Saturday, December 29, 2018
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Friday, November 16, 2018
[BOOK REVIEW] From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty - 4 stars
Caitlin Doughty is a practicing mortician in Los Angeles, California, a YouTube personality (see "Ask a Mortician" which posts weekly on Fridays), a death enthusiast, and a fantastic storyteller. On the surface, From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death is a collection of death travel anecdotes. She visits several countries and shares with the reader descriptions of how particular cultures care for their dead. The stories are told with respect, empathy, wit, and Caitlin's own particular brand of humor. Beyond just recitation of facts and observations of cultural rituals, Ms. Doughty gently provokes the reader to consider deeper topics relating to death such as fear, love, mourning, environmental responsibility, capitalism, and feminism. I laughed in parts, and teared up in others. This book taught me some things I didn't know, and also gave me several topics to ponder regarding my own relationship with death.
As far as writing style, there was no particular connection that I could discern between the places visited in this book. I imagine the choices were driven by personal interest and to where permission was granted for the author to be a witness/occasional participant. There were a couple of instances where the narrative jumped from one story to another, related story, then back to the original (e.g. the narrative began in Bolivia, a tangential anecdote that took place in Italy occurred, then it was back to Bolivia). I found it a little jarring until I grasped the point the author was trying to make with the shift.
This is not a particularly long or difficult read, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in after life care and/or learning a little more about cultures that might be outside your realm of experience. Also the illustrations and cover art are beautiful. A+, Landis Blair.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Monday, January 1, 2018
[BOOK REVIEW] Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - 3 stars
(original review published 6 November 2008 on amazon.com)
The YA rating is appropriate. This is not a dense read. I think I finished it in two or three evening's casual reading.
It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't great. I would have liked to see more conflict between Edward and Bella. There are a few scenes near the beginning where they're angry and Bella is standing up to his inconsistent behavior towards her, and these were the brief moments where I thought it might get really good. But it gets pretty sappy after that.
The most unbelievable element (in a vampire romance novel, I know, I know...) was that the Cullens are each several decades old, and they can sit through day after day of high school without losing their minds. I cannot fathom how unimaginably boring that would be.
Just don't take it too seriously or expect strong character development, and you won't be disappointed. It can be a fun read if you take it as the escapist/fantasy romance that it is.
The YA rating is appropriate. This is not a dense read. I think I finished it in two or three evening's casual reading.
It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't great. I would have liked to see more conflict between Edward and Bella. There are a few scenes near the beginning where they're angry and Bella is standing up to his inconsistent behavior towards her, and these were the brief moments where I thought it might get really good. But it gets pretty sappy after that.
The most unbelievable element (in a vampire romance novel, I know, I know...) was that the Cullens are each several decades old, and they can sit through day after day of high school without losing their minds. I cannot fathom how unimaginably boring that would be.
Just don't take it too seriously or expect strong character development, and you won't be disappointed. It can be a fun read if you take it as the escapist/fantasy romance that it is.
[BOOK REVIEW] The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin - 2 stars
(original review published 1 October 2007 on amazon.com)
There is a lack of polish, and definitely the run-on sentences and comma splices are distracting, but not necessarily the author's fault (no copy editor?).
The plot is formulaic, but interesting enough that it kept me reading until the end. It had the potential to be very good. However, I felt that it read a bit like a roleplaying game: Here is your mage, a prince on a quest. Here are your warriors, your rogue, your bard, your cleric.
When Kiara makes her first appearance, you get a nearly-MarySue description of her hair color, the length of the hair, the way her hair moves when released from its bonds, etc. Many of the characters were undeveloped, especially the villians. I did not feel I knew any more about the bad guys by the end of the book than at the beginning. Tris' companions were so secondary and shallow that at times I forgot their names and/or roles.
The vampire element was surprising. As in, it was a complete surprise how they popped up suddenly and unexpectedly.
The first half of the book does not seem so much Tris' adventure as it does completing quests for experience points in something like World of Warcraft. "Collect X amount of stones for a cairn and deliver a silver piece to the farm at the edge of town. Speak to the innkeeper for your reward!"
It struck me as being more on par with a very good fanfiction rather than a published novel. If there had been an already-established backstory, world, enemies, allies, and main characters, the minimalist descriptions and actions of the characters would have been acceptable. I felt the author could have fleshed it out into two or three more books.
There is a lack of polish, and definitely the run-on sentences and comma splices are distracting, but not necessarily the author's fault (no copy editor?).
The plot is formulaic, but interesting enough that it kept me reading until the end. It had the potential to be very good. However, I felt that it read a bit like a roleplaying game: Here is your mage, a prince on a quest. Here are your warriors, your rogue, your bard, your cleric.
When Kiara makes her first appearance, you get a nearly-MarySue description of her hair color, the length of the hair, the way her hair moves when released from its bonds, etc. Many of the characters were undeveloped, especially the villians. I did not feel I knew any more about the bad guys by the end of the book than at the beginning. Tris' companions were so secondary and shallow that at times I forgot their names and/or roles.
The vampire element was surprising. As in, it was a complete surprise how they popped up suddenly and unexpectedly.
The first half of the book does not seem so much Tris' adventure as it does completing quests for experience points in something like World of Warcraft. "Collect X amount of stones for a cairn and deliver a silver piece to the farm at the edge of town. Speak to the innkeeper for your reward!"
It struck me as being more on par with a very good fanfiction rather than a published novel. If there had been an already-established backstory, world, enemies, allies, and main characters, the minimalist descriptions and actions of the characters would have been acceptable. I felt the author could have fleshed it out into two or three more books.
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