Book Blog #233: The Weight of a Piano by Chris Cander

Title: The Weight of a Piano
Author: Chris Cander
# of Pages: 336 (ebook)
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: In 1962, in the Soviet Union, eight-year-old Katya is bequeathed what will become the love of her life: a Blüthner piano, built at the turn of the century in Germany, on which she discovers everything that she herself can do with music and what music, in turn, does for her. Yet after marrying, she emigrates with her young family from Russia to America, at her husband's frantic insistence, and her piano is lost in the shuffle. In 2012, in Bakersfield, California, twenty-six-year-old Clara Lundy loses another boyfriend and again has to find a new apartment, which is complicated by the gift her father had given her for her twelfth birthday, shortly before he and her mother died in a fire that burned their house down: a Blüthner upright she has never learned to play. Orphaned, she was raised by her aunt and uncle, who in his car-repair shop trained her to become a first-rate mechanic, much to the surprise of her subsequent customers. But this work, her true mainstay in a scattered life, is put on hold when her hand gets broken while the piano's being moved--and in sudden frustration she chooses to sell it. And what becomes crucial is who the most interested party turns out to be...
Review: I received an advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This story was much more complex than I thought it was going to be.

The Weight of a Piano tells two stories; one of Katya in the Soviet Union in 1962 and the other of Clara in 2012. Although their stories take place during different times, Katya and Clara are connected through a collection of complicated relationships, each revolving around music and a piano.

This story is told in third person, and each chapter alternates between Katya's and Clara's POV. For this story, I think it's appropriate. It felt like peeling two onions at the same time. There's some overlap in the telling of these two stories which is necessary since these stories are happening at different times with different people but is still a bit bothersome for the reader.

My biggest complaint for this book is Clara's romantic life. She's a mess, which is probably on purpose for the sake of the rest of the story. But she's so all over the place, it makes it hard for me to like her and how she treats those around her. Her journey is very much focused on her own healing, without much care for how this process is effecting others.

Overall, it was a good read. It's quick and entertaining, so I'd definitely recommend it!

Book Blog #232: A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Title: A Spark of Light
Author: Jodi Picoult
# of Pages: 352 (hardback)
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary,
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage. After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic. But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester disguised as a patient, who now stands in the cross hairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.
Review: This book sits somewhere between three stars and four stars.

A Spark of Light is not just a story of an abortion clinic shoot and hostage situation. It’s about all the people who are somehow connected to the situation and how they ended up at the woman’s center in that day.

What’s strange about this book is how it is told. The book tells the story BACKWARDS; it starts at 5pm and then works backwards hour by hour until it gets to 8am of the same day. I don’t know see the benefits in telling the story this way; it might reinforce the importance of the journey over the outcome. If this is the case, a better way to organize the story is to start with the 5pm hour like Picoult already does, but the go back all the way to 8am and go through the hours in order. Going backward only confuses the reader, leads to repeated information, and bores the reader as the time gets farther and farther from the main event in the book.

Of course, another big issue is the third person POV switching. Usually the fact that it’s in third person would make the POV switching more tolerable (Picoult said it herself, third person makes POV switching less confusing than if it’s in first person), but she using a whopping 10 characters’ POVs. And to think she initially wanted to including 8 additional POVs! I get that Picoult wanted to tell multiple people’s stories, but sometimes it’s better to keep it simple.

With this book, Picoult is trying to create a dialogue about abortion. However, it is extremely clear that Picoult is pro choice (most of the characters are pro choice). Picoult tries to present both sides evenly and fails; the pro life representation in the book is significantly weaker than pro choice’s. You can tell just by counting characters; the only people who are pro life are the gunman, a spy, and a prosecutor who’s a jerk. There’s still very interesting arguments in the book, but it didn’t feel right with the pro life side not fairly represented.

Books like this should leave you thoughtful. It should have you seriously considering the other side’s perspective. This book did not do that for me. If you are interested in the topic of abortion, go ahead and give this book a shot. However, I believe there are better books out there to learn about the topic.

Book Blog #231: Under the Bridge by Anne Bishop

Title: Under the Bridge
Author: Anne Bishop
# of Pages:  340 (ebook)
Genre: Fiction, Politics, Poverty
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: When stress causes an old trauma to surface, Lucy, a longtime community organizer, teacher and anti-poverty activist, loses control of her life. On probation and living on the streets of Halifax's North End, all she has left is friends. Faithful friends like Judith, her lawyer, who is helping her take back her life. Lucy begins to regularly sneak into Judith's basement to take refuge from the cold. But Lucy's presence in the house betrays their friendship, and she uncovers mysteries from Judith's past. As events draw their lives closer, Lucy and Judith are forced to face the toll taken by their secrets. Each of them must choose between confronting past pain or remaining broken.
Review: I received an advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Under the Bridge is a whimsical story uncovering the past of Lucy, a 60-something year old socialist homeless woman who was once a well-known and well-respected poverty activist. Bishop does not sugar coat anything; she reveals the grit and grime of the uncivilized fashion the disadvantaged have to live in to survive in capitalistic Canada.

Although Lucy is an extreme leftist, her friends balance out her ideals to create an interesting narrative for the civil rights of the poor. One such voice is Bara, one of Lucy's younger friends. The voice Bishop gave Bara may seem unrealistic and stereotypical of someone in high school, but it is simply how Lucy (from an older generation) perceives people her age.

A simple read meant for those who may be interested in politics and poverty advocacy.

Book Blog #230: A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron

Title: A Dog's Way Home
Author: W. Bruce Cameron
# of Pages: 297 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Animals, Adventure
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: After Bella is picked up by Animal Control because pit bulls are banned in Denver, Lucas has no choice but to send her to a foster home until he can figure out what to do. But Bella, distraught at the separation, doesn't plan to wait. With four hundred miles of dangerous Colorado wilderness between her and her person, Bella sets off on a seemingly impossible and completely unforgettable adventure home.
Review: This book is so good, I had dreams about.

Okay, that's an exaggerating. And for the record, I had only one dream about it (I read the first half of the book before I went to sleep, and my brain decided to dream up an ending). By no means is this booking going to be winning any big prizes. However, it might just change a set of ridiculous laws referred to as Breed-Specific Legislature.

A Dog's Way Home focuses on the story of a dog (who may or may not be part pit-bull) who is living in Denver with his beloved owner. This may sound like a pretty generic story if it weren't for the fact that Denver has a ban on pit-bulls.

