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sammy's hill
kristin gore
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| I was pleasently surprised by "Sammy's Hill". I was a little leery of a book written by Al Gore's daughter only because I had to wonder - was it published just because she's Al Gore's daughter? After finishing the book, I can cheerily say it was published on its own merit. One reason I knew it was a potentially good book was because Matt Groening wrote a cover blurb for it. Also, I remembered that Kristin Gore wrote for "Futurama" so it had to be a little funny, right? Okay, with that introduction, I will tell you that the book is hilarious and really sweet and I enjoyed every minute of it. The story follows Samantha Joyce, a 26-year-old health policy analyst working on "the Hill" for a senator. I hate to say that it was an American-style Bridget Jones, but it was certainly in that genre what with Sammy's trials and tribulations in her professional and personal life. How could you not love a character that plays the card/drinking game "Asshole" with her parents? |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
December 2004 [link] |
recommend
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sarek
a. c. crispin
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| This is my second star trek book. I checked it out of the library as a joke to go along with the first joke star trek book that my lover bought me as a joke, but hey I like science fiction and mysteries...unless they're horrible and bland, I can read anything (see "the Stand" where I had to try seven or eight times before I could finish it). |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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schott's original miscellany
ben schott
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An entertaining book filled with, well, miscellaneous and random information. Listings lik events of a decathlon, husbands of Elizabeth Taylor and a tiny drawing on how to tie a bow tie. My favorite was a listing of how famous rockers died with a little quip next to their name such as "Dennis Wilson, drowned; Beach Boy not Buoy".
All the information is a great conversation starter and impressive trivia to have on hand. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
December 2005 [link] |
recommend
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seabiscuit: an american legend
laura hillenbrand
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| this is the perfect summer read - exciting, funny and touching. i took to calling my dog "seabiscuit" since the horse was described as being "a big dog". it's hard to believe the author wrote this book almost completely without leaving her home since she suffers from a severe case of chronic fatique syndrome. some of the horseracing techie talk is a little dull and i can't seem to find out what "imposting" is about (why one horse races with more weight in their saddle than another) but it is still one of the best books i've read in a long time. read it quick before the movie comes out and ruins everything. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2003 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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secret ingredients: the new yorker book of food and drink
david remnick
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| Great compendium of food and drink related articles, including humor and fiction pieces, from The New Yorker. Also, lots of foodies cartoons, like my all-time fav depicting a piece of rigatoni pasta on the phone saying ""Fusilli, you crazy bastard! How are you?" . The best articles are by Calvin Trillin, of course and there's a great one about "The Ketchup Conundrum", which can be found online and details how hard it's been for new ketchup producers to be accepted into mainstream use (also gives insight into the marketing madness surrounding new foods). Bon appétit! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2008 [link] |
recommend
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selected poems of li po, the
li po
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| Great great and more great. I remember reading a reference to a poem by Li Po in a poem I read in high school English. The fragment has stuck with me ever since. Excellent retention value. I'm not usually a poem fan, but here you have it…my favorite poems. Life, love, philosophy all in easy to read short poems. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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selling women short: the landmark battle for workers' rights at wal-mart
featherstone liza
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| Absolutely brilliant. I sincerely believe that everyone in America should read this book about the largest civil rights class-action suit in history: Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. And should you shop at the Wal-Mart, you should read the life stories of women who have worked there for 10, 15 years and who have been passed by endlessly for promotions which were given to men who had worked there for weeks, months or hardly at all; or women whose jobs are conveniently "eliminated" and then automatically reinstated, except with a male worker instead; or the vicious pay gap, in which any male working for Wal-Mart is guaranteed to be paid more at the "good ol' boy's club" than any woman... The worst is the vicious cycle that Wal-Mart is creating: it pays its employees so little that they can't afford to shop anywhere else. Wal-Mart targets poverty and has made millions, BILLIONS out of perpetuating it and exploiting it. An absolutely fascinating read, highly recommended. |
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reviewed by: victoria |
July 2005 [link] |
recommend
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seventeen widows of san souci
charlotte armstrong
