in present day, while Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister, and throws in that Alan Turing never died.
And! It centers around thirty-year old wash-up Charlie Friend's relationship with his very human robot, Adam.
We see Adam arrive in his box, and animate slowly over many hours. His pulse registers, his eyes open, and he begins to master blinking. Eventually his consciousness kicks in and he realizes his nakedness. Sensibly, he asks for some clothes.
The writing is on the wall. Adam will sow the seeds of destruction, just like his Biblical namesake. But how will this happen? Adam's programmers are the first mover. When Adam is released into society, they do not have control over each scenario he will encounter. Adam will respond based on his experiences and what he has learned. This will grow increasingly complicated and difficult to predict.
As the political climate of England is thrown into greater and greater chaos, and Charlie's relationship with his neighbor spins out into a web of love and confusion, Adam is growing up, learning, and living a rich inner life. He loves Shakespeare, and writes endless haikus. He is enthused about current events, history, and literature to a point of annoyance for Charlie.
He experiences love and sex. Yet the other robots like him aren't thriving in the same way. Some experience the world through sadness and despair. So what will happen to them all? And what kind of choices will they make to be autonomous in their own lives?
As Turing eventually asks, at what point can they actually be considered conscious and even sentient?
General consensus: An intellectual read that's smart and tight, and poses many important questions that we cannot yet answer. In short: brilliant.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Book Report #219 Where'd You Go, Benadette
Where'd You Go, Benadette by Maria Semple
When I started this, I wasn't sure I'd finish it. Bernadette struck me as a bland, pathetic nutcase so I wasn't sure we could go anywhere interesting. The lack of her backstory for the first part of the book made it hard to sympathize with her.
Also, I wasn't sure about the format. It isn't a regular narrative. There are emails, articles, text conversations and all kinds of things thrown in, and initially I wasn't sure why.
But once those hurdles were overcome, we were flying. I love getting a front seat to watching entitled rich people get spectacularly foiled. Since Bernadette was a standoffish mother at an almost top tier school in Seattle, the scene was perfectly set. Throw in some drama at Microsoft and a pending trip to Antarctica, and it's delicious, smart insanity.
Genereal consensus: It has the tempo of a smart heist movie but it's about a family finding their way back to each other. Genius.
I just found out the movie is in theaters right now!!
When I started this, I wasn't sure I'd finish it. Bernadette struck me as a bland, pathetic nutcase so I wasn't sure we could go anywhere interesting. The lack of her backstory for the first part of the book made it hard to sympathize with her.
Also, I wasn't sure about the format. It isn't a regular narrative. There are emails, articles, text conversations and all kinds of things thrown in, and initially I wasn't sure why.
But once those hurdles were overcome, we were flying. I love getting a front seat to watching entitled rich people get spectacularly foiled. Since Bernadette was a standoffish mother at an almost top tier school in Seattle, the scene was perfectly set. Throw in some drama at Microsoft and a pending trip to Antarctica, and it's delicious, smart insanity.
Genereal consensus: It has the tempo of a smart heist movie but it's about a family finding their way back to each other. Genius.
I just found out the movie is in theaters right now!!
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Book Report #218 - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant had a childhood that she doesn't completely remember, but one thing is certain: her mom was a real bitch.
Now Eleanor is thirty years old, single, friendless, and working in an office doing accounts receivable. Her life is unremarkable and she's completely fine with that. Sometimes she aches out of loneliness but it's nothing vodka can't drown out.
She's simultaneously completely lovable and incapable of normal conversation because she can't pick up on nuance. All conversation for her is literal. It makes for constant chuckles for the reader but also tenderness for Eleanor. She tries to communicate but it goes south on her every time so she can't hook into regular life.
As we get to know her, we see her open up to an opportunity here, and one there. Pretty soon, she has an actual friend and people who appreciate her. It's a big change in her adult life. If she keeps opening up, she'll start to undo all the things that make her shut herself away into a box, and rid herself of the demons that plague her.
This is skilled writing with momentum. I read the entire book in two days and feel changed as a person. It had real depth and a power to heal.
General consensus: Beautifully done. Balances humor and depth perfectly.
Eleanor Oliphant had a childhood that she doesn't completely remember, but one thing is certain: her mom was a real bitch.
Now Eleanor is thirty years old, single, friendless, and working in an office doing accounts receivable. Her life is unremarkable and she's completely fine with that. Sometimes she aches out of loneliness but it's nothing vodka can't drown out.
She's simultaneously completely lovable and incapable of normal conversation because she can't pick up on nuance. All conversation for her is literal. It makes for constant chuckles for the reader but also tenderness for Eleanor. She tries to communicate but it goes south on her every time so she can't hook into regular life.
As we get to know her, we see her open up to an opportunity here, and one there. Pretty soon, she has an actual friend and people who appreciate her. It's a big change in her adult life. If she keeps opening up, she'll start to undo all the things that make her shut herself away into a box, and rid herself of the demons that plague her.
This is skilled writing with momentum. I read the entire book in two days and feel changed as a person. It had real depth and a power to heal.