The reason this ridiculous ban was created in the first place is because two pit-bull attacks. Back in the 1980s, a man was attacked by a pit-bull in an alley behind his home and suffered many injuries (I feel bad for the man; this is one of the cases where the pit-bull was probably at fault). However, the second case that encouraged this ban to be passed was when a 3 year old was killed by a  pit-bull. It's always incredibly horrifying to hear someone so young to be killed, but the dog was chained up in its own yard and the child WANDERED in. Thus the ban was put in place in Denver (you can read more about the ban here: https://www.denverpost.com/2010/06/18/pet-beat-tide-may-be-turning-for-denvers-pit-bull-ban/).

Pit-bulls are stereotyped to be vicious dogs, but this is definitely not always the case. This is why this book is so interesting; a dog that does not even 100% look like a pit-bull is affected by this legislature. There have been many educated people backing up this ban, but hopefully this book will help more people see how judging a dog by its breed is not the way to protect the public from "vicious" animals.

W. Bruce Cameron said he has been criticized for using "simple, plain descriptions" throughout his book. This story is told from a dog's point of view, which is what he uses to justify this writing style. I didn't see this to be a problem. The story will definitely still interest adult readers, but the simple/plain descriptions make it easier for younger readers to be able to read and enjoy this book too.


That being said, this book will definitely not be for everyone. I felt like I was holding my breath the entire book, hoping that Bella (the dog protagonist) will be able to survive her next ordeal. There's a mix of happy and sad moments that might be too much for young children. However, it's important for people of all ages to be introduced to tough topics, so I believe those around middle school age an older can read and appreciate this book.


I'm a huge fan of A Dog's Purpose, and I could tell this book came from the same author based purely on the writing style and the flow of the plot. Him including Bella's sense of purpose and how she wants to help her human companions exhibits similar themes seen in his other books.


This is a quickly, heart-wrenching read with an important message. I recommend this book to everyone.

Book Blog #229: The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

Title: The Enchanter Heir
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
# of Pages: 455 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: They called it the Thorn Hill Massacre-the brutal attack on a once-thriving Weir community. Though Jonah Kinlock lived through it, he did not emerge unscathed: like the other survivors Jonah possesses unique magical gifts that set him apart from members of the mainline guilds. At seventeen, Jonah has become the deadliest assassin in Nightshade, a network that hunts the undead. Emma Claire Greenwood grew up worlds away, raised by a grandfather who taught her music rather than magic. An unschooled wild child, she runs the streets until the night she finds her grandfather dying, gripping a note warning Emma that she might be in danger. The clue he leaves behind leads Emma into Jonah's life-and a shared legacy of secrets and lingering questions.
Review: This shouldn't be part of the Heir Chronicles.

The series should have stayed a trilogy. Jonah and Emma are completely new characters. Although some of characters from the previous three books appear in the book, reading the first three books in the series is not at all necessary to read this book. For those of you who are wondering whether you should re-read the first three to maximize enjoyment of this book, don't bother. I haven't read the first three books in years but the characters from the previous books don't play a big enough role in this story to make a reread worth it.

I'm a HUGE fan of Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms series, but wasn't as big of a fan of the Heir Chronicles. The reason why she decided to add two more books that are for the most part unrelated stories (other than it takes place in the same world as the previous three) is beyond me.

The first issue is the third person POV switching. There's only two protagonists, so I was expecting a somewhat even distribution of chapters between these two characters. However, it seemed like there were way more chapters with Jonah than Emma (which made me feel like I knew less about Emma than Jonah).

The second issue is the poor character development. Emma is suppose to be a strong and independent teen with some delinquent tendencies. However, since there isn't a lot of focus on her in the book (because she didn't get as many chapters as Jonah), the author tells the reader these qualities rather than shows them through actions. Other characters (and sometimes Emma herself) say that she doesn't like going to school but emphasize how she isn't dumb (she's one of those types who doesn't think what she learns is school will be relevant to her in regular life). The reader is suppose to appreciate her spunk and how she "isn't like other girls." This character type is incredibly overused, especially in stories you'd find on Wattpad and/or on fan fiction sites. To top it off, I didn't buy her character portrayal; she seemed fake to me.

The third issue is the weak plot. This is half of a book; nothing is resolved in this book, which pretty much forces the reader to read The Sorcerer Heir if they want any kind of closure. It's not even that the book ends with a cliffhanger; when I finished the book I was thinking "This is it?!" The story just stops without any conclusion whatsoever. My theory; this story should have only taken up one book, but to make more money, it was split into two.

The fourth and final problem; the romance sucked. It was incredibly predicable and unpleasant to read. If it wasn't obvious by the general trend of YA books, the two protagonists Jonah and Emma are the couple under fire here. There's too much sexual tension between two characters who barely know each other. But sex sells so why not right? (I'm not saying there's sex scenes in this book; there aren't). I'm pretty sure most people would be put off if a guy they just met started spooning with them, but apparently that is not the case with Emma.

I almost gave this book 3 stars because I was biased toward the author. However, I was comparing it to City of Bones (by Cassandra Clare), and I realized this book might actually be WORSE.

For those of you who thought Warrior Heir (and/or the following two books) was mediocre or worse, don't waste your time with this book. If you're new to Cinda Williams Chima's books, start with the Seven Realms series instead. If you don't fall into either of those categories and you haven't read any of the Heir Chronicles books, start with Warrior Heir instead of this one and then refer back to this review after you've read it. Overall, I think it's not worth the read.

Book Blog #228: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky

Title: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
Author: Eliezer Yudkowsky
# of Pages: 2007 (ebook)
Genre: Fan Fiction, Fantasy, Philosophy
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is a work of alternate-universe Harry Potter fan-fiction wherein Petunia Evans has married an Oxford biochemistry professor and young genius Harry grows up fascinated by science and science fiction. When he finds out that he is a wizard, he tries to apply scientific principles to his study of magic, with sometimes surprising results.
Review: This is probably the best, most well-written fan fiction I've ever read.

This is not your ordinary fan fiction. It's not written by a 12 year old girl in her dark bedroom typing out her pubescent fantasies. Eliezer Yudkowsky is an AI researcher who put a playful twist on the Harry Potter story by making Harry more rational than he is in the original series. When you read HPMOR, you'll forget you're reading something that is technically clumped in the same genre as dracoxharry erotica.