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| One of my theories is that there is absolutely NO WAY that every book worth reading is either a classic or a new book. I'm always wondering about all the silent majority of books on the shelf in the library that were written in the 30's, 40's, etc that are for sure not going to be mentioned on Amazon.com or reviewed. There must be many many worthy and amazing books that didn't have a marketing machine behind them and fell to obscurity and now serve to beef up the circulation numbers at libraries). I have no idea if anyone in all the world shares my nostalgic heart. I revere old movies and old times. But more than that, I'm nostalgic even for my lover's lost college life - that time when worries were nothing (in hindsight). I'm also beginning to pay more attention to old people - as I think perhaps they might have some insight into why we roam this earth. One of my favorite quotes from this book is something like: "she hadn't realized yet that she too would grow old. She still thought she owned youth and it was a creation entirely of her own" . Anyhoo, this book isn't Milan Kundera or anything, but I was fascinated by it as a historical document (readers will start rushing to it now) and slight ruminations on attitude. The women in this book all live in a furnished hotel. They are all widows and are just plowing on through life- not defined by a man. The main character is 51 and is just waiting to die and trying to even remember who she was before she married - back when she was a young boheme. It's all so very Zen and relative. (Sans Souci means without care). |
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reviewed by: kristen |
November 2000 [link] |
recommend
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she got up off the couch: and other heroic acts from mooreland, indiana
haven kimmel
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| A sassy follow-up to Kimmel's superb 2002 "A Girl Named Zippy", this continues with hilarious stories of Zip's childhood and is a tender and funny ode to her family and friends. We learn about her sister's marriage and subsequent birth of two children; we learn about her determined mother's quest to get a college degree and there are, of course, a million little Zippy adventures and crazy family quirks to explore - both sweet and bittersweet. I took extra long reading this one because I didn't want it to ever end. I could read about Kimmel's childhood forever. Not only is she a talented and funny writer but her attention to details and her prose make you feel like you're part of her family or at least, a really good friend she'd like to boss around. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2006 [link] |
recommend
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she's come undone
wally lamb
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| I hated this book and felt dirty after I read it. Maybe you would like it, but it was toooooo sad and depressing for me with a layer of frustration. I kept thinking the character should just explode (thanks TV for your influence). This was sorrow and valiant suffering WITHOUT the mitigating wryness that I like. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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sheltering sky, the
paul bowles
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| This is one of those books I either acquired at a yardsale or off the road of some Brooklyn street. I've owned it for at least four years, but have never read it. I was trepidacious (hey at least I TRY to say big words) to read it as it was some flop of a Debra Winger (not my fave actress) movie. The only image from the movie I have is the Debra Winger character staggering off into the desert with sun fever in her. I may have tried to watch this movie while a pre-teen with HBO (where most of my formative tv years evolve). Anyway, I started reading it due to there being no books I hadn't read in my hovel. I quite enjoyed this desert romp. It captivates you. I just finished reading it yesterday, and it put me in the most meloncholy mood. Ah la vie! Anyway, the most I got out of the book was that it tells you the futility of trying to understand the meaning of life. The main characters were two people like myself who live in their heads and analyze every utterance twenty million times. They are much more trapped than me though as it is two people of this mindset. As we all know, that spells disaster. Anyway, they are the bored idle rich and they embark on a trip to Africa because Europe is so unhealthy and incestuous during the war. My very favorite part came near the end, and that is unusual as most writers don't think it through that much and give their best stuff to getting you to keep reading. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
July 2001 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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shopgirl
steve martin
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| Once in a bar in New York City's Tribeca area, a bunch of us friends were discussing which celebrity would give us pause to wonder if we would cheat on our sig other for said celebrity. I said mine would be Steve Martin. This book makes me feel like a genius. What a sensitive man! Although the book is a bit of a trifle (not INSANELY memorable), it is a lovely trifle full of zazzy details skewing love and reality and things that really matter. I can hardly believe it's by Steve Martin (or course unless there is another Steve Martin.) |
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reviewed by: kristen |
January 2001 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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simple passion
annie ernaux
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| I looked everywhere for this book because it was just a phenomenon in France. It is about a woman who is obsessed with a man. I felt that I could really relate at the time I read this and was again anticipatory of a sister to sister book which would have me sobbing in unison with the narrator. Alas this book wasn't such a tale. If you like French moderne served with monotone style suffering, give this book a gander. I like it because it had nice scenery (as in France), but for better or for worse, by the end of the book, I was annoyed with the character thoroughly. On a side note, I've been told that being utterly annoyed with the main character can attest to the skill of the writer. While I won't refute anyone's thoughtful belief, I don't want to read or watch such characters. Just me. I need at least a touch of self-inflicted humor or something. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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smilla's sense of snow
peter hoeg
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| This is the book I read on the plane on the way to my leap year wedding in las vegas. How into it did I get? I actually was thinking in the back of my head the first night if I'd have a chance to get back to the room and read my book. Unfortunately when you're getting married, the man tends to want to be with you ALL THE TIME, so I did get to finish this when I got back. The mystery plot was not the greatest "ah hah" ever, but the tone and characters were just right. It's a book about a loner. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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some book by m. scott peck