General consensus: Beautifully done. Balances humor and depth perfectly.
Monday, July 22, 2019
Book Report #216 The Leisure Seeker
The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian
Ella and John have been married for over sixty years. They've lived in the Detroit area forever, and raised their kids to be good people. Now they're in their early eighties and ailing. He has dementia and she has cancer. So why not shake things up and take a trip on Route 66 all the way to Disneyland?
Their kids revolt but it's not their decision. Ella and John hit the road. Their story is deep, captivating, and even hilarious.
I found this book to be tremendously important. Ella's thoughts about reaching the end of her life and looking back were so beautifully written and touching. I feel like I've never gotten a real look into this time in a person's life, and I appreciate how normal Ella and John were. It made things very relatable.
General consensus: Absolutely beautiful and important. Thrilled it's going to be a movie.
Ella and John have been married for over sixty years. They've lived in the Detroit area forever, and raised their kids to be good people. Now they're in their early eighties and ailing. He has dementia and she has cancer. So why not shake things up and take a trip on Route 66 all the way to Disneyland?
Their kids revolt but it's not their decision. Ella and John hit the road. Their story is deep, captivating, and even hilarious.
I found this book to be tremendously important. Ella's thoughts about reaching the end of her life and looking back were so beautifully written and touching. I feel like I've never gotten a real look into this time in a person's life, and I appreciate how normal Ella and John were. It made things very relatable.
General consensus: Absolutely beautiful and important. Thrilled it's going to be a movie.
Monday, May 27, 2019
Book Report #214 Heroes of the Frontier
Heroes of the Frontier by Dave Eggers
Josie is a dentist in small Ohio town. She has two small children, and is happily absent one man-child.
We meet Josie as she's careening around Alaska in an RV, children in tow, trying to outrun her fears and bad memories. In the beginning, their adventures had me crying laughing. But as time went on, things took a more dangerous turn. Her adventures became increasingly risky and desperate, and there was no end goal in sight.
We learn about how she's broken, how her parents were broken, and that this legacy may persist for generations. We hope she'll get it together, and be strong for her children. But as the summer fires roar through Alaska, we're not sure they won't be consumed--if not by the flames, then perhaps by Josie's madness.
General consensus: A crazy story that's somewhat like his other work, A Hologram For A King yet instead of a man in Saudi Arabia trying to sort out his life that's spinning out of control, we have a mom in Alaska going through a crisis while trying not to let her children know.
Josie is a dentist in small Ohio town. She has two small children, and is happily absent one man-child.
We meet Josie as she's careening around Alaska in an RV, children in tow, trying to outrun her fears and bad memories. In the beginning, their adventures had me crying laughing. But as time went on, things took a more dangerous turn. Her adventures became increasingly risky and desperate, and there was no end goal in sight.
We learn about how she's broken, how her parents were broken, and that this legacy may persist for generations. We hope she'll get it together, and be strong for her children. But as the summer fires roar through Alaska, we're not sure they won't be consumed--if not by the flames, then perhaps by Josie's madness.
General consensus: A crazy story that's somewhat like his other work, A Hologram For A King yet instead of a man in Saudi Arabia trying to sort out his life that's spinning out of control, we have a mom in Alaska going through a crisis while trying not to let her children know.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Book Report #213 A Hologram For A King
A Hologram For A King by Dave Eggers
An American man in his mid-fifties named Alan Clay goes to Saudi Arabia to sell IT services to the King for the new city he is building. It's a place likened to Dubai--a sprawling metropolis on the edge of the desert.
It's essential that Alan make this sale because he has to dig himself out of owing money to people and paying for his daughter's next year of college. He has to get his life back on track. There's simply no other option.
The problem is that Alan sees himself as a failure, and expects other people to do the same. Going to Saudi Arabia for weeks on end means he's in a relentlessly boring place where inspiration lurks nowhere, and there is nothing to do as he and his team wait for the king's arrival.
I was surprised to find the novel compelling because I never grew sympathy for Alan. I just wanted to know what the hell was going to happen next in this mess that was his life. I didn't expect things to turn around for him but I was curious to see if he might somehow stumble into success.
I admire Eggers for weaving the history of the Schwinn bicycle company into this story. Fascinating stuff.
General consensus: I'm not sure what I just read. It could have been quite deep or a complete waste of time...but I'm suspecting it was the former because there was this odd melding of the environment and who Alan was. In a lot of ways, Alan was the desert that was being described in the book by the Saudis. Alan was the city the king was building. I have a feeling this was a profound read. The only metric in which to know it is to see over time how it affects me.
An American man in his mid-fifties named Alan Clay goes to Saudi Arabia to sell IT services to the King for the new city he is building. It's a place likened to Dubai--a sprawling metropolis on the edge of the desert.
It's essential that Alan make this sale because he has to dig himself out of owing money to people and paying for his daughter's next year of college. He has to get his life back on track. There's simply no other option.
The problem is that Alan sees himself as a failure, and expects other people to do the same. Going to Saudi Arabia for weeks on end means he's in a relentlessly boring place where inspiration lurks nowhere, and there is nothing to do as he and his team wait for the king's arrival.