I was wavering between giving HPMOR 3 stars and 4 stars (so it's actual rating is probably more like a 3.5). I loved the beginning and ending third of the book, but some plots made me lose interest in the story (and made me want to stop reading the fic in general).

One example of this would be Hermione's feminism subplot. I'm all for feminism, but the way it was portrayed was foolish and mostly useless to the rest of the story.

The second subplot I didn't enjoy was the ongoing battle between Chaos (Harry's army), Sunshine (Hermione's army), and Dragon (Draco's army). Maybe it's just my overall distaste for reading about a lot of action, but I found myself skimming a lot of those parts.

However, after I finished reading, I couldn't stop thinking about what I read. I browsed the HPMOR subreddit to fill the new void in my life (I've been slowly reading the first half of this book since January and read the second half over the last few days). I like a book that leaves me thinking, thus the additional star.

That being said, it's difficult to rate this book amongst traditionally published books. There are other factors working against it; it didn't get a run through by a professional editor (this could have helped Yudkowsky tie the subplots closer together or remove ones that are unnecessary).

It is also EXTREMELY long (this might be the nature of fan fictions as they are not constrained length-wise as ebooks). Goodreads has this book listed twice; one being one large book and the other being a series of 6 stories (the large book is broken up into 6 parts). If this were a traditionally-published work, this would be closer to how it would appear in book stores.

However, each of these 6 parts is not a self-contained story. It is best read as a whole, back to back, thus should be considered to be one book. The problem with this is 2000 pages is a huge commitment for most readers (I was reading it through the HPMOR website and was wondering why it was taking me so long to get through it). To prevent reading fatigue, this book SHOULD have somehow been broken up into multiple, self-contained parts.

Nevertheless, I would HIGHLY recommend this fan fiction to anyone who is already a fan of the Harry Potter series. Some parts of this fan fiction act as a parody of the original (which includes poking fun at it), but this is a big part of the fun of the book. Not only will it have you thinking about certain situations from the original Harry Potter books more rationally, but it will also have you laughing throughout the journey.

Book Blog #227: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Title: All the Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
# of Pages: 530 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, War
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.
Review: When people were raving about how good this book is, I didn't quite believe them.

What caught my attention first was the cover. It's stunning aerial view of the city (what I believe is Saint-Malo, the story's setting) with such a mysterious title largely printed across the sky. I only saw this book because it was nominated for The Best of the Best Goodreads awards (where it ended up placing second). If this book is one of the best of the best, it must be worth reading.

The cashier at the bookstore I bought it from said I would be crying throughout the whole book. This is not entirely accurate. I didn't cry at all. There are some occurrences which may warrant tears, but many of such events are not presented in such a way that would incite it. While this book did not emotionally ruin me, it didn't stop me from loving the story.

Set during World War II, All the Light We Cannot See tells the story of two children on opposite sides of the war in parallel. Both children are born into the conflict and neither have a strong desire to be involved in the war. However, circumstance brings the war to them and leaves them behind in its destruction. Their struggle to live their own lives is gripping and harrowing, making this book a real page turner.

This book is completely comprised of third person POV switching. Yes, there were a lot of times where I wanted the story to switch its focus to a different character at times (this is the usual problem I have with POV switching). However, to tell these stories in parallel, POV is essential. Also, many of the chapters are fairly short, so I never felt like I was "stuck" with one character for too long.

A bigger problem I noticed people complaining about is the time period switching. The book switches between 1944 ("present day" setting for this book) and the character's pasts (ten-ish years prior) in chunks. However, I did not find this confusing at all mostly because the chunks in 1944 progressed rather slowly (only a few days at most). The story of the protagonist's pasts comprised the main part of the story, with the occasional check-in with the characters in 1944. The story wouldn't be as interesting if it were to not have with time-period-switching element; the characters' pasts slowly reveal how the characters found themselves in the situation they're in during 1944.

Is this a happy read? No. But life is not always full of daisies and roses. Is this book worth reading? Absolutely. 

Book Blog #226: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
# of Pages: 621 (ebook)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone… A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
Review: I wish I read Six of Crows closer to when I read Shadow and Bone.

What everyone says is definitely true; you do not have to read the Grisha trilogy to read the Six of Crows duology. However, since they take place in the same universe, it would have been nice to start the book having already experienced the world building (so I could concentrate on getting to know the characters instead). Also, I would have liked to compare this book with Shadow and Bone; everyone seems to believe Six of Crows is worlds better, but I can't remember it well enough to make a fair comparison (I wouldn't be able to tell you if the four stars I'm giving this book right now is actually four stars or more like the 3.5 stars I gave Shadow and Bone).

I did not think I was going to like this book. The first chapter had me hooked, but it should have been labelled as the book's prologue instead because the characters don't really appear again in the rest of the book. The second chapter, on the other hand, was extremely confusing; not only is the reader just thrown into the world without any background, but there are a bunch of new characters who are introduced all at once. This is a risky choice; I bet there were a handful of readers who were put off from the book after reading this second chapter.

The following chapters were much better. This is definitely one of those books that gets better as you read. Something I noticed right away was something I also dread: POV switching. If it was first person POV switching, I might not have read the book at all. However, by the end of the book I found  I was pleasantly surprised. There are many authors who mess this up. What I usually don't like about it is how POVs tend to overlap (the book might be thick, but it's actually covering the same time period from multiple perspectives). However, Bardugo doesn't do this. Sure, every once in a while some of the POVs overlap. But for the most part, one POV picks up from where the other left off. If each chapter wasn't labelled with a different character, Six of Crows could have been a book told in third person (I wouldn't have labelled it as a book with multiple POVs as I distastefully do with so many others).

There was such a distinct cast of characters in this book. Although not all of them are explicitly together, the pairings are obvious.

Kaz and Inej: The "protagonist couple." Bardugo makes sure the hints are obvious. Although they don't get together at the end of the book, Kaz's not-so-hidden affection for Inej is the reason why there's a second book. Six of Crows delved deep into both of their backstories, but for some reason I feel like I know more about Kaz than I do about Inej. Since Inej is the quiet "spider" type, I always picture Inej to be younger than she is, and I'm never quite able to picture correctly in my head. Yes it makes sense that she has an acrobatic background, but personality-wise, I don't know what to think of her. Hopefully her character and her relationship with Kaz is more fully developed in the second book.