m. scott peck
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| You know how Gary who recommended the way of the peaceful warrior said he had a psychic fixation blah blah blah? Well the guy who recommended this book to me acutally piqued my interest with his claim of fixation towards me (he is the last to do so). Greg was sort of my mentor as he was 27 to my 24. He told me a fascinating thing that still interests me: that I would know some secret thing at 27 that I didn't know then at 24. I'm a month away from 28 and still don't know what that is. I read this book |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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some of the mystery books of john macdonald
john mcdonald
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| These were my favorite quick reads before the K is for Killer genre. These books are all set in Florida. My mom always talks about how she thinks "The Last one Left" by him (not the series I like) is a great potential screenplay. They have a guy who dropped out of society (Travis McGee) who solves mysteries. One of his favorite lines (all series writers have favorite lines) is about why should he wait until he retires to live the good life. Instead he lives it in dribbles. After every case, he takes a boat ride with the survivors. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
March 2000 [link] |
recommend
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songbook
nick hornby
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This is like a tape mix in book form - Hornby looks at 31 of his favorite tunes and the memories associated with them. Clever in only the way Hornby can be and funny funny funny. It's made me think about all my old favorites songs and his mention of some bands I never listened to has made me want to go out and rediscover the ones I missed.
(I believe the hardcover edition comes with a CD but doesn't feature all the songs mentioned in the book. I just have the paperback) |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
December 2004 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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special topics in calamity physics
marisha pessl
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| Lots of reviews for this book call it "showy" and "wordy" and while it is both those things, Special Topics is also very intelligent and bold. It's a crazy story which centers around Blue van Meer and her professor father who move around the country at a startling rate so the dad can teach at different colleges. As a sort of high school senior year gift to her, dad resolves to stay in one town for a whole year and teach at a nearby college. At her private school, she is invited by a teacher to join a group that meets at her house after school and on weekends, kids that are privileged and strange and intriguing. The teacher, Hannah is mysterious as well and the whole story tumbles into this whodunnit maze with a dead teacher, flashbacks to Blue's dead mother and this crazy, crazy, crazy storyline about a group called The Nightwatchman - I admit I got a little lost at the end. What kept me reading was the unbelievable amount of references to books and movies (old, new and everything in between). I found it hard to believe the author is only 28 because she's clearly, freakishly well-read. Despite the wild turn of events at the end, this was an immensely enjoyable read. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
October 2007 [link] |
recommend
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spook:science tackles the afterlife
mary roach
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| This is the second book I've read and enjoyed by Mary Roach. The first was "Stiff" where she looked at the surprisingly many uses for cadavers. Now she looks at the afterlife in the hope of scientifically proving - or disproving - the existence of life after death. Each chapter explores different experiments that have been conducted over the years (and very recently) to measure and monitor "ghosts" and also studies launched to examine the work of mediums and psychics. While she never gets a straight answer to whether or not there's an afterlife, her exploits are amusing and her writing is ever humorous. Roach is always willing to point out in a footnote the presence of funny names or odd occurrences (in telling about an experiment conducted where people dressed up as ghosts and "haunted" a cow field, she interjected with her own experiences in cow fields and the incredibly funny curiosity of cows). Also, you have to admire Roach for grabbing an unusual topic and running with it – it makes for fascinating reading (and great, great –albeit morbid – dinner conversation). |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2008 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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spygirl: true adventures from my life as a private eye
amy gray
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| Cute and funny and a quick read. Although, it's more her dating adventures while being a private investigator in NYC than anything else it was still enjoyable. A couple things work out a little too conveniently in the book but that's what creative liberties are all about. Basically, being a PI is my dream job: spending the day researching on the internet, covert stalking and lots of drinking with people named Assman. Whoo-hooo! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2004 [link] |
recommend
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st. lucy's school for girls raised by wolves
karen russell
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Russell was just 24 when she published this book and was chosen for The New Yorker's debut fiction issue. In this book, she has woven together such a fine strand of short stories that you're easily mesmerized by their small, fantastical and, often funny, details: a drowned sister searched for with "magic goggles" on a giant crab sled, a minotaur father and his human family traveling out West, a summer camp for insomniacs, a Comical Ironical Crime Ring and more. Each of the ten stories has an other-worldly air about it but each remains believable and compelling and mysterious.
