Book report
Time for another book report already? Well, I did read “The Hunger Games” in a matter of days, and one of the other books on this report was really short. So here is the latest crop.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I’m going to assume that anyone reading this review has already heard of this book and doesn’t need a summary, so I’ll concentrate on my reaction to the book. I read it after hearing how several friends liked or loved it, and when a coworker said she’d lend me her copy. I also found it hard to put down. Midway through I was like ‘I don’t want to be reading a book that is this grim, this horrifyingly suspenseful.’ (I had a bad dream that night too, surely brought on by the bleak scenario). And I really didn’t want to care about the main character. But my stomach was in knots, I did care about her, and I cared about her love interest too. I hated the Capital and its callous disregard for life and for the suffering of others. I wondered what it was an allegory for, and I know that this a topic that surely has been discussed in a million places online. My personal take was that it illustrated the treatment of the people in ‘third world’, poor countries and how those in the ‘first world’, rich countries exploit them. So, do I read the sequel? One friend said that only the first book in the trilogy is good, another said she likes all three. So I imagine I will check out the second book, but I do need to let some time pass. Grade: A
My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them, edited by Michael Montlack - I love the concept. An actual collection of men praising women?? Wow! Alas, the concept was great but the book wasn’t. It got so repetitive with endless panegyrics to Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Midler, and all the other usual suspects. There were a few weightier choices - Sappho, Virginia Woolf, lesbian therapist and writer Betty Berzon. And I squeed for a moment to see one of my all-time favorite recording artists, Kate Bush, included. I liked how one essayist pointed out that women have been allowed to express a much fuller range of emotions than men, and that’s why a lot of gay men connect with a diva. It was good that the essays were short and concise. But I’m sorry to say that overall the essays weren’t particularly inspiring and reading the book almost became a chore. (I wonder if someone there’ll be a version where lesbians write about “Men We Love”. I bet Joss Whedon will top the list). Grade: C
More behind the cut.
13 Reasons Willbe’s Are Luckier than WannaBe’s by Ian Ziskin - This was a nice-enough career-advice type book. Written for the busy professional, it’s short with just over 100 pages and lots of space to jot down notes. I try to glean something or other from each of these books and I did learn something from this one. My boss once told me that I need to do a better job of seeing around corners. This book had a section on how to do that. (Seek info from a wide array of sources and look for patterns, ask a lot of questions, and pay less attention to people’s opinions than how they arrived at those opinions). Grade: B-
Untied by Meredith Baxter - This was a memoir by Meredith Baxter, an actress who is best known for playing the mom in the 80’s sitcom “Family Ties”. I also remember seeing her in a lot of TV movies in the 80’s and 90’s. I liked hearing about her life a lot. It wasn’t easy - her mother was also an actress who didn’t spend much time with her kids, Baxter spent a long time in a marriage to an abusive jerk, and she’s had bouts with alcoholism and breast cancer. She came out as a lesbian when she was in her 60’s. Her life story was never boring, that’s for sure. Grade: B
Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson - I think my fling with Bill Bryson has run its course. I read his “A Walk in the Woods”, the hilarious account of his attempt to traverse the Appalachian Trail and was taken in by his humor and erudition. Seriously. He wasn’t just funny but also insightful. Then I read a few of this other books: “In a Sunburned Country”, his account of traveling through Australia which was good, and another book which was hardly worth a mention. “Neither Here Nor There” is his account of traveling through Europe. It just seemed rather pointless to me. He’s still funny, but I got weary reading about one bad restaurant/train station/hotel after another. It came across as an endless string of gripes. Maybe it’s funnier when one is making fun of their own country (such as in “A Walk in the Woods”) instead of others. Maybe I learned a bit about the people of different European countries but not much. Also, I don’t recall Bryson being a sexist pig in his other books but he’s insufferable here and there are too many “little”, stupid examples of women being put-down in his writing for me to name them. I definitely need a break from Mr. Bryson. Grade: D+