I was surprised to find the novel compelling because I never grew sympathy for Alan. I just wanted to know what the hell was going to happen next in this mess that was his life. I didn't expect things to turn around for him but I was curious to see if he might somehow stumble into success.
I admire Eggers for weaving the history of the Schwinn bicycle company into this story. Fascinating stuff.
General consensus: I'm not sure what I just read. It could have been quite deep or a complete waste of time...but I'm suspecting it was the former because there was this odd melding of the environment and who Alan was. In a lot of ways, Alan was the desert that was being described in the book by the Saudis. Alan was the city the king was building. I have a feeling this was a profound read. The only metric in which to know it is to see over time how it affects me.
Monday, October 01, 2018
Book Report #210 The Language of Flowers
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
When I checked this book out at the library, the librarian held it to her chest for a moment and said, "I love this book." It was a beautiful moment. I started reading it that night and had it finished within 24 hours.
Victoria is a foster child who is being released from a home into the world when she turns 18. She has no real skills or education, but she loves flowers. She sleeps in a park in San Francisco and finds work at a flower shop. Her bouquets are magnificent, which earns her a regular job. She makes a bouquet for a customer that will yield results in his love life, and he becomes an ardent supporter, sending her more and more business.
The book is two stories woven together: her past as a foster child, and her current life as an emerging adult. She mostly remembers life with Elizabeth on her vineyard. Elizabeth taught her the meaning of flowers, and how they could communicate messages. Elizabeth was a strong yet deeply kind woman who had the ability to love Victoria no matter what. Unfortunately, Victoria still had to learn that kind of love for herself.
Victoria runs into someone from her past at the flower market, and he communicates with her in the rare dialect of flowers. This relationship holds the key to Victoria's redemption and true happiness. But she's spent so much time running from anything resembling stability that she's not sure she can take that kind of risk, or maybe it's that she's not sure she can be the person who can stick that kind of life out.
General consensus: Gorgeous. Cracks you open.
When I checked this book out at the library, the librarian held it to her chest for a moment and said, "I love this book." It was a beautiful moment. I started reading it that night and had it finished within 24 hours.
Victoria is a foster child who is being released from a home into the world when she turns 18. She has no real skills or education, but she loves flowers. She sleeps in a park in San Francisco and finds work at a flower shop. Her bouquets are magnificent, which earns her a regular job. She makes a bouquet for a customer that will yield results in his love life, and he becomes an ardent supporter, sending her more and more business.
The book is two stories woven together: her past as a foster child, and her current life as an emerging adult. She mostly remembers life with Elizabeth on her vineyard. Elizabeth taught her the meaning of flowers, and how they could communicate messages. Elizabeth was a strong yet deeply kind woman who had the ability to love Victoria no matter what. Unfortunately, Victoria still had to learn that kind of love for herself.
Victoria runs into someone from her past at the flower market, and he communicates with her in the rare dialect of flowers. This relationship holds the key to Victoria's redemption and true happiness. But she's spent so much time running from anything resembling stability that she's not sure she can take that kind of risk, or maybe it's that she's not sure she can be the person who can stick that kind of life out.
General consensus: Gorgeous. Cracks you open.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Book Report #205 Origin
Origin by Dan Brown
Dan Brown is also the writer of The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons where hero Robert Langdon has to save the world from peril in an intellectual and superhero matter, playing an Indiana Jones straight out of Harvard. It's almost like Brown is actively challenging Hollywood as he writes, setting his scenes in some of the world's most iconic buildings and saying, " I dare you to get access to these."
In Origin, Landgon visits his former student, the genius Edmund Kirsch, as he delivers some sort of earth-shattering news to the world from a presentation in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Before Kirsch can deliver the news, he's shot between the eyes right in front of everyone. Langdon grabs the director of the museum, who happens to be the fiance of the crown prince, gorgeous Ambra Vidal. He must make sure she gets out of the building safely. That gives us our female lead who is somewhat smart but also no match for the wits of Langdon or Kirsch.
Vidal and Langdon end up on a mission to find Kirch's password so they can air his pre-recorded announcement to the world. This takes them on a Hollywood blockbuster type of ridiculous adventure. It's Langdon that figures everything out and has to save their lives at one point.
Obviously they find the password and Kirsch's announcement astounds the world. Yadda yadda. We've seen this template before.
Massive critique:
This book is hugely irresponsible in how it glorifies science and the patriarchy. Everybody that is celebrated as a genius in the book is a man, including Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and William Blake. There is no time spent on the gray areas with these men, and the hugely negative things they've done in their lives. Furthermore, it holds science as beyond reproach and the savior of us all. At least with tech, it has a gut-check in the end, even if that gut-check is ripped straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey (and as if we didn't see it coming).
AND the entire book is based on a false dichotomy between science and religion. As if these are the only two possible world views.
This book poses as intellectual when it's like the golden retriever of intellectualism: bounding around on its big paws, tripping over everything, and never deeply considering anything.
General consensus:
Poor writing + Pseudo-intellectualism + Pacing + Larger-than-life action = Another Hollywood movie
Dan Brown is also the writer of The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons where hero Robert Langdon has to save the world from peril in an intellectual and superhero matter, playing an Indiana Jones straight out of Harvard. It's almost like Brown is actively challenging Hollywood as he writes, setting his scenes in some of the world's most iconic buildings and saying, " I dare you to get access to these."
In Origin, Landgon visits his former student, the genius Edmund Kirsch, as he delivers some sort of earth-shattering news to the world from a presentation in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Before Kirsch can deliver the news, he's shot between the eyes right in front of everyone. Langdon grabs the director of the museum, who happens to be the fiance of the crown prince, gorgeous Ambra Vidal. He must make sure she gets out of the building safely. That gives us our female lead who is somewhat smart but also no match for the wits of Langdon or Kirsch.
Vidal and Langdon end up on a mission to find Kirch's password so they can air his pre-recorded announcement to the world. This takes them on a Hollywood blockbuster type of ridiculous adventure. It's Langdon that figures everything out and has to save their lives at one point.
Obviously they find the password and Kirsch's announcement astounds the world. Yadda yadda. We've seen this template before.
Massive critique:
This book is hugely irresponsible in how it glorifies science and the patriarchy. Everybody that is celebrated as a genius in the book is a man, including Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and William Blake. There is no time spent on the gray areas with these men, and the hugely negative things they've done in their lives. Furthermore, it holds science as beyond reproach and the savior of us all. At least with tech, it has a gut-check in the end, even if that gut-check is ripped straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey (and as if we didn't see it coming).
AND the entire book is based on a false dichotomy between science and religion. As if these are the only two possible world views.
This book poses as intellectual when it's like the golden retriever of intellectualism: bounding around on its big paws, tripping over everything, and never deeply considering anything.
General consensus:
Poor writing + Pseudo-intellectualism + Pacing + Larger-than-life action = Another Hollywood movie
Monday, August 20, 2018
Book Report #204 Big Little Lies
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The HBO hit is based off a book set in Sydney, Australia, not Monterey, CA like where the show is set! And Reese Witherspoon's character is a brunette!
We join parents and students at a lovely elementary school set on the beach as they experience a bullying problem. It starts with a kindergartener strangling another but quickly ripples through the emotionally overwrought parents. They're quick to fight with each other yet never question if their children's behavior is due to their poor modeling.
The book is framed as a police investigation for a murder. We work our way up to trivia night at the school, enduring the petty gossip of the parents along the way. The gossip serves to frame the chapters perfectly as it paints a seemingly accurate picture of these helicopter parents.
Every chapter adds more detail and intrigue. There comes a point where the reader must know how it all ties together, and who the hell gets murdered. Who does it?? Why?? It's intoxicating.
General consensus: Fun, engrossing, and impossible to put down.
The HBO hit is based off a book set in Sydney, Australia, not Monterey, CA like where the show is set! And Reese Witherspoon's character is a brunette!
We join parents and students at a lovely elementary school set on the beach as they experience a bullying problem. It starts with a kindergartener strangling another but quickly ripples through the emotionally overwrought parents. They're quick to fight with each other yet never question if their children's behavior is due to their poor modeling.
The book is framed as a police investigation for a murder. We work our way up to trivia night at the school, enduring the petty gossip of the parents along the way. The gossip serves to frame the chapters perfectly as it paints a seemingly accurate picture of these helicopter parents.
Every chapter adds more detail and intrigue. There comes a point where the reader must know how it all ties together, and who the hell gets murdered. Who does it?? Why?? It's intoxicating.
General consensus: Fun, engrossing, and impossible to put down.
Book Report #203 The Expats
The Expats by Chris Pavone
Kate and Dexter Moore live in Washington, D.C. with their young sons. He's a computer scientist who works with Internet security, and suddenly wants to move to Luxembourg for work. She's ready to leave her secret job at the CIA so she packs their bags.
In Luxembourg, they find countless expats like themselves. Wealth flows with no need for explanation. Kate tries to fall in step with this new way of life and enjoy it, but her training as a spy keeps making her restless. She becomes suspicious of their new friends, and even of her own husband. What she begins to uncover means she can't turn back.
General consensus: If you liked the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, you're going to love this book. It's the same kind of big fun. 🍿
Kate and Dexter Moore live in Washington, D.C. with their young sons. He's a computer scientist who works with Internet security, and suddenly wants to move to Luxembourg for work. She's ready to leave her secret job at the CIA so she packs their bags.
In Luxembourg, they find countless expats like themselves. Wealth flows with no need for explanation. Kate tries to fall in step with this new way of life and enjoy it, but her training as a spy keeps making her restless. She becomes suspicious of their new friends, and even of her own husband. What she begins to uncover means she can't turn back.
General consensus: If you liked the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, you're going to love this book. It's the same kind of big fun. 🍿
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Book Report #202 Everything, Everything
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Maddy is a seventeen year-old girl who has never stepped foot out of her house. She lives with her mother, who is also her doctor. She has suffered from SCID, a complicated immune disorder, her whole life. Basically anything could make her sick at any time, so she stays inside the controlled space of her house where the air is filtered and people are sanitized before entering.
Olly, a boy her age, moves in next door. They can see each other through their bedroom windows, and Maddy is transfixed. There's something about him.
Olly tries to introduce himself to Maddy by visiting but is rebuffed by Maddy's mother. He tries to communicate with her through the window. Eventually they share email addresses and instant message each other regularly. That's when they enter the point of no return. These two are deeply connected, and it's impossible for them to deny it. But the risks for Maddy to follow her heart are huge.
General consensus: So sweet, creative, and heartfelt. This is a beautiful story. I love that Maddy is a bi-racial character!
Maddy is a seventeen year-old girl who has never stepped foot out of her house. She lives with her mother, who is also her doctor. She has suffered from SCID, a complicated immune disorder, her whole life. Basically anything could make her sick at any time, so she stays inside the controlled space of her house where the air is filtered and people are sanitized before entering.
Olly, a boy her age, moves in next door. They can see each other through their bedroom windows, and Maddy is transfixed. There's something about him.
Olly tries to introduce himself to Maddy by visiting but is rebuffed by Maddy's mother. He tries to communicate with her through the window. Eventually they share email addresses and instant message each other regularly. That's when they enter the point of no return. These two are deeply connected, and it's impossible for them to deny it. But the risks for Maddy to follow her heart are huge.
General consensus: So sweet, creative, and heartfelt. This is a beautiful story. I love that Maddy is a bi-racial character!
Friday, July 27, 2018
Book Report #201 The Rooster Bar
The Rooster Bar by John Grisham
A pack of students in their third year at a for-profit law school are befuddled by the large amounts of money they owe for their tuition and living expenses. They feel cheated because the job market is soft and resentful because they believed the lies that led them to enroll. In addition, their friend, another student, committed suicide because he was overwhelmed by his situation. But not before showing them a web of greed surrounding eight for-profit law schools in the country that he'd uncovered in a fit of madness before ending it all.
In addition, Zola, a member of the pack, is having problems because her family is illegal and being deported. Back to Senegal they went after over twenty years in America. Grisham was clearly pissed off about the conditions in which people are detained by ICE.
But how does that all fit? And who's the real villain here? The students got involved with their own illegal activities when they'd had it with their law school and started racking up felonies. Why should I care about their welfare?
I like that Grisham teaches me things about the law, and how our legal system works. He does it in his acerbic, liberal way that I've come to love.
Yet, I did not love this book. There was no hero. There was no big showdown we were heading to. It was a mess and I didn't side with anyone. Everyone was an asshole (was I supposed to believe some criminals were Robin Hoods?), and I had no idea where we were going. I wasn't even really sure I cared. The dialogue was unconvincing and the writing was flat.
But it moved, so I chugged along, moving with it, constantly checking the page count, and looking forward to the end.
General consensus: Come on, John.
A pack of students in their third year at a for-profit law school are befuddled by the large amounts of money they owe for their tuition and living expenses. They feel cheated because the job market is soft and resentful because they believed the lies that led them to enroll. In addition, their friend, another student, committed suicide because he was overwhelmed by his situation. But not before showing them a web of greed surrounding eight for-profit law schools in the country that he'd uncovered in a fit of madness before ending it all.
In addition, Zola, a member of the pack, is having problems because her family is illegal and being deported. Back to Senegal they went after over twenty years in America. Grisham was clearly pissed off about the conditions in which people are detained by ICE.
But how does that all fit? And who's the real villain here? The students got involved with their own illegal activities when they'd had it with their law school and started racking up felonies. Why should I care about their welfare?
I like that Grisham teaches me things about the law, and how our legal system works. He does it in his acerbic, liberal way that I've come to love.
Yet, I did not love this book. There was no hero. There was no big showdown we were heading to. It was a mess and I didn't side with anyone. Everyone was an asshole (was I supposed to believe some criminals were Robin Hoods?), and I had no idea where we were going. I wasn't even really sure I cared. The dialogue was unconvincing and the writing was flat.
But it moved, so I chugged along, moving with it, constantly checking the page count, and looking forward to the end.
General consensus: Come on, John.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Book Report #200 The Stars Are Fire
The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve
Anita Shreve is a brilliant writer, who has never wavered in her ability to create breathtaking masterpieces that take the shape of novels. They leave the reader tender and changed. One does not put down an Anita Shreve novel and just carry on with her day. Time must be set aside to sit and fully be rocked.
In The Stars Are Fire, Grace lives with her husband Gene and two children, Claire and Tom, in a beachfront town in Maine in the 1940s. Her marriage is strained and the two barely talk. Sometimes Grace counts the words Gene says to her in a day, and sometimes the number is two. There's an awful evening where he abuses her sexually, and she becomes pregnant.
