Book Review: The Little Book by Selden Edwards

Read for the fiction Crystal Lake Public Library book club for March 2013.  This cover is the large print cover which I read.

This is the regular size print cover which some of the other people had, also nice, but I like the large print cover better.

     We had a Skype session with the author who was interesting, friendly, and answered our questions well, even when we picked on him a bit for being so Freudian in the book!  We liked the book and thought the characters were o.k. but we thought he gilded the lily and over did it when he threw in Mark Twain for a moment too.  That made more sense to us though when we talked to him, because he shared a story where a friend said "hey, did you know Mark Twain was there at that time in Vienna too?"  And he decided he better put it in so if people asked why he did not include Mark Twain he would not have to answer that by putting him in there.  I was convinced that they were all dead about a quarter of the way into the book, sort of as a "people you will meet in heaven" or God help me "Lost" sort of thing, and I asked him about that during the Skype session.  He did say that many native American groups and tribes do believe you live these moments out at the moment of death and then just sort of sweetly smiled and eluded me a bit.  Smart guy :)  He did say there is a follow-up book (kind of fast since this one took 17 years to write) and that it opens with a whopper on the first page.  I will not put it down here in case that would be a spoiler.  I am considering reading the next one but with my crazy schedule it is tough to get in the two books a month for my book clubs as is, so I will have to see, maybe over the summer months...I also wanted to mention he showed us a wooden Frisbee his wife had made for him as a present, which I thought was fun and sweet, and very nice of him to share it with us!  It was a total pleasure to speak with him over Skype for our group, great guy!

The author, a very nice and friendly guy!

And so it goes...

Rootstrikers: Follow-Up to Third World America Book Review

In the review of Third World America I posted the link to The Huffington Post where you can get more information on the ideas and organizations listed in her book (for the specific section on Third World America: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/third-world-america/).  One of them called "Fix Congress First!" is now called "Rootstrikers" and can be found here: http://www.rootstrikers.org/  They are organized online, have links to help you find your representatives, spots for street teams and college campus groups, and they have wikis and other neat things like videos and presentation information for those who are interested.  It is a good site and relatively easy to navigate if you are interested in finding out more about them and starting with grass roots action and using the internet to get ideas out there in an organized yet personal way.  Just thought I would share if you are interested in checking out some of the places and organizations mentioned in the book.

The name is based off a quote by Henry David Thoreau, a good one: "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."

And so it goes...

Book Review: Third World America by Arianna Huffington

Read for "Real World Reads" non-fiction book club at Crystal Lake Public Library for March 2013.

     The woman is a genius, I am ready to elect her right now!   A lot of what is in this book I have been saying for years, and I was very surprised.  I thought this was one of this years book club reads that I was not going to like when I read the title.  I do not know much about her, but I will start paying attention to her now and I will start looking at The Huffington Post online (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/).  I thought she was spot-on about the issues, how they arose, and had some very smart ideas on how to fix the mess.  I found her willing to poke at people on both sides of the aisle in Washington, but more importantly, she looked at the root causes of the issues and not just the symptoms.  She did not spend all of her time blaming politicians but looked at the key figures, organizations, banks, and other factors that are the real causes.  I think every politician needs to read this book and every voter as well: we elect them, they should speak for us and act in our interests, not in the interests of lobbyists and corporations.  I am excited for the book club discussion coming up this Tuesday.  This should make for a great jumping-off point for some discourse on these serious issues.

And so it goes...

Computers Grade Writing

     This is a seriously frightening prospect, none of us should let computers grade the creative and intellectual efforts of our children or ourselves. Didn't anybody pay attention to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey?  Do we really want "Hal" giving children higher scores for throwing in random words that have more syllables, even if they make absolutely no sense in the context of the work?  I am all for using technology to advance our connections to each other and to increase our knowledge, but throwing away people for inferior technology to save a few bucks is one of the most common ways we get ourselves into trouble, isn't it?

1. Article on Inside Higher Ed by Ry Rivard:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/15/professors-odds-machine-graded-essays

2. Report by Les Perelman:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/82100708/Critique_of_Shermis_Hammer_Paper_Ver_3_4_complete_final.pdf

And so it goes...

Book Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

Read for the library's non-fiction book club (February 2013 - Crystal Lake Public Library).

     I liked it because it read like a novel and not just a list of facts, and also because it helps you see what life is like by those who live it everyday in the slums of India, right next to the burgeoning wealthier class.  I felt it was a truthful account that tried to lay out how things work and why for some of the poorest people in the world.  It makes you appreciate when you have your water shut off or heat shut off because of lack of money.  This happens to those of us who are underpaid in the U.S. at least a few times a year, but it is a normal part of their lives to never even have it to begin with, so despite our struggles in the U.S., we should definitely appreciate what we have no matter what the circumstances.  I definitely would recommend this book to those interested in contemporary life in India and those who want to appreciate what they have and the meaning of working smart in dire situations.

And so it goes...

Book Review: Girl In Translation by Jean Kwok

For February 2013 Bookies (Fiction Book Club) at Crystal Lake Public Library.

     I thought the writing was fine but the book was rather cliche.  The first half was fine but once she had the pregnancy and was off to college I thought the "twists" were quite typical and I lost interest.  I did not hate it, but I would not recommend it much to anybody, except if you cannot see plot twists coming from a mile away.  The author apparently based much of the first half on real life events and people, especially her brother, although the protagonist is a girl, Kimberly.  I think that is why the ending becomes cliche and dies, she no longer had real life to reference for those parts.  When she was referencing life in the first 1/2 to 3/4 of the book it was better written and flowed more smoothly.

And so it goes...

Netflix and Good Political Shows

     So we got rid of cable T.V. over two years ago.  At first I thought I would lose touch with the world, but have actually come to love watching and reading things on MY TIME and not when some network and such tells me I can do something.  We had Netflix for years, as the DVD delivery service, before they changed.  When they switched to two services I was mad at first, thinking I would have nothing to watch when we chose the "instant only" service.  I was wrong.  They have expanded their selection beautifully, including two shows made just for Netflix people with the instant watch (Lilyhammer and House of Cards).  One of the things I love about it is discovering shows I missed the first time around with no commercials, and if I have to pause and walk away or if I fall asleep (pretty much every night) it remembers where I left off.

     My latest discovery is The West Wing.  I am just starting season three, but am so far amazed about how many issues they covered in the show, during the first year alone, that we have gone through with much less success.  That in combination with their new show House of Cards makes for very interesting viewing about life in Washington.  I plowed through all the episodes of House of Cards, I did not dole them out over time, it was too good!  So, if you have Netflix, I completely suggest checking out these shows.  The West Wing is very clever with witty and quick dialogue, and House of Cards is a darker and more gritty view of politics in Washington, with Kevin Spacey constantly breaking the fourth-wall in television, and directly addressing the viewer.  But beware, there is some sincere adult content in House of Cards, so it is not remotely age appropriate for all viewers.

And so it goes...