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reviewed by: lisa may |
January 2007 [link] |
recommend
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stand, the
steven king
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| This is the only Steven King book that I have consciously read. (I read Firestarter in my elevens and hated the writing although interesting plot.) The Stand was emphatically recommended to me by my acquaintance, Eric Hagen. Eric was reputed to be some obnoxious genius. He LOVED the Hobbit, but he could see how I could not. He thought the Hobbit more of an adolescent, alienated guy book. Having struck such a chord with me, I was inclined to trust his recommendation of Steven King's The Stand even though I didn't think Steven King was for me. I wanted to like him though, and Eric Hagen INSISTED that The Stand was the meaning of life. So at age 24, I started. It was very long book about the post nuclear USA. Steven King is a page turner. He is also one of those people who use that cliffhanger then next chapter is the different subplot which goes to a cliffhanger…sort of a leapfrog game - ANNOYING. The apocalyptic plot was very compelling and personal. I "felt like I really knew these folks", but it was all so cheap to me. It put a tacky, dirty feeling on my brain. The biggest thing I took away from that large marge book was one of my signature quotes "my life for you." This book is for fans or people who need to kill a lot of time. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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stealing buddha's dinner
bich minh nguyen
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| This tasty memoir tells the tale of Nguyen and her family's escape from Vietnam in 1975 and their subsequent relocation to Michigan where they couldn't have stood out more. In particular, food was a huge divider between Nguyen and her American friends and classmates. While her grandmother was home cooking what sounds like delicious Asian delicacies, Nguyen longed for cupboards full of Pringles, M&Ms and fast food. As she gets older, she is taunted by classmates who call her "bitch", not knowing how to pronounce her first name (it's pronounced "bit"). The book is also a great reminiscing of 80's culture as well as a tender look at how families support, divide and define us. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2007 [link] |
recommend
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stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers
mary roach
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| Yes, cadavers lead busy live, believe it or not. Their organs are used to save lives, their bodies are used to practice surgeries - even nose jobs, and the army uses them to test bullets and bullet proof vests. They're used to determine cause in airplane crashes. Some cadavers lay out in a small yard at a hospital in Tennessee so investigators can detail the decomposition for use in murder cases. Mary Roach takes us on an extraordinary journey into the afterlife of the human body that is funny and reverent - a truly immersing tale. Not a book to be read while eating. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2003 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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story time
edward bloor
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| Edward Bloor writes really great Y.A. books. CRUSADER and TANGERINE both have this weird air of menace that keeps you hooked until the end, and STORY TIME isn't any different. Kate, our plucky protagonist, lives in a weird but kindly family where her uncle George is two years younger than she is! When George gets accepted to the Whittaker Magnet School and Kate is forced to go there as well, they discover a bizarre place with psychotic teachers, a Bush-esque curriculum ('We have a test every day. In every class. That's what we do.") to measure student learning, and a demon that possesses books and makes whoever reads them go psycho for a few minutes. Kate and George hate their new school and their draconian teachers, so they decide to get some revenge with the help of the quasi-mute librarian...and when the president's wife comes to visit the school, all hell breaks loose... |
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reviewed by: victoria |
May 2005 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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strange but true
john searles
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| Never was there a more appropriate title than "Strange But True". And never was there a more suspenseful, deep and moving story. Even though it's been five years since a car accident changed the lives of two families, the trauma never goes away. Set in Pennsylvania, Philip is home from NYC to recover from a fall from a fire escape; his brother has been dead five years; the girl the brother was dating at the time of his death is preggers and she thinks the dead brother impregnated her from beyond the grave. Lots of flashbacks as the story unfolds and you can't help but think it's like a soap opera in a intelligent, literary form. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
January 2005 [link] |
recommend
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stranger in a strange land
robert heinlein
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Surely, I enjoyed reading it. It was quite diverting – full of "fish out of water" revelations. It's about a man who is inadvertently reared on Mars and then returned to his genetic planet as an adult. The book was written in 1960 and Heinlein clearly thought the world was a barking madhouse then (as do most science fiction writers eh?). It is of interest to note the subjective decline of our civilization even in those years. That said, the book is basically a "what's wrong with all y'all? Can't we all get along? Let's screw and love and realize FOR REAL that we're all the creators of our own universe, and let's get crackin' on something better".