A serious drought sets in, and Maine becomes a tinder box, waiting to ignite. When it inevitably does, the fire rips through the state, pushing people toward the ocean. It comes to Grace's house when Gene is trying to make a firebreak to save the town. She has to flee to the ocean with her two children.
After the harrowing night, they are saved, and their lives are forever altered. Gene does not come back, and Grace wonders if he's taken this as his opportunity to escape. She must step up and take care of her children. Once she has healed from hypothermia and losing her baby, she takes her children and her mother to her late mother-in-law's mansion for refuge. She gets a job as a receptionist at a doctor's office. She takes on a boarder and enjoys his company. Grace's life is pretty good for once. She begins to understand happiness.
But a burned up and angry Gene returns, and it's all smashed to bits. Grace must dig into her reserves yet again and find the strength to be the heroine her children need.
General consensus: I was hooked in and then gutted. I had to tell my family what was going on in the story because it felt so real. Classic Shreve. Gorgeous, moving, and haunting.
Anita Shreve is a brilliant writer, who has never wavered in her ability to create breathtaking masterpieces that take the shape of novels. They leave the reader tender and changed. One does not put down an Anita Shreve novel and just carry on with her day. Time must be set aside to sit and fully be rocked.
In The Stars Are Fire, Grace lives with her husband Gene and two children, Claire and Tom, in a beachfront town in Maine in the 1940s. Her marriage is strained and the two barely talk. Sometimes Grace counts the words Gene says to her in a day, and sometimes the number is two. There's an awful evening where he abuses her sexually, and she becomes pregnant.
A serious drought sets in, and Maine becomes a tinder box, waiting to ignite. When it inevitably does, the fire rips through the state, pushing people toward the ocean. It comes to Grace's house when Gene is trying to make a firebreak to save the town. She has to flee to the ocean with her two children.
After the harrowing night, they are saved, and their lives are forever altered. Gene does not come back, and Grace wonders if he's taken this as his opportunity to escape. She must step up and take care of her children. Once she has healed from hypothermia and losing her baby, she takes her children and her mother to her late mother-in-law's mansion for refuge. She gets a job as a receptionist at a doctor's office. She takes on a boarder and enjoys his company. Grace's life is pretty good for once. She begins to understand happiness.
But a burned up and angry Gene returns, and it's all smashed to bits. Grace must dig into her reserves yet again and find the strength to be the heroine her children need.
General consensus: I was hooked in and then gutted. I had to tell my family what was going on in the story because it felt so real. Classic Shreve. Gorgeous, moving, and haunting.
Book Report #199 White Houses
White Houses by Amy Bloom
I'm still scratching my head about this book. I picked it up because I saw everyone was reading it and I have to do what everyone is doing. I quickly discovered I was reading historical fiction narrated by Eleanor Roosevelt's lesbian lover, Alice Hickok, who was known as the First Friend of The White House.
Their relationship is no secret now, although it was at the time. FDR had his affair(s) and Eleanor had hers. They had a country to run and a nation to inspire so they managed to largely keep their personal lives out of the spotlight.
The story is told out of order. There's a lot of jumping around to different times and places, with the main thread being in a New York apartment where they are holed up in a lovers nest as old ladies. Alice was a strong, opinionated woman and some of the things she had to say about famous people somewhat shocked me, like that she thought Charles Lindbergh killed his own baby and blamed someone else.
She thought of The White House as a dorm, and stayed there frequently. She knew FDR pretty well, as well as a good part of the Roosevelt family. She also grew up poor and abused in the Midwest, so we learn a lot about that and how it was such a different world than the one she later lived in as an accomplished journalist.
General consensus: I couldn't put it down but it felt a bit like salacious gossip dressed as fine literature.
I'm still scratching my head about this book. I picked it up because I saw everyone was reading it and I have to do what everyone is doing. I quickly discovered I was reading historical fiction narrated by Eleanor Roosevelt's lesbian lover, Alice Hickok, who was known as the First Friend of The White House.
Their relationship is no secret now, although it was at the time. FDR had his affair(s) and Eleanor had hers. They had a country to run and a nation to inspire so they managed to largely keep their personal lives out of the spotlight.
The story is told out of order. There's a lot of jumping around to different times and places, with the main thread being in a New York apartment where they are holed up in a lovers nest as old ladies. Alice was a strong, opinionated woman and some of the things she had to say about famous people somewhat shocked me, like that she thought Charles Lindbergh killed his own baby and blamed someone else.
She thought of The White House as a dorm, and stayed there frequently. She knew FDR pretty well, as well as a good part of the Roosevelt family. She also grew up poor and abused in the Midwest, so we learn a lot about that and how it was such a different world than the one she later lived in as an accomplished journalist.
General consensus: I couldn't put it down but it felt a bit like salacious gossip dressed as fine literature.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Book Report #196 - Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Southall is a section of London where Punjabi people live, and it's a lot like home in India. That means it's a conservative area, and girls who were raised in London have trouble because they're labeled as "modern", which is synonymous with "bad" in Southall.
That's how it is for 22 year-old Nikki, who dropped out of law school and tends bar. She has her own apartment, rather than living with her family, and she scorns her sister's decision to have an arranged marriage. But she feels adrift, so she signs up to teach a creative writing class at a temple in Southall. Maybe this will help her figure out her career.
Her boss, Kulwinder, is a hard ass who is grieving the death of her daughter Maya. She sees a lot of Maya in Nikki, but that doesn't warm her up. When Nikki finds that the handful of women who attend her class are widows who want to share erotic stories, she's torn between wanting to fulfill their wishes and displeasing Kulwinder.
Their stories leak out into the public and gain popularity in Southall and beyond. It's exciting to finally see Punjabi people in these types of stories, and it is liberating the women. Nikki is worried sick that a conservative faction of men called The Brothers will make life difficult for them, maybe even violent, if they're found out. But as she learns more about the senseless deaths of young women in Southall, she presses on until she learns enough to make a difference, even if it puts her in tremendous danger.
General consensus: I read this pretty quickly but I wouldn't say it was gripping. I was surprised that I didn't have a deeper interest in the story. I expected to care more about the characters but if I lost the book at any point, I would have shrugged and moved on. I wanted it to be something I deeply loved but I just thought it was good.
Southall is a section of London where Punjabi people live, and it's a lot like home in India. That means it's a conservative area, and girls who were raised in London have trouble because they're labeled as "modern", which is synonymous with "bad" in Southall.
That's how it is for 22 year-old Nikki, who dropped out of law school and tends bar. She has her own apartment, rather than living with her family, and she scorns her sister's decision to have an arranged marriage. But she feels adrift, so she signs up to teach a creative writing class at a temple in Southall. Maybe this will help her figure out her career.
Her boss, Kulwinder, is a hard ass who is grieving the death of her daughter Maya. She sees a lot of Maya in Nikki, but that doesn't warm her up. When Nikki finds that the handful of women who attend her class are widows who want to share erotic stories, she's torn between wanting to fulfill their wishes and displeasing Kulwinder.
Their stories leak out into the public and gain popularity in Southall and beyond. It's exciting to finally see Punjabi people in these types of stories, and it is liberating the women. Nikki is worried sick that a conservative faction of men called The Brothers will make life difficult for them, maybe even violent, if they're found out. But as she learns more about the senseless deaths of young women in Southall, she presses on until she learns enough to make a difference, even if it puts her in tremendous danger.
General consensus: I read this pretty quickly but I wouldn't say it was gripping. I was surprised that I didn't have a deeper interest in the story. I expected to care more about the characters but if I lost the book at any point, I would have shrugged and moved on. I wanted it to be something I deeply loved but I just thought it was good.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Book Report #195 - The Confession
The Confession by John Grisham
Donte Drumm, a black high school football player, was convicted of raping and murdering a popular white high school cheerleader named Nicole. He confessed, so he must have done it, right? The thing is, he had an alibi and was tortured into a confession in a 15-hour ordeal with some cops. Everything was stacked against him, including the egos of the people in charge of his trial and conviction.
The week he's scheduled for his execution on death row, nine years after entering prison, a man named Travis Boyette asks to speak to a preacher in a church hundreds of miles from Donte's hometown of Slone in Texas. Boyette says he's a convicted rapist living in a halfway-house nearby. He's dying of a brain tumor and wants to come clean--it's he who raped and killed Nicole, and he can produce the body.
The preacher is torn but eventually decides to drive him to Texas to try to stop the execution, even though he knows he will be helping Travis violate his parole. Donte's lawyer, Robbie Flack, and his team scramble to do everything they can to get a stay, including getting the key witness to confess to perjury. Everything is gripping, as per Grisham's usual mastery, and the drive to Slone requires a chunk of time out of one's day because it's impossible to walk away as the minutes tick by to Donte's execution. Meanwhile the town of Slone is devolving into a race riot.
I don't want to include any spoilers so I'll only take you so far.
General consensus: Dovetails with Grisham's work of nonfiction, The Innocent Man. This story gets under your skin. You get the ordeal from the eyes of everyone involved--Donte's family, Nicole's family, the local police, DA, and judge, the legal team defending Donte, the preacher trying to do what's right. You get to see prison and death row from Donte's eyes. It's hard-hitting and important.
Donte Drumm, a black high school football player, was convicted of raping and murdering a popular white high school cheerleader named Nicole. He confessed, so he must have done it, right? The thing is, he had an alibi and was tortured into a confession in a 15-hour ordeal with some cops. Everything was stacked against him, including the egos of the people in charge of his trial and conviction.
The week he's scheduled for his execution on death row, nine years after entering prison, a man named Travis Boyette asks to speak to a preacher in a church hundreds of miles from Donte's hometown of Slone in Texas. Boyette says he's a convicted rapist living in a halfway-house nearby. He's dying of a brain tumor and wants to come clean--it's he who raped and killed Nicole, and he can produce the body.