Matthias and Nina: The "second couple syndrome" couple. Every story with a lot of characters seems to have one (see Finnick and Annie in Hunger Games and Seo Dae-Young and Yoon Myeong-Joo in the k-drama Descendants of the Sun). This relationship is the only one that is truly "a thing" by the end of the book. What I love about their relationship is how solid it is; they've already fought (about some pretty serious topics too) and yet their love for each other is still as strong as ever. If this couple has survived each others' "betrayals," this couple can survive anything.

Jesper and Wylan: The "closeted gay" couple. Of course the author is not going to introduce these characters as LGBTQ+; she's going to ease these characters into the plot and make the reader wonder what their purpose is before the slow reveal that they're meant for each other. It's so subtle, some readers may miss it entirely (and for this book's conservative readers, it can be ignored entirely...for now). But the chemistry between these two characters is definitely there, even if they're not sure what their relationship is themselves. For example:
1. Wylan tells Jesper he's doesn't like a lot of things, but he likes math, numbers, and equations. Jesper then replies,

"If only you could talk to girls in equations." There was a long silence, and then, eyes trained on the notch they'd created in the link, Wylan said, "Just girls?" Jesper restrained a grin. "No, Not just girls."

If that isn't flirting, I don't know what is.

2. Wylan has been transformed to look like the Kuwei, and Jesper is upset because he might not be able to change back. Wylen asks,

"Why does it matter?" "I don't know!" Jesper said angrily. "Maybe I liked your stupid face."

Jesper doesn't even understand his own feelings. Hopefully Wylan will help him with that in the next book.

Would I read this book again? Probably not; I had a very entertaining read, but I don't think I need to read this book again. Would I read the second book? I'd be willing to give it a shot; I want to know what happens to these characters? Would I recommend this book to someone else? Yes and no. Six of Crows reads very much like a young adult novel to me (although it's story is unique, it still contains the same-old hints of romance and standard dramatic structure), so if you are interested in reading an interesting YA book, this is for you.

Book Blog #225: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Title: Kitchen Confidential
Author: Anthony Bourdain
# of Pages: 321 (ebook)
Genre: Nonfiction, Food, Autobiography
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: After twenty-five years of 'sex, drugs, bad behavior and haute cuisine', chef and novelist Anthony Bourdain has decided to tell all. From his first oyster in the Gironde to his lowly position as a dishwasher in a honky-tonk fish restaurant in Provincetown; from the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop the Rockefeller Center to drug dealers in the East Village, from Tokyo to Paris and back to New York again, Bourdain's tales of the kitchen are as passionate as they are unpredictable, as shocking as they are funny.
Review: I took way too long to finish this book.

Since I didn't know much about Anthony Bourdain before he committed suicide, I wanted to take the time to understand the grief people were feeling over the loss of this well-respect figure in the culinary world.

Bourdain was a much better writer than I was expecting. There are many people outside of the literary world (I'm looking at you Youtube authors) who were not meant to write novels and merely do so because they have the platform to do so. However, Bourdain did write for the sake of saying he wrote a book; he actually has experiences and knowledge that are worth sharing, and he can actually WRITE.

Although his crazy tales of what happens behind the scenes at restaurants began to blend together (I never truly understood all of the lingo), I found the beginning half of the book to be incredibly relatable. Most notably, I liked the chapter called "What do you know about meat?" (anyone who has had some cringe-y interview experiences will be able to relate to this chapter).

However the latter half of the book, especially the last chapter, is best appreciated by those with culinary experience. He even goes as far as to give tips to the reader on how to succeed in the restaurant business (some advice I will probably never use, but others may find extremely helpful). While I love reading about food, I found that I was unable to appreciate the dishes he talked about with such passion. I'm no food critic; one chef's beef bourguignon is the same as the next's as long as they are half decent at cooking. But I'm sure the admiration Bourdain expressed in his book over the way Adam cooked his bread and Bryan ran his kitchen will be appreciated by someone.

My perception of the restaurant industry has completely changed and not necessarily for the better. From Bourdain's perspective, what I once perceived as a classy operation (something along the lines of what you'd see in the movie Ratatouille) is more like a pirate operation (rough working conditions, crude conversation, etc.).

This book was a decent read; I definitely don't regret reading it at all. However, if you are not interested at all in the culinary business, I would hold off on reading it; you'll lose interest fairly quickly. On the other hand, if you have some background in the business then you'll probably be fairly interested in this book.

Book Blog #224: Dune by Frank Herbert

Title: Dune
Author: Frank Herbert
# of Pages: 512 (paperback)
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary dynasties are controlled by noble houses that owe an allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides (the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and heir of House Atreides) as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the 'spice' melange, the most important and valuable substance in the cosmos. The story explores the complex, multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the forces of the empire confront each other for control of Arrakis.
Review: This is not the type of book that would usually draw my attention. In the past, I've read science fiction books, but these are more along the Divergent and Hunger Games variety. I've read some similar to Ender's Game (which I think has a similar writing style as used in the book I'm reviewing now), but I had very little interest in that.

I picked this book up because it was popular (so much for being hipster). I knew immediately after starting that it was going to take me a while to get through it (and I wasn't wrong). This is the type of book where the reader would most enjoy the story if it is read in big blocks of time (versus reading it for 10 minutes in between activities).

Part of what makes this book so difficult to read is because the reader is thrown straight into the world with very little context. The world Herbert created is so intricate, he had to include appendices (yup, multiple ones) just so the reader could keep up with the lingo.  The only character provided to the reader to learn about the strange-ties of this different world is Paul, the story's fifteen year old protagonist. Although he has already grown to adolescence in this world,  he is more ignorant than the other characters who's perspectives the reader gets to hear the story from (thankfully in third person). Most of the other characters (Jessica, his mother, or the Baron) are well-versed in certain sets of Dune specific vocabulary, it makes it difficult to stay immersed in the book because of the constant flipping to the appendices.

However, once having the time to sit down and read it, Dune was a very interesting book. Once getting past "Book 1" (after which I was mostly accustom to how the world operates), I was gripped up the tale of Paul as he grows up and struggles with those in power. The ending did not feel like an ending, but this is probably because there are other books in the series.

I would recommend this book to those who are interested but not to those who do not think they can handle a dense science fiction story.

