I started listening on September 16 of last year, and now 135 days later, it's over. I loved it. There were several chapters that I listened to more than once because they were so good.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Book 7: Moby Dick
The last chapter of Moby Dick was posted today for the Moby Dick Big Read.
I started listening on September 16 of last year, and now 135 days later, it's over. I loved it. There were several chapters that I listened to more than once because they were so good.
I started listening on September 16 of last year, and now 135 days later, it's over. I loved it. There were several chapters that I listened to more than once because they were so good.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Book 6: Half the Sky
I will not call this a feminist book, because it is really a book about humanity, though focused on what the female half of humanity can contribute to the world, and what barriers they face in making those contributions. Calling these feminist issues, the authors say, makes it easy to dismiss and ignore them.
The authors focus on a few major issues that have enormous power to transform developing countries and indeed the entire world: human trafficking, education, maternal mortality, and economic opportunity. Where women get more education, have more economic opportunities like small businesses, have healthier pregnancies and births, and are not at risk of forced prostitution, people are physically healthier, societies are less violent, and communities are economically stronger.
This is the kind of book that makes you want to get involved and do something more around the world. For more ideas of what you can do, visit Half the Sky's website for a list of their NGO partners who have proven strategies for helping women and their families.
The authors focus on a few major issues that have enormous power to transform developing countries and indeed the entire world: human trafficking, education, maternal mortality, and economic opportunity. Where women get more education, have more economic opportunities like small businesses, have healthier pregnancies and births, and are not at risk of forced prostitution, people are physically healthier, societies are less violent, and communities are economically stronger.
This is the kind of book that makes you want to get involved and do something more around the world. For more ideas of what you can do, visit Half the Sky's website for a list of their NGO partners who have proven strategies for helping women and their families.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Book 5: How to Be a Woman
Warning: This book is not rated PG.
I don't normally read books that have this much cursing in them--or really any cursing at all. This book also addressed some very adult themes. I actually stopped listening to it and then *dun dun dun* heard the author interviewed on NPR and she sounded so . . . clean and sensible that I had to give it another try. And NPR said it was one of the great books of 2012 that they had "missed". If NPR told me to jump off a bridge, would I do it? Well, maybe.
However, there were some great points made that I've been considering ever since. Some of it was laugh-out-loud funny. Other parts were disturbing or upsetting. But all of it made me think a lot about what it means to be a woman, and what my little girl's life might be like. That is more terrifying than just about anything, really.
I don't normally read books that have this much cursing in them--or really any cursing at all. This book also addressed some very adult themes. I actually stopped listening to it and then *dun dun dun* heard the author interviewed on NPR and she sounded so . . . clean and sensible that I had to give it another try. And NPR said it was one of the great books of 2012 that they had "missed". If NPR told me to jump off a bridge, would I do it? Well, maybe.
However, there were some great points made that I've been considering ever since. Some of it was laugh-out-loud funny. Other parts were disturbing or upsetting. But all of it made me think a lot about what it means to be a woman, and what my little girl's life might be like. That is more terrifying than just about anything, really.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Book 4: Happier at Home
I read The Happiness Project last year and didn't really love it, probably because I didn't love Rubin's Ben-Franklin-esque method of tracking her progress in her project. But I still decided to read this one. Yep, I'm at home, and yep, everyone in the family would benefit from increasing our happiness here.
I didn't love this book. There were some really interesting ideas and principles mentioned, and I got a lot of titles of other books to read, mostly about human nature and philosophy. But there sure was a lot of navel gazing.
The best part of the book might be the encouragement to start my own personal happiness project. Maybe I'll take that on this year.
I didn't love this book. There were some really interesting ideas and principles mentioned, and I got a lot of titles of other books to read, mostly about human nature and philosophy. But there sure was a lot of navel gazing.
The best part of the book might be the encouragement to start my own personal happiness project. Maybe I'll take that on this year.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Book 3: Kabul Beauty School
I happened to grab this at the library because it looked interesting, and I was not disappointed.
The stories of the women Debbie works with are sad, funny, frightening, and inspiring. Debbie's idea to open a beauty school may seem shallow at first glance--beauty in a war zone? But the graduates of the school are able to increase their income dramatically, and their whole families benefit.
The stories of the women Debbie works with are sad, funny, frightening, and inspiring. Debbie's idea to open a beauty school may seem shallow at first glance--beauty in a war zone? But the graduates of the school are able to increase their income dramatically, and their whole families benefit.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Book 2: Song of Achilles
This was a fictionalized account of Achilles, the warrior, and all the Greek history that goes with it. The whole cast is there--Agamemnon, Iphigenia, Odysseus, Ajax, Hector, Paris, Helen . . . .
I had some moments of consternation at the beginning when I realized just how much I would have to suspend my disbelief--the Greek gods and other magical creatures make their appearances and are, well, magical. And some of the romance was a bit too much for me--I do not generally like reading romance-y anything. And finally, toward the end, I got really mad about a narrative choice the author made that apparently readers were just expected to accept. But overall, it was pretty good.
Perhaps what is best of all is that I feel like reading The Iliad now.
I had some moments of consternation at the beginning when I realized just how much I would have to suspend my disbelief--the Greek gods and other magical creatures make their appearances and are, well, magical. And some of the romance was a bit too much for me--I do not generally like reading romance-y anything. And finally, toward the end, I got really mad about a narrative choice the author made that apparently readers were just expected to accept. But overall, it was pretty good.
Perhaps what is best of all is that I feel like reading The Iliad now.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Book 1 of 2013: Unaccountable
Is this scary or what: twenty five percent of hospitalized patients are victims of some kind of medical error, ranging from fairly minor to fatal. There are many factors that can work for or against a culture of safety in a hospital, and Dr. Marty Makary explains them in a way that is terrifying and galvanizing at the same time.
Dr. Makary explains how data on the safety of your local hospital are not easily available, so as a medical consumer, you generally do not know whether your hospital, for instance, has an above-average rate of "never" events (operating on the wrong person, the wrong side, etc.), or how high the rate of post-surgical infection is. The average medical consumer doesn't know the complication rate of his/her surgeon and may feel guilty seeking a second opinion.
This is either the best or worst possible book to read prior to a hospitalization. Dr. Makary suggests questions patients should ask their physicians and their hospitals in order to be more informed consumers.
For online resources, the Leapfrog Group is a good place to get what information is available about your local hospital.
Dr. Makary explains how data on the safety of your local hospital are not easily available, so as a medical consumer, you generally do not know whether your hospital, for instance, has an above-average rate of "never" events (operating on the wrong person, the wrong side, etc.), or how high the rate of post-surgical infection is. The average medical consumer doesn't know the complication rate of his/her surgeon and may feel guilty seeking a second opinion.
This is either the best or worst possible book to read prior to a hospitalization. Dr. Makary suggests questions patients should ask their physicians and their hospitals in order to be more informed consumers.
For online resources, the Leapfrog Group is a good place to get what information is available about your local hospital.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Drumroll, Please: The Best of 2012
By popular demand (among my 6 readers) here is an attempt to list the best books of the year. This is tricky only because I read so many good books this year.
Best Fiction
The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver
Caleb's Crossing, Geraldine Brooks
Daniel Stein, Interpreter, Lyudmila Ulitskaya
Best Nonfiction
Nothing to Envy, Barbara Demick
Crazy, Pete Earley
Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo
Quiet, Susan Cain
The First Twenty Minutes, