Saturday, April 28, 2007

The Mole People

The Mole People by Jennifer Toth
Non-Fiction


This book depicts how the homeless have set up communities underground in the tunnels of NYC. It was very interesting how the people live and interact and the reasons behind why they are underground. I found the writing quite disjoint and wonder if as much time was spend in organizing as research that it might have been a much better book. The reasearch done was obviously extensive.
The main reason people were living in the tunnels was the dangerous situation of the homeless shelters. One wonders if that is the case that the community and the police have not done something. The other reason stated is that these are people who just do not wish to live by rules. That makes sense but what a state to live in. I think that probably these same communities exist in Toronto as there are abandoned tunnels here also.
Toth stated at the end that she never 'snitched'. How could she not when confronted with the children existing in these conditions?



Rating:

(3.5/5)

Friday, April 27, 2007

Lucifer's Shadow

Lucifer's Shadow by David Hewson
Historical Mystery


I loved the book. This story is about a violin and a piece of music and a lot of very greedy people. 1733 and present day Venice are presented in the form of a wonderful mystery

The intertwining stories and the bit of history were great. I have been to Venice and the descriptions brought all the memories back. I never, until I set the book down and had time to think, saw the twist. WOW!!!. When one never sees the twist coming that is one great mystery.

One nitpick would be the author's use of italics. Sometimes the past was written in italics and sometimes it wasn't.It would have nice to be a bit more consistent


Rating:

(4.5/5)

Imaginary Men by Anjali Banerjee

Imaginary Men by Anjali Banerjee
Chick Lit


Lina is feeling the pressure to get married when she returns to India for her younger sister's wedding. All of her relatives are asking her if she has found a man, and the pressure gets to be so great that Lina lies and says that she is engaged to a mystery man from America. When the family wants to meet this man, Lina of course knows she needs to find a man and quick! Yet she only need look in her own backyard to find her true love!
This book was cute and it was interesting to get the view of an Indian-American as the main character. Although I'm sure the pressure for marriage in India can become quite great, I also know that ingrain on their children to respect elders, so would this situation even ever occur in India? Nevertheless, what ensues is a fun look at an Indian dating in America. This was a quick read and it wasn't disappointing.


Rating:
(3.5/5)

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Recent Duds

The last two books I tried reading I got about 60 pages in and had to give up. :(

The Empire of the Wolves by Jean-Christophe Grange
Mystery


I tried, but I really couldn't get into this one. Although things were looking promising with Anna going through tests for her memory loss, the book was moving way too slowly. Also, quite a few characters were introduced. Since the book is based in Paris, the characters have long, hard to pronounce names that I couldn't easily remember.
Life is too short and there are too many good books out there to spend time on the ones that don't capture your interest right away!



Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
Non-Genre Fiction


I got 60 pages into this one and had to stop. It was just too slow and there wasn't really any build in the story. I do have to admit however that it is beautifully written. The descriptions are amazing. Unfortunately the wonderful writing isn't enough to save this book. The author writes in both first and second person, which is kind of hard to understand. The "You" of the book keeps telling different Chinese folk stories while the "I" of the book seems to tell more of adventures.
I don't seem to have much luck with award winning books. They are all too literary enough for me, and don't give me enough motivation to continue reading the story.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly

The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly
Mystery


This is the third book in the Harry Bosch series, and I think it's my favourite so far. This book steps back a bit and takes a more in depth look at Bosch's past. Bosch was involved with the Dollmaker murders 4 years ago and shot one of the suspects as he was reaching under his pillow for his toupee. Finally, 4 years later, Bosch is taken to civil court by the family of the victim for wrongful death.
The book combines the courtroom dramas with new Dollmaker murders, giving you the best of both worlds. Additionally, Bosch has a new love interest, Sylvia, from the previous novel. The two of them have great chemistry and you really want things to work out for them. However you have to ask why this wasn't the first book in the series? It tells you about Bosch's past better than the previous two novels did.
Of course, Bosch doesn't learn from his mistakes and continues on with his rogue practices, which is a little cliche. But the novel is still good and suspenseful.


Rating:

(4/5)

Monday, April 23, 2007

The Hypochondriac's Handbook by Wendy Marston

The Hypochondriac's Handbook by Wendy Marston
Non-Fiction


This book is 125 pages of facts on germs and disease. I am in no way or form a hypochondriac, but I could see how this book could turn you into one. However, it basically told you to never go out into public, and don't use your washroom or kitchen. Germs are everywhere. But what hasn't killed me makes me stronger, so there little book! Although the repeated reminders of how when you flush a toilet, spray from it goes everywhere, especially on your toothbrush is rather disturbing. Gross!! I think I'm just going to let all of that information disappear from my mind so that I don't need to think of some of the gross things they talked about!