The preacher is torn but eventually decides to drive him to Texas to try to stop the execution, even though he knows he will be helping Travis violate his parole. Donte's lawyer, Robbie Flack, and his team scramble to do everything they can to get a stay, including getting the key witness to confess to perjury. Everything is gripping, as per Grisham's usual mastery, and the drive to Slone requires a chunk of time out of one's day because it's impossible to walk away as the minutes tick by to Donte's execution. Meanwhile the town of Slone is devolving into a race riot.
I don't want to include any spoilers so I'll only take you so far.
General consensus: Dovetails with Grisham's work of nonfiction, The Innocent Man. This story gets under your skin. You get the ordeal from the eyes of everyone involved--Donte's family, Nicole's family, the local police, DA, and judge, the legal team defending Donte, the preacher trying to do what's right. You get to see prison and death row from Donte's eyes. It's hard-hitting and important.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Book Report #193 - Camino Island
Camino Island by John Grisham
This is one of my favorite Grisham novels of all time. Thieves steal five of F. Scott Fitzgerald's original manuscripts from the library at Princeton University to sell them for a ransom. But the Feds and the insurance company that covers the manuscripts are determined to find them.
There's a bookseller in Camino Island off Floria, Bruce Cable, who is a real character. He has the best bookstore in the country, and authors come by to hold signings regularly. There are many authors living right on Camino Island, and they love to socialize and gossip. Bruce is the king of their circle.
The insurance company hires a struggling writer, Mercer Mann, to stay on Camino Island and befriend Bruce, in the hopes that she can get some information about whether he has a vault in his bookstore basement. Best case would be she could see what's in there.
The book skips around, so first you're breathlessly witnessing the theft at Princeton, then you're wondering who the heck Mercer is, then you're falling in love with Bruce's charming story with no idea of his relevance. But it all comes together and it's great fun.
General consensus: You're not going to be able to put it down. Bibliophiles will especially enjoy the book's celebration of authors and great literature.
This is one of my favorite Grisham novels of all time. Thieves steal five of F. Scott Fitzgerald's original manuscripts from the library at Princeton University to sell them for a ransom. But the Feds and the insurance company that covers the manuscripts are determined to find them.
There's a bookseller in Camino Island off Floria, Bruce Cable, who is a real character. He has the best bookstore in the country, and authors come by to hold signings regularly. There are many authors living right on Camino Island, and they love to socialize and gossip. Bruce is the king of their circle.
The insurance company hires a struggling writer, Mercer Mann, to stay on Camino Island and befriend Bruce, in the hopes that she can get some information about whether he has a vault in his bookstore basement. Best case would be she could see what's in there.
The book skips around, so first you're breathlessly witnessing the theft at Princeton, then you're wondering who the heck Mercer is, then you're falling in love with Bruce's charming story with no idea of his relevance. But it all comes together and it's great fun.
General consensus: You're not going to be able to put it down. Bibliophiles will especially enjoy the book's celebration of authors and great literature.
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Book Report #187 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Everyone has read this or seen the movie, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I had no idea it took place in Sweden or that it's such a smart book. This story has layers and it's engrossing as hell and even shocking, in a sexual way.
Mikael Blomkvist is a financial reporter for the magazine Millenium and he loses a trial for libel against a titan of industry, Wennerstrom. Once the verdict comes down, he receives a call from a former titan of industry who is now in his 80s, Henrik Vanger, to pay him a visit and entertain a freelance job offer. He will be paid a sum in the millions if he stays on Vanger's estate in a sparsely populated island, and writes the Vanger family story while also investigating the long-ago murder of his grand-daughter, Harriet.
Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salanger, aka the girl with the dragon tattoo, is working as a private investigator for a security firm. She's asked by Vanger's lawyer to look into Blomkvist. That piques her interest in his case. Eventually she works side by side with him to solve the mystery of Harriet. What they discover is disgusting and shocking. And of course, everything ends up tying together.
The book covers finance, technology, and even some of the Bible, so it was a pretty daunting work to write. There's clearly room left for a sequel at the end (it's the first in a series).
General consensus: It was damn good and nearly impossible to put down.
Everyone has read this or seen the movie, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I had no idea it took place in Sweden or that it's such a smart book. This story has layers and it's engrossing as hell and even shocking, in a sexual way.
Mikael Blomkvist is a financial reporter for the magazine Millenium and he loses a trial for libel against a titan of industry, Wennerstrom. Once the verdict comes down, he receives a call from a former titan of industry who is now in his 80s, Henrik Vanger, to pay him a visit and entertain a freelance job offer. He will be paid a sum in the millions if he stays on Vanger's estate in a sparsely populated island, and writes the Vanger family story while also investigating the long-ago murder of his grand-daughter, Harriet.
Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salanger, aka the girl with the dragon tattoo, is working as a private investigator for a security firm. She's asked by Vanger's lawyer to look into Blomkvist. That piques her interest in his case. Eventually she works side by side with him to solve the mystery of Harriet. What they discover is disgusting and shocking. And of course, everything ends up tying together.
The book covers finance, technology, and even some of the Bible, so it was a pretty daunting work to write. There's clearly room left for a sequel at the end (it's the first in a series).
General consensus: It was damn good and nearly impossible to put down.
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