Friday, November 18, 2016

Review: The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I could only read this book in fits and starts, because it made me so anxious - that pit of your stomach feeling that this is not going to turn out well. Should we cry for humanity or cheer for whatever comes next?

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Thursday, November 17, 2016

Review: Calvin und Hobbes: Von Monstern, Mädchen und besten Freunden

Calvin und Hobbes: Von Monstern, Mädchen und besten Freunden Calvin und Hobbes: Von Monstern, Mädchen und besten Freunden by Bill Watterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For me, the Calvin and Hobbes series is the best comic strip ever. Sometimes silly, often much more profound than I ever expected. I have read all of the strips in English several times and now I am reading them in German.

Thanks, Mr. Watterson.

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Review: In Defense of a Liberal Education

In Defense of a Liberal Education In Defense of a Liberal Education by Fareed Zakaria
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think this book has some good points, but they didn't seem to be clearly presented - for me, at least. One member of our book group agreed with me; another one completely disagreed; the rest were somewhere in between.

I grew up in an education-oriented home. My mother was a teacher; my father was a member of first the local school board and later the county school board. Together they helped found a statewide association for gifted children. Education through college was expected (and achieved) for all four of their children. But, in a way, those expectations and privilege meant that I didn't feel the pressure to go after education myself. It was just taken for granted. I enjoyed school and did well at it, but I never had to work very hard at defining what I wanted out of it. It was an expected path that I dutifully followed and did as was expected of me. Thus, some of the advantages this book touts, e.g., learning how to think critically and to write well, didn't seem like huge targets. I could write well and I wasn't sure what thinking critically really meant. I could analyze, I could make arguments. But I wasn't especially intellectually engaged.

In some ways, I think undergraduate education is wasted on new adults. They need to learn the liberal arts skills of thinking critically, writing well, making arguments verbally, etc., which is the point of this book, but they DO need specific job skills, too. As an older adult now, I crave a more active role in my own education. Some of the things that I wish I had more of are the very things that Zakaria thinks I should have gotten as a liberal arts student, but which I undervalued at the time. Now that I am retired, I am taking several short classes and I find them worthwhile. I would like even more. At my age, I am ready for seminars, for arguments about subjects.

I get a lot of this on Facebook, interestingly. There is also a lot of less useful stuff there, but I am finding a community of like-minded people to talk to there. Maybe Facebook is liberal arts education for some of us.

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Saturday, October 15, 2016

Review: A Call for a New Alphabet

A Call for a New Alphabet A Call for a New Alphabet by Jef Czekaj
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I liked this one a bit more than Cat Secrets. There is more going on in this one and some clever things to look for (not just the mouse's antics).

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Review: Cat Secrets

Cat Secrets Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I suppose it is foolish for me to find this book a bit disappointing, because I didn't find out any Cat Secrets, after all I did to convinced those cats that I was one.

This books is cute, but it really isn't a "read over and over until it falls apart" book. As a jumping off place for creative thinking, it might work. As a go to sleep book, it might work. Cute, though.

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Thursday, September 29, 2016

Review: Without Reservations: The Cartoons of Ricardo Cate

Without Reservations: The Cartoons of Ricardo Cate Without Reservations: The Cartoons of Ricardo Cate by Ricardo Cate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. I enjoy humor from other cultures, even though this particular culture didn't seem that "other" to me.

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Review: The Ability

The Ability The Ability by M.M. Vaughan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one of those books that is a bit too dark for my personal tastes, but it really drew me in. And the sequel already set up. I almost wish I weren't looking forward to the next one.

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Monday, August 29, 2016

Review: All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book. Perry is a very likable character and even Zoey. The reason for the somewhat lackluster rating is that I felt it dragged in the middle and should have been more tightly edited. Quite a few times, I just wanted to jump to the ending and finish it. I didn't, but I was very tempted.

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Friday, August 26, 2016

Review: The ACB with Honora Lee

The ACB with Honora Lee The ACB with Honora Lee by Kate De Goldi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a bit of a disappointment. I have really enjoyed others of De Goldi's books, but this one was just a bit short in some respects. The biggest complaint I have is that the parents, while included in parts of the story, were really unsympathetic and unsupportive. Their parts in the story did little to advance the narrative, other than to make Perry seem neglected. If their neglect were the focus of the story, that would be a point that needed to be made, but here, it just seemed to be an annoying distraction.

The best thing about the book is the depiction of the various people in the nursing home. My mother was in a nursing home for her last few years and De Goldi really got many of those people right. I like that her grandmother never does really "get" that Perry is her granddaughter and keeps looking for her brother and husband who are both long deceased.