Book Blog #223: Phantom by Dean Koontz

Title: Phantoms
Author: Dean Koontz
# of Pages: 425 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
Rating:★★★☆☆
Synopsis: They found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California.
Review: I hate anything related to horror.

Stephen King's newest thriller? No thank you. Newly released horror movies just in time for Halloween? Forget about it.

I may be living under a rock in regards to the horror/thriller/suspense realm of media, but I only vaguely knew who Dean Koontz was (as in, his name sounded familiar, but I had no idea what kind of books he wrote). When I saw his book at the library, I thought I might as well give it a shot.

If I truly thought Phantoms was scary, I would have stopped reading it a long time ago. But Dean Koontz's writing, or at least in this book, is not that scary. Yes, he brings up some scary situations (he tries to get pretty crafty in the ways all of the people in Snowfield end up dead), but the way he describes these situations is pretty lackluster (and for that I am grateful, or I wouldn't be able to finish the book).

I wanted to be able to finish this book, so I was grateful for this mediocre thriller. However, the target audience would be searching for the thrill, the creepy elements that usually make me want to curl in ball and die. Readers won't get this from the book at all. I'm confident the movie is 10x more scary than the book because the book can only be as scary as the writer can get the reader's imagination to make it. In this case, I was very underwhelmed.

The problem was not only the writing style; the plot was mostly predictable. Sure, the cause of the death of the Snowfield residents may have not been so easy to guess, but the "jump scare" moments throughout the story was not that hard to predict. "That's part of what makes a jump scare a jump scare!" you might be thinking. While anticipation can make a scary scene even scary, when something is EXTREMELY predictable, it's not as freaky as the author would want it to be. And unfortunately for Koontz, it's a lot harder to write in a jump scare than it is to have one in a movie.

That being said, I wasn't haven't a good time reading this book since most of the events were unpleasant. I was intrigued enough to finish this book in two days, but this may have been partially from my fear of the book becoming scarier than it ever did (and not wanting to have to read the book late at night). Usually when I finish a book relatively quickly, it's a good read, but I wouldn't highly recommend this book most people. If a thrill/horror enthusiast is looking for a light, tame read, they should go for it. Otherwise, look elsewhere. 

Book Blog #222: Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Title: Freakonomics
Author: Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
# of Pages: 207 (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction, Economics, Business
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life-; from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing-; and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
Review: I've heard a lot about this book.

It seems to be one of those books that everyone just reads, regardless if they're interested in economics or not. I remember watching a clip from the Freakonomics documentary (the part about the sumo wrestlers) and being extremely intrigued. Since the clip I watched certainly did not have the full analysis of the situation, I wanted to dive deeper into this "freakonomics" and hear the economical approach to everyday questions.

While this themeless (as the authors have repeatedly stressed) book addresses a myriad of different, oddball questions, it was not as in depth as I expected it to be. This book is clearly meant for the masses; it's an extremely short, easy, fun read on economics which would otherwise be dry, boring, and overall uninteresting. However, this book seemed to be more like a starting point for a broader conversation of how economics can be used to unravel mysteries of everyday life.

A strange part of the book was how every chapter was preceded by an expert from a New York Times article about Levitt (it was a different expert from the same article for each chapter). It seems that Levitt is quite proud of this article, most likely because of its praise for him and how it depicts his unconventional take on economics. While Levitt might enjoy including these experts, all except the expert before the chapter about parenting seem extremely unnecessary.

Since it's such a popular book, I would recommend that anyone interested should read it. It's a quick and interesting read, although whether the authors' points are valid is up to your own judgement.

Book Blog #221: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
# of Pages: 527 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:★★★☆☆
Synopsis: When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.
Review: This is another shameful instance where I watched the movie before I read the book.

While both the book and the movie were entertaining, neither wowed me. Rachel, our protagonist, and Michael, Astrid's husband, are the only two characters many readers can relate to as they are the sole non-crazy-rich asians. However; there's third person point of view switching, which, while better than first person POV switching, is distasteful in its execution for this book. Many times, the reader must perceive the story through the eyes of characters such as Eleanor (Nick's mom), Astrid (Nick's cousin who loves to blow hundreds of thousands of dollars while shopping), and Eddie (an extremely unlikeable character who's purpose in the story is still unclear). All of these characters are the crazy rich asians, aka too different from the common reader to be relatable.

There were only two points of view that I cared about reading: Astrid's (because of her struggles in her marriage with Michael) and Rachel (because of her struggle to understand Nick in context with his family). Everyone else's point of view made reading this book take longer than it had to.

Of course, since I was reading this book after watching the movie, I couldn't help but compare. This is one of the few times where I feel the movie made changes to the plot line that made it better than the book. For example, the cause of conflict between Michael and Astrid is much more realistic in the movie (although Michael definitely seems like a better guy in the book than he does in the movie). The ending of the book that focuses on Nick and Rachel's relationship (aka when the big conflict is resolved) had a messier execution than in the movie. Perhaps it's because there are two other books in the series, but it still feels like there is a lot of unresolved conflicts between Rachel and Nick's family.

If you are interested in reading this book then yes, I would recommend it to you. However, if you are on the fence about reading it or are searching for a book to read about asian culture in general - you may want to look elsewhere.

Book Blog #220: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Title: Hidden Figures
Author: Margot Lee Shetterly
# of Pages: 368 (paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction, History, Feminism
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Synopsis: Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden - four African American women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades as they faced challenges, forged alliances, and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country's future.
Review: I LOVED the movie adaptation of Hidden Figures. Sadly, I cannot say the same for the book.

Hidden Figures reads like a textbook. After watching the movie, I thought the book would be a narrative but instead I got an extremely dry history lesson on African American women in NASA.

I would recommend the movie to anyone, but I would recommend the book to no one.

Book Blog #219: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Title: Pachinko
Author: Min Jin Lee
# of Pages: 484 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Asia
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: Pachinko follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan. So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.
Review: “There was more to being than just blood” (Pachinko, p.471).

I'd forgotten what a five star book reads like. Pachinko is a beautiful book about a Korean family living in Japan during the colonization of Korea in the 20th century. Although I am not from a Korean Japanese family, I felt the authenticity of Sunja's family's story and found the internal perspective to be extremely enlightening of how families have been effected by the colonization.

