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Book Report
Jun. 9th, 2016 05:41 pmI'm sorry; I have another crop of books to which I gave the same rating for each one. I just can't seem to give out a grade of A unless the book changed my life, and any book that would've gotten a C or below, I usually don't finish reading. Sorry my rating system isn't very useful.
Nelly Dean by Alison Case – This novel gives us the story of Nelly Dean, the housekeeper in “Wuthering Heights”. Fortunately, the book is not a re-telling of Wuthering Heights; I just re-read (well, listened to on audio, actually) “Wuthering Heights” and would not have wanted a re-hash. Rather, the author gives Nelly her own life, her own secrets, motivations, and passions. There were a few “big reveals” at the end that I had seen coming long beforehand, but that didn’t make the book any less enjoyable. Grade: B
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier – I love this author! This is one of her excellent works of historical fiction. It centers around a brother and sister who are raised by some very dysfunctional parents. The brother leaves home and heads west, and the sister is determined to find him. Chevalier gives her characters such heart and realness. Grade: B+
The Smartest One in the Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology's Most Powerful Insights by Thomas Gilovich and Lee Ross – The book provides exactly what its subtitle says. I realize I’ve been reading a lot of similar books lately, and so some of the insights in the book weren’t new to me. But there were plenty of ideas I’ll put to use. The first one that jumps into my mind: a good way to problem-solve at work. Grade: B
All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister – This is a multi-faceted look at the millions of single women in the US, whose numbers are growing as more and more women either marry later or not at all. Traister offers depth and complexity as she looks at single women’s lives, and she excels in including diversity (of income level, race, sexual orientation). Traister reframes the conversation about single women – although many are single not by choice, many women do love the benefits of being single. A lot of women who have changed history have either been single or have married late. Grade: B+
Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis – Great book that a friend recommended. As the title implies, this is an optimistic look at the future. Arguing that advances in technology and innovation will help resolve many of the world’s crises, the author makes his claim that the future is not all doom and gloom. His case is well-researched and compelling. A few times I was actually bored and felt I should be exhilarated by the topic – and I’m sure there are counter-arguments to every point he makes – but I still enjoyed this audio book a lot. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
The Dark Lady’s Mask by Mary Sharratt - I don’t usually include this section because for each crop of books I report on, there always are a handful of books that I start reading and don’t finish. But sometimes I’ll include a book here if I want to comment on it. Mary Sharratt has published several excellent novels of historical fiction. Up till this point, I loved every one of her books, but sadly “The Dark Lady’s Mask” – her newest – isn’t up to her usual standards. The setting and characters were fine, but the plot had such weird pacing. Things just kinda happened to the main character, events flew by, but I felt like I was more reading the outline of a novel rather than being brought into each scene and experiencing any emotional impact of the events. It just felt rushed, and I couldn’t imagine making myself read the whole thing. Sharratt is normally so good though that I’ll definitely check out her next one though.
Nelly Dean by Alison Case – This novel gives us the story of Nelly Dean, the housekeeper in “Wuthering Heights”. Fortunately, the book is not a re-telling of Wuthering Heights; I just re-read (well, listened to on audio, actually) “Wuthering Heights” and would not have wanted a re-hash. Rather, the author gives Nelly her own life, her own secrets, motivations, and passions. There were a few “big reveals” at the end that I had seen coming long beforehand, but that didn’t make the book any less enjoyable. Grade: B
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier – I love this author! This is one of her excellent works of historical fiction. It centers around a brother and sister who are raised by some very dysfunctional parents. The brother leaves home and heads west, and the sister is determined to find him. Chevalier gives her characters such heart and realness. Grade: B+
The Smartest One in the Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology's Most Powerful Insights by Thomas Gilovich and Lee Ross – The book provides exactly what its subtitle says. I realize I’ve been reading a lot of similar books lately, and so some of the insights in the book weren’t new to me. But there were plenty of ideas I’ll put to use. The first one that jumps into my mind: a good way to problem-solve at work. Grade: B
All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister – This is a multi-faceted look at the millions of single women in the US, whose numbers are growing as more and more women either marry later or not at all. Traister offers depth and complexity as she looks at single women’s lives, and she excels in including diversity (of income level, race, sexual orientation). Traister reframes the conversation about single women – although many are single not by choice, many women do love the benefits of being single. A lot of women who have changed history have either been single or have married late. Grade: B+
Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis – Great book that a friend recommended. As the title implies, this is an optimistic look at the future. Arguing that advances in technology and innovation will help resolve many of the world’s crises, the author makes his claim that the future is not all doom and gloom. His case is well-researched and compelling. A few times I was actually bored and felt I should be exhilarated by the topic – and I’m sure there are counter-arguments to every point he makes – but I still enjoyed this audio book a lot. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
The Dark Lady’s Mask by Mary Sharratt - I don’t usually include this section because for each crop of books I report on, there always are a handful of books that I start reading and don’t finish. But sometimes I’ll include a book here if I want to comment on it. Mary Sharratt has published several excellent novels of historical fiction. Up till this point, I loved every one of her books, but sadly “The Dark Lady’s Mask” – her newest – isn’t up to her usual standards. The setting and characters were fine, but the plot had such weird pacing. Things just kinda happened to the main character, events flew by, but I felt like I was more reading the outline of a novel rather than being brought into each scene and experiencing any emotional impact of the events. It just felt rushed, and I couldn’t imagine making myself read the whole thing. Sharratt is normally so good though that I’ll definitely check out her next one though.