Rating:

(3/5)

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Mole People by Jennifer Toth

The Mole People by Jennifer Toth
Non-Fiction


This book is subtitled "Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City" and depicts exactly that. Toth describes how communities have popped up in the tunnels beneath New York City and are thriving. The homeless that end up below the city are scared of being above ground because of how rough homeless shelters are. This kind of stuff is kept out of the media, I guess for fear of damaging the reputation of the city, but it makes me wonder how many other cities in North America have the same situation. It's quite sad that homeless people feel that they have no where to turn for help. Yes, some of them are dangerous people, but as Toth describes, a good number of those she interviewed have had jobs (or are even currently holding them). Some even have university degrees.
The writing of the book was pretty bad. There wasn't much flow, Toth was all over the place in her descriptions. She would make references to people she hadn't yet described. And she would switch between stories of the homeless, and policy on the homeless. This detracted a bit from the book, but the overall picture makes quite an impact.


Rating:

(3.5/5)

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Diary of a Mad Mom-To-Be by Laura Wolf

Diary of a Mad Mom-To-Be by Laura Wolf
Chick Lit


This book follows up Diary of a Mad Bride. This time, Amy and her hubby Stephen are trying to get pregnant. Amy is a notorious to-do lister, mapping out her entire life even though it doesn't always work. I found Diary of a Mad Bride easier to relate to, seeing as how I don't have any plans on having a child. I'm sure someone that has been through the experience before would be able to better relate to Amy. She did bring up a good question that I had been wondering though. What happens to the other end of the umbilical cord? lol
This was a nice light read and took a short time to get through. But I don't think I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't had a child.


Rating:

(3/5)

Friday, April 13, 2007

The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Fantasy (BBC # 93)


It is hard to describe what this book is about without sounding crazy. So I'll start with the basics. This is one of the first books of the Discworld series by Pratchett. It's the first in the series of the Rincewind books. Rincewind is a wizard who flunked out of wizardry school and only knows a single spell (but doesn't know what it does). He is appointed to take care of Twoflower, a "tourist" from far away who has come to experience all of what Discworld has to offer. Wherever Twoflower goes, his luggage follows along - with lots of little legs and nasty teeth ready to snap at any theif. The pair get themselves into a lot of trouble, yet they keep escaping Fate (an actual character in the book).
The book was quite confusing at the very beginning. There were too many characters and too much going on. Also, since this is a fantasy book, it took me a while to wrap my mind around this world that Pratchett created. Unfortunately, he doesn't give you time to absorb the world, which results in a bit of confusion.
Pratchett obviously has a great sense of humour. This came out in the book. I specifically liked his "Big Bang" theory and other plays on words that he has in the book.
Overall, however, this was a bit too crazy for my tastes. I have a couple other books in the Discworld series and I'm not too sure if I want to continue. I guess I should give the series more than one chance, so I probably will. Especially since the ending of The Color of Magic is a cliff hanger (which I despise in books! BLAH!)


Rating:

(3/5)

Thursday, April 05, 2007

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
Non-Genre


Trixie Stone thought she had it all until her boyfriend dumped her. In an effort to do anything to get him back, she lies to her dad to go to a party where Jason will be attending. But at the party, Trixie is raped. The book looks at the relationship between Trixie and her parents, as well as their relationship, and exposes all of them as liars. They lie to each other and lie to themselves.
I felt the most sympathetic towards Daniel, Trixie's father. He did everything he possibly could for his daughter and in the one moment where he gets distracted by his wife's affair, Trixie gets hurt. I wasn't sure how to feel about Trixie because it was unclear as to whether or not she lied about her rape. But that being said, after being told by so many people that she was a liar, she showed tremendous courage by keeping her ground.
I didn't much like Laura. I felt she was much too self-centred. Although the whole parallel with Dante was very interesting. That also parallels the graphic novel that Daniel has written. However I felt like the graphic novel would have had more impact if it was a bit more detailed. The illustrations were quite amazing, even though I thought I was looking at Wolverine from X-Men on the first page.
It would have been nice to know what happened with Willie and Trixie after her parents got her. There was obviously chemistry there, would they continue to be in contact with each other?
As usual, Picoult's books are hard to put down and the characters are very involved. A good read!


Rating:

(4/5)

Sunday, April 01, 2007

An Ordinary Man

An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina
Non-Fiction


What an incredible book!!!! I don't think I have ever rated a book a 10. Rusesagabina has painted a picture that is moving and deeply profound. One can almost feel the hand of destiny pushing Paul to his fate. He single handedly saved many lives during the Rawanda genocide. Did he hold them back with guns? No just words. Unbelieveable!!. He kept a binder full of favours owed and cashed every single last one of them to save his fellow countrymen. Brave and heroic!!. The last chapter was a very poignant one for me as Rusesagabina expounds on African problems and his beliefs and morals. His disdain for the UN and the US are made very clear. Also his belief that since justice has been slow or non-existant there could very well be another genocide. Paul believes there are hard and soft spots in even the most evil of men. He was able to 'have drinks' with his worst enemy . "The individual's most potent weapon is a stubborn belief in the triumph of common decency"


Rating:

(5/5)