“The Korean Japanese may have been historical victims, but when I met them in person, none of them were as simple as that” (Min Jin Lee, Acknowledgments, p.482).

I love how Lee went the extra mile to ensure her story was as close to the truth as possible and even restarting her draft to more accurately depict the complexity of Korean Japanese. Her attention to detail on not only Korean culture but also Japanese culture is impeccable and is well integrated into the story, it might be overlooked by many readers. For example:

“Long ago, he had learned how to keep nodding even when he didn’t agree, because he noticed that the motion alone kept people talking” (328).

This line, although not explicitly stated, reflects the element called aizuchi in Japanese conversations. You can read more about it here: http://www.japanese-language.aiyori.org/article6.html.

Even if some are not interested in the historical aspect (although this book IS historical fiction), readers may find the latter part of the book more relatable. As the story spans multiple generations, the end of the book is concentrated on the 1980s (nearly present day, depending on who you ask). Asians in general have often been viewed as the "model minority" in America, and the lack of education on Asia history may have caused people to be incredulous at the thought of discrimination in Asian countries:

“When she told her friends in New York about this curious historical anomaly, they were incredulous at the thought that the friendly, well-mannered Japanese they knew could ever think she was somehow criminal, last, filthy, or aggressive - the negative stereotypical traits of Koreans in Japan” (435)

This quote from a character named Kazu reflects the sentiment some Asian Americans who have experienced the ignorance of Asian cultures first hand:

“When I was in the States, people used to say stupid-ass crap about Asians, like we all spoke Chinese and ate sushi for breakfast. When it came to teaching US history, they’d forget the internment and Hiroshima. Whatever, right?” (441).

Korean American character Phoebe represents all the Americanized Asians who balance multiple cultures in their lives:

"'I grew up eating pizza and hamburgers. And lots of Kentucky Fried Chicken. I love the KFC corn on the cob.' ... 'But you didn't eat any Korean food?' ... 'On the weekends we ate it. At a restaurant'" (449).

I'm surprised a movie/tv show/drama isn't already in the works. There is plenty of drama that would appeal to viewers on the big screen (I was literally gasping at the unexpected events that occur throughout the book; some parts read very much of a Korean drama - in a good way!).

Yes, this book is a long read, but I would highly recommend it to everyone! It is an incredibly insightful novel of a commonly overlooked part of history.

Book Blog #218: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Title:
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
# of Pages: 173 (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction, Self-help, Feminism
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg – Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business – draws on her own experience of working in some of the world's most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.
Review: A Google search for “Facebook’s male CEO” returns this message: “No results found.”

This was a lie, and I knew it.  Searching Facebook’s male CEO returned this:

…which is far different from returning “No results found,” a phrase that only comes up when people use obscure and/or overly detailed search queries. What would have been a more interesting scenario is if she compared this search result with “Facebook’s female CEO”:


….which is clearly able to identify Sheryl Kara Sandberg, who is not even a Facebook CEO. She could have pointed out how Google’s search algorithm is able to infer the user wants results on Sheryl Sandberg from “female CEO,” but is unable to identify that the user wants Mark Zuckerberg from “male CEO” (of course, simply searching for Facebook’s CEO will get the user results for Mark Zuckerberg).

I agree; this is a small detail. I’m sure what Sheryl Sandberg wanted to focus on was the discrepancy between using “male” and “female” before a title in Google’s search results., which there is. However, unless Google drastically changed their algorithm since 2013, the difference between these search results is not a great as Sandberg makes it seem in Lean In. While technology is always changing, I doubt Google would have only half fixed this problem; they would have changed their algorithm so Mark Zuckerberg appeared as Sheryl Sandberg does in her search.

This bit of exaggeration makes me wonder how many of other scenarios in her book are ever-so-slightly exaggerated. Of course, many of her points would still be valid even without the amplification of certain aspects. Her exaggeration(s) might be her way of calling women to action; although the conditions may not be as bad as she is describing, women need to be unsatisfied with the current conditions and work toward greater gender equality. However, as someone who already is skeptical of self-help books, this tactic makes the author lose credibility in my eyes.

Don’t get the wrong idea; I still believe Sandberg wrote a good book. Unlike other self-help books, Sandberg’s is short (a relatively quick read) and is more interesting than many others. Although I have never met nor watched interviews of Sandberg, I hear a (her) distinct voice throughout the book. In the same chapter, Sandberg discusses how it seems find if there are no special programs for women in the workplace because it’s a sign women are fitting in, but gender differences are still apparent in the workplace “lurking below the surface” (Lean In, Chapter 10). This rings true to me, not just for the tech industry but in ALL industries, even those that do not have apparent gender equality issues.

There are many programs that celebrate women and encourage them to be part of certain industries. However, although Sandberg mentions her personal experience of her achievements being attributed to her gender, I would have liked her to address how women could handle such a situation, especially if the achievement is associated with a women's only program, where her gender appears to play a key factor.

Overall, I would recommend giving this book a read. It was more interesting than I expected, and Sandberg brought up many valid concerns.

Book Blog #217: Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella

Title: Hit Refresh
Author: Satya Nadella
# of Pages: 273 (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction, Technology, Biography
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: As told by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Hit Refresh is the story of corporate change and reinvention as well as the story of Nadella’s personal journey, one that is taking place today inside a storied technology company, and one that is coming in all of our lives as intelligent machines become more ambient and more ubiquitous. It’s about how people, organizations and societies can and must hit refresh—transform—in their persistent quest for new energy, new ideas, relevance and renewal. At the core, it’s about us humans and our unique qualities, like empathy, which will become ever more valuable in a world where the torrent of technology will disrupt like never before. As much a humanist as a technologist, Nadella defines his mission and that of the company he leads as empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
Review: Many people say this book is only meant for Microsoft employees.

This is false; Nadella most likely wanted to reach a broader audience as show by his various interviews to promote his book. However, the audience he reaches the best would be those in the tech industry (especially Microsoft employees) and bigwigs.

Hit Refresh reads very much like an essay; Nadella uses words from other credible authors/speakers throughout his book to illustrate ideas he agrees with and ends with a huge call to action for the reader. However, these two aspects combined overshadows Nadella's narrative about himself; although he begins his book with personal anecdotes, the focus slowly slips to the tech industry, including analysis of the FBI-Apple encryption issue and the Sony Picture hack. While these different components of the book may be interesting to some, not all of them have to (nor should be) put into the same book.

An essay may be what some people are looking for, but it did not satisfy my casual reading craving. That being said, I knew going into this book that it was not going to be an enthralling read; however I expected to feel more like I was having a conversation with Nadella rather than reading a formal speech. Although this was not a hard read, it something that only needs to be read once, at most. If you don't fall in the audience I described above, I would recommend you look elsewhere for a book to read in your free time.

Book Blog #216: One Litre of Tears by Aya Kito

Title: One Liter of Tears
Author: Aya Kito
# of Pages: 270 (ebook)
Genre: Nonfiction, memoir, biography
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Aya Kitō was diagnosed with a disease called spinocerebellar degeneration when she was 15 years old. The disease causes the person to lose control over their body, but because the person can retain all mental ability the disease acts as a prison. So in the end she cannot eat, walk or talk.Aya keeps a diary of not only what she does but how she feels and the hardships she must endure. Initially, the diary's purpose was for Kitō to chronicle impressions she had about how the disease was affecting her daily life. As the disease progressed, however, the diary became Kitō's outlet for describing the intense personal struggles she underwent in coping, adapting, and ultimately trying to survive her disease. As she notes in one entry, "I write because writing is evidence that I am still alive."
Review: It is always difficult to judge a book by its translation.

I read this book because I watched the J-drama of Anya’s story and wanted to know how accurate its portrayal of her disease is.

(I’m not marking any of this as a spoiler since it’s nonfiction.)

The start of the book is her diary, which reflected similar sentiment I saw in the J-drama version of Aya. However, near the end of the book when the doctor is giving her (interestingly the doctor is male in the drama even though she is female in real life) version of Aya’s life, she recalls how the school administration insisted Aya go to a disabled school. This is also in the drama; however, unlike in the doctor’s retelling where she states that Aya’s peers were “fighting against the move,” many students were portrayed in the drama as reluctantly agreeing that Aya was an inconvenience in school and should be transferred. The way the creators of the drama recreated the events that led up to Aya’s transfer strongly indicate that the transfer was the obvious choice to benefit all parties involved. What I liked about the doctor’s perspective was how she casts a different light on the situation; instead of seeing Aya as an inconvenience, she discusses how Aya’s condition brings out the caring nature in others and how exposure to her serious attitude she developed during the fight for her life could have helped her peers grow and improve in character.

I wasn’t surprised to find the romantic part of the drama to be extremely exaggerated. However, I was surprised by the doctor’s memory of Aya asking if she could get married and of a period of time when a medical student around her age would visit her, hinting toward the possibility of romance. Although it is not on the scale of what was depicted in the drama, it is nice to know it is not completely made up.

Overall, this publication of Aya's diary and her doctor's and mother's account of Aya's life with her disease were exactly what I expected. It is a very quick read, but it is amazing to hear from the perspective a girl who had such a difficult disease to live with.

Book Blog #215: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Title: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
# of Pages: 384 (ebook)
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
Review: Although it took me a long time to finish this book (partially because of school), it was a very enjoyable read.

I starting reading Ready Player One after I watched the movie and realized it was based off a book. The movie was thrilling, but I had my suspicions that it deviated from the original story since many movies glamorize characters for the big screen.

These suspicions proved to be correct; the way the main characters are described in the book are much closer to what I'd expect characters like them to look like in their situation rather than the beautiful actors they used in the movie.

It's been over-said, but it's definitely applicable here: the book is better than the movie. I don't want to spoil anything, but one of the characters experiences a different series of events than they do in the movie, and what happens to them in the book has a greater impact than the character did as a whole in the movie. (I know I'm being vague, but it's the best I can do).

I would 100% recommend this book. While it took me a while to finish it, it should be a very quick read; once you start reading it, you won't want to put it down.

Book Blog #214: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
# of Pages: 311 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Classics, Science Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
Review: For a classic, this book is very easy to read.

Yes, The Handmaid's Tale is definitely a more modern classic than most, yet it is refreshing to be able to read something higher on the respectability scale than your run-of-the-mill YA book with such ease. This is not to say Atwood's writing style is simply written, rather, she is a good storyteller. For the most part, her writing flows very naturally. However, not using quotation marks when Offred is recalling a memory is bothersome; although it may aid in separating actual speech and thought, it doesn't make it any less difficult to distinguish the dialogue.

I nearly gave this book three stars because I didn't like how exaggerated the dystopian world Atwood created is. Although there are instances of woman subjugation in this book that parallel situations in real life, the United States is warped into such a strange and unrealistic state that the story seems more like a tall tale you'd tell children rather than a warning against an undesirable yet probable future.

I was worried about how this book would portray sex and was impressed with how desexualize "The Ceremony" is portrayed. There is nothing romantic with how the society forces women to reproduce, and I was glad Atwood didn't make it that way.

The book held my interest the whole way through, and the ending leaves me thinking about it still. I would highly recommend this book!

Book Blog #213: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Title: Heart of Darkness
Author: Joseph Conrad
# of Pages: 72 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Classics, Africa
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: Dark allegory describes the narrator's journey up the Congo River and his meeting with, and fascination by, Mr. Kurtz, a mysterious personage who dominates the unruly inhabitants of the region. Masterly blend of adventure, character development, psychological penetration. Considered by many Conrad's finest, most enigmatic story.
Review: This is one of the few classics I've read purely recreationally.

I might have enjoyed this book more if I read it in a classroom setting where I could learn to appreciate all the fine details of this book. However, since I did not delve into deep analysis of the book, I read it as it appears: a sloppy narration by a man's experience voyaging up the Congo. Whether Marlow, the protagonist, was a bad storyteller for some deeper reason does not change the fact that he is a BAD storyteller.

Although this story may also serve as a demonstration of how life was in Africa during the boom of ivory trade, it is so finely focused on one man's experience, one that is taken up by the obsession of finding Mr. Kurtz, I didn't find it very enlightening.

To paraphrase someone of Goodreads, the book is not long, yet far too long. The read can be finished in one sitting but is not worth your time.