The idea for this book is charming and parts of it are excellent. It just doesn't quite come together to make a fabulous story for me.

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Thursday, August 25, 2016

Review: Roger Dahl's Comic Japan: Best of Zero Gravity Cartoons from The Japan Times-The Lighter Side of Tokyo Life

Roger Dahl's Comic Japan: Best of Zero Gravity Cartoons from The Japan Times-The Lighter Side of Tokyo Life Roger Dahl's Comic Japan: Best of Zero Gravity Cartoons from The Japan Times-The Lighter Side of Tokyo Life by Roger Dahl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy cartoons from other countries because they give me insight into the cultures. These cartoons are of interest, because they are cartoons done by Americans living in Japan. The advantage is that I can read them, because they are in English and I can understand at least half of the reference points - the perspectives of Americans. The drawback is that the culture is represented through foreign eyes, rather than through their own eyes. This makes them different in perspective than, for instance, Madam and Eve cartoons (from South Africa), since although those cartoons are in English, they are done by a South African.

The art work for the cartoons is good and I enjoyed the book.

I keep hoping that people who read these reviews will recommend other books similar to this or the Madam and Eve collection, but so far no one has.

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Sunday, August 21, 2016

Review: Oddly Normal

Oddly Normal Oddly Normal by Otis Frampton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nice artwork. I had a little trouble following the flow of the words. Manga is still not a favorite for me, but I can see this would be appealing.

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Friday, August 19, 2016

Review: A Rat in My Soup!

A Rat in My Soup! A Rat in My Soup! by Arkas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a continuation of the Bad Company book. Same review. The author is actually Greek and the book is translated from Greek. I would love to have additional recommendations for this type of book. Humor from other countries fascinates me.

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Review: Bad Company

Bad Company Bad Company by Arkas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is "interesting" subject matter - a prisoner incarcerated for 622 years - but it does manage, quite handily, to be darkly humorous and appealing. And the illustrations, though limited in palette, are actually well done.

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Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Review: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book many years ago, so I won't write a full review. It remains a book that I remember fondly, which says a lot for it.

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Sunday, July 31, 2016

Review: Dealing with Dragons

Dealing with Dragons Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this book so much I have written an entire musical about it - with Patricia C. Wrede's permission. (Song, lyrics, script, and piano accompaniments)

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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Review: Raymie Nightingale

Raymie Nightingale Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know I am an outlier here, but Kate DiCamillo just isn't my style of writing. That said, if you do like her style, this book is well written and touching. And, yes, she probably is a great writer. Why don't I love her writing? For me, there is a sing-songy quality to the writing. It is almost as though she is singing a song to you saying, look at this extremely good writing and this lovely story I am writing for you? Aren't the metaphors perfect? Look how realistic all this dialog is, yet it is just edgy enough to be fresh and new. And all of these quirky characters, aren't they all fascinating? Don't you just want to keep reading about such interesting people? Keep reading? We are glad to have you here.

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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Review: Pearls Gets Sacrificed: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury

Pearls Gets Sacrificed: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury Pearls Gets Sacrificed: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury by Stephan Pastis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I know, I know. Pastis' whole schtick is making fun of people and we are supposed to always take it with a bit of irony. But sometimes, for me, it seems to cross the line into just plain mean. I hope his work doesn't go the way of Get Fuzzy, which became so mean that I stopped reading it.

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Friday, June 3, 2016

Review: Das große Los

Das große Los Das große Los by Meike Winnemuth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am enjoying this book a lot. It is a bit of a struggle for me, as it has been 50 years since I was a foreign student in Germany, but I have worked hard to keep up with some of my German, so I am understanding most of it.

Lots of interesting questions: where in the world would I go if I had the opportunity to spend one month in each of 12 cities? What would be a perfect day for me? How should I spend the time I have in this life?

This isn't just a travel book, although it is that, it is an exploration of self through travel.
____

I have now finished this book and I enjoyed it a lot. I am sure I didn't understand everything, but I found her adventures and her musings about them interesting as well as instructive. I hope to make similar choices - to try new things, to re-invent myself when I want to. In a way, I am doing that now that I am thinking of myself as officially retired. Writing music, even if it turns out to not go anywhere, is my current adventure. It is enough to want to do it - being good at it is not required.

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Thursday, June 2, 2016

Review: Love, Aubrey

Love, Aubrey Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book in one day. One of the things that captured me, I think, was the realness of the voice of the main character, Aubrey.

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