I'm all for this sentiment, and it's well and good; however, as I get more widely read, it rather depresses me to to read the same thing over and over and realize that not much is happening in the way of changing. Hell, I'm not doing anything but sitting on my buttocks and whining.
This was basically a jesus re-telling with loads of free love and interesting division of the sexes. Often I was offended (I'm a gal) but felt lacking in an alternative. I was rather in ire of the ole' "yes you silly man. I know what's best, and sure I'll look pretty for you though". (The women characters in me humble).
I'm proud of myself for writing even this short review of said "Stranger in a Strange Land" by heinlein because at least that gets me from sitting on the couch reading. But then again, I'm wondering if I have to force myself to do things or will I just command it because I grok that I am god? |
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reviewed by: kristen |
October 2004 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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stranger things happen
kelly link
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| Love love love Kelly Link! Kelly Link's stories are like sweet campfire tales that always take a creepy turn. In this collection of tales (classified as "young adult" like her most recent collection "Pretty Monsters"), prepared to be dazzled and confused but absorbed into stories like "The Specialist's Hat" about two lonely twins dealing with their mother's death and their babysitter who is most likely a ghost. "Travels with the Snow Queen" minces fairy tales with the modern as a princess searches for her philandering beloved while pointing out that a fairy tale life isn't all it's cracked up to be. "The Girl Detective" is a throw back to Nancy Drew (kudos to the Nancy Drew-ish cover art!) but as every bit as deliciously freaky as the rest of the book. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
October 2010 [link] |
recommend
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strip city: a stripper's farewell journey across america
lily burana
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While this was an interesting read, I got a little annoyed near the end as the author acted like someone was making her take this trip around the country and forcing her to strip. I mean, she got a book deal out of the whole thing so I say: quit yer whinin'. Lily used to be a stripper and when she gets engaged she decides that she needs to have one final hurrah (her own year-long bachelorette party in which she's the stripper.) She visits - and works at - strip joints across the country and searches for herself along the way. She explores how she first got into stripping and what it made her feel like then and what it makes her feel like now. Most interesting to me was the actual places she went to, the people that work there and the clientele. I'm fascinated with the whole damn industry (as evidenced by my next review.) My girl Lil is one tough cookie, though, and if she ever reads this review I am sure she will find and kick my ass.
"Strip City" is not out in paperback yet. Don't be surprised if you get strange looks when reading this book in public. I did. You can read the first chapter here. It should sufficiently peak your interest. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
April 2002 [link] |
recommend
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sweet and low
rich cohen
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A raucous trip through the history of sugar, saccharin, aspartame, the mob, and the Brooklyn royalty known as the Eisenstadt family, creators of Sweet 'N Low. Cohen, the disinherited grandson of Ben Eisenstadt, inventor of the sugar packet and of Sweet 'N Low, offers one of the truest portraits of the American family that I can remember, complete with crazy aunts and uncles, hidden vendettas, dangling-carrot games of witheld fortune, selective memory, and love with sharply delineated borders.
Though the author's proclamations are, at times, a bit too vast in scope to be trusted, Sweet and Low should be read by anyone struggling to get a grip on the strivings of the past four generations that have made America what it is today. Topics range from sugarcane to Goodfellas. A deeply funny, well realized, compulsively readable book. |
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reviewed by: mizalmond |
May 2006 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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