Book Blog #212: The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott

Title: The Ninth Hour
Author: Alice McDermott
# of Pages: 247 (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Religious
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: On a dim winter afternoon, a young Irish immigrant opens the gas taps in his Brooklyn tenement. He is determined to prove—to the subway bosses who have recently fired him, to his badgering, pregnant wife—“that the hours of his life belong to himself alone.” In the aftermath of the fire that follows, Sister St. Savior, an aging nun, appears, unbidden, to direct the way forward for his widow and his unborn child. We begin deep inside Catholic Brooklyn, in the early part of the twentieth century. Decorum, superstition, and shame collude to erase the man’s brief existence. Yet his suicide, although never spoken of, reverberates through many lives and over the decades—testing the limits and the demands of love and sacrifice, of forgiveness and forgetfulness, even through multiple generations.
Review: The fact that I didn't realize this was a religious book by reading the title says a lot about how religious I am.

I was uncertain whether I should continue reading this book when I discovered how big of a role Catholicism played in the plot. I have no interest in reading about nuns nor do I necessarily have the same views and values of them. Thankfully, I realized as I progressed through the book, the story was a tale of a girl and mother who's lives inevitably were intertwined with Catholicism because of their residence in Brooklyn. It wasn't a super uptight, wholesome story like the religious stereotype led me to believe; in fact it was the exact opposite. Sally struggles with what she is told is right for her life and what she feels is right for her.

Although the writing itself is well done, Dermott's abilities as a storyteller were lacking. The story jumps across many generations and since it was not always chronological, it made it difficult to follow and stay interested.

I noticed a lot of people fell in love with this book. I just don't think the topic is for me. I wouldn't read it again, but if the synopsis (and perhaps Catholicism) interest you, I would recommend it. Otherwise, I would look elsewhere for a book to pass the time.

Book Blog #211: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Title: Howl's Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
# of Pages: 429 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Magic
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.
Review: I love love love this book.

I've been a huge fan of Miyazaki movies for many years. However, I did not realize the iconic Howl's Moving Castle was based off of this book until a few days ago.

Although this book is labelled as YA, it is on the lower end as far as reading level. It's a suitable read for children, teens, and adults alike looking for a quick read. I was charmed by how Jones is able to develop the characters without putting a major emphasis on the romance as many modern books tend to do to draw in readers. Jones is able to captivate her readers through her storytelling rather than with a cheap romantic plot.

I love Howl and Sophie and wish the second and third books had more of them in them. However, this book is for sure a recommended read.

Book Blog #210: What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Title: What Happened
Author: Hillary Rodham Clinton
# of Pages: 512 (eBook ver.)
Genre: Nonfiction, Politics, Autobiography
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet. In these pages, she describes what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterward. With humor and candor, she tells readers what it took to get back on her feet—the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. She speaks about the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics.

Review: I read the last hundred pages across the past month or so, so it is difficult to collect my thoughts on the book as a whole. Although I have no interest in “leftist propaganda” (for lack of a better phrase), this book was exactly as I excepted it to be, and for that I cannot blame it.

Below are my notes from when I was reading the beginning-middle of the book:

I am not reading this book as a Democrat nor a Republican but rather as someone curious of the story of the election from someone directly involved. And who better to provide me with that narrative than Clinton herself who was a candidate? There will be some people who read her book because they strongly support her. Others will give this book a bad review, perhaps without even reading it, because they abhor her. Although this book is political, I have no intention to portray my political beliefs in this review. Like I said before, I just want to understand different perspectives; if Trump wrote a book about the election, I would read his too.

I was pleased hear Clinton’s voice so clearly through her writing (although with this comes her cringey attempts to be “hip”). I read this book to learn more about her perspective on the election and that’s exactly what this book gave me.

“I prayed that my worst fears about Donald Trump wouldn’t be realized, and that people’s lives and America’s future would be made better, not worse, during his presidency. I’m still praying on that one, and I can use all the backup you can muster.”

What surprised me was how pessimistic she is during and after the inauguration. Having recently listened to Barack Obama’s interview with Prince Harry for BBC Radio 4, I couldn’t help but compare Obama’s calm and optimistic take the future to Clinton’s ominous one. However, this is simply Clinton’s perspective; it hasn’t been long since she lost the election, a campaign where she derogated the very man who is being sworn into the presidency she fought for. It’s only natural for her opinions to be a bit skewed and morose.

Even with this in mind, it’s still uncomfortable for me to read Clinton’s snarky description of some of the people she runs into post-inauguration, regardless of my opinion on their character. Clinton is a lot more open with her opinions than I expected her to be while at the same time sounding as if she is still running her campaign for presidency.

Side note: I liked this little nod to programming humor; if you can’t fix a bug, call it a feature.

“For [GOP leaders], dysfunction wasn’t a bug, it was a feature”


Relevant links (events involving Hillary that were mentioned throughout the book):

“On Sunday, when I got to the memorial, the sun was beaming down. My head ached. You know the rest.” -A Day in the Life

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/hillary-clinton-falls-ill-at-the-911-memorial-ceremony/2016/09/11/995139d8-7843-11e6-8064-c1ddc8a724bb_video.html?utm_term=.1eab699ca8e3


“SNL asked me to play a character named Val the Bartender, who would pour drinks for Kate McKinnon, who played me. “Would you sing ‘Lean On Me’ together?” they asked. I said yes, even though I have a terrible singing voice.” -A Day in the Life

https://youtu.be/6Jh2n5ki0KE

“On Between Two Ferns, when Zach Galifianakis asked me, “I’m going to sneak up on you in a gorilla mask, is that cool?” I said sure. Why not? You only live once.” -A Day in the Life

https://youtu.be/xrkPe-9rM1Q


“Philippe had raised the issue that, unlike two men debating who just meet in the middle and shake hands, there was a question of whether Trump would try to hug or—dare I say it—kiss me. Fair enough, I said, let’s practice. Philippe came at me with his arms outstretched. I tried to stiff-arm him and get away. It ended with him literally chasing me across the room, putting me in a bear hug, and kissing the back of my head.” -A Day in the Life

https://twitter.com/philippereines/status/865578947076997120


Links to misc. referenced events

Trump’s Access Hollywood Tape (mentioned in A Day in the Life): https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html?utm_term=.808322efabb8

Bill losing Governor’s race because of Hillary’s maiden name (mentioned in On Being a Woman in Politics): http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2015/12/16/in-1979-interview-hillary-rodham-explains-why-she-didnt-use-bill-clintons-last-name/

Chelsea being called the “White House dog” when she was 13 years old: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2124301/Chelsea-Clinton-tells-Rush-Limbaugh-fun-looks-13-comparing-dog.html