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
None this time
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I’m going to assume that anyone reading this review has already heard of this book and doesn’t need a summary, so I’ll concentrate on my reaction to the book. I read it after hearing how several friends liked or loved it, and when a coworker said she’d lend me her copy. I also found it hard to put down. Midway through I was like ‘I don’t want to be reading a book that is this grim, this horrifyingly suspenseful.’ (I had a bad dream that night too, surely brought on by the bleak scenario). And I really didn’t want to care about the main character. But my stomach was in knots, I did care about her, and I cared about her love interest too. I hated the Capital and its callous disregard for life and for the suffering of others. I wondered what it was an allegory for, and I know that this a topic that surely has been discussed in a million places online. My personal take was that it illustrated the treatment of the people in ‘third world’, poor countries and how those in the ‘first world’, rich countries exploit them. So, do I read the sequel? One friend said that only the first book in the trilogy is good, another said she likes all three. So I imagine I will check out the second book, but I do need to let some time pass. Grade: A
My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them, edited by Michael Montlack - I love the concept. An actual collection of men praising women?? Wow! Alas, the concept was great but the book wasn’t. It got so repetitive with endless panegyrics to Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Midler, and all the other usual suspects. There were a few weightier choices - Sappho, Virginia Woolf, lesbian therapist and writer Betty Berzon. And I squeed for a moment to see one of my all-time favorite recording artists, Kate Bush, included. I liked how one essayist pointed out that women have been allowed to express a much fuller range of emotions than men, and that’s why a lot of gay men connect with a diva. It was good that the essays were short and concise. But I’m sorry to say that overall the essays weren’t particularly inspiring and reading the book almost became a chore. (I wonder if someone there’ll be a version where lesbians write about “Men We Love”. I bet Joss Whedon will top the list). Grade: C
More behind the cut.
13 Reasons Willbe’s Are Luckier than WannaBe’s by Ian Ziskin - This was a nice-enough career-advice type book. Written for the busy professional, it’s short with just over 100 pages and lots of space to jot down notes. I try to glean something or other from each of these books and I did learn something from this one. My boss once told me that I need to do a better job of seeing around corners. This book had a section on how to do that. (Seek info from a wide array of sources and look for patterns, ask a lot of questions, and pay less attention to people’s opinions than how they arrived at those opinions). Grade: B-
Untied by Meredith Baxter - This was a memoir by Meredith Baxter, an actress who is best known for playing the mom in the 80’s sitcom “Family Ties”. I also remember seeing her in a lot of TV movies in the 80’s and 90’s. I liked hearing about her life a lot. It wasn’t easy - her mother was also an actress who didn’t spend much time with her kids, Baxter spent a long time in a marriage to an abusive jerk, and she’s had bouts with alcoholism and breast cancer. She came out as a lesbian when she was in her 60’s. Her life story was never boring, that’s for sure. Grade: B
Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson - I think my fling with Bill Bryson has run its course. I read his “A Walk in the Woods”, the hilarious account of his attempt to traverse the Appalachian Trail and was taken in by his humor and erudition. Seriously. He wasn’t just funny but also insightful. Then I read a few of this other books: “In a Sunburned Country”, his account of traveling through Australia which was good, and another book which was hardly worth a mention. “Neither Here Nor There” is his account of traveling through Europe. It just seemed rather pointless to me. He’s still funny, but I got weary reading about one bad restaurant/train station/hotel after another. It came across as an endless string of gripes. Maybe it’s funnier when one is making fun of their own country (such as in “A Walk in the Woods”) instead of others. Maybe I learned a bit about the people of different European countries but not much. Also, I don’t recall Bryson being a sexist pig in his other books but he’s insufferable here and there are too many “little”, stupid examples of women being put-down in his writing for me to name them. I definitely need a break from Mr. Bryson. Grade: D+
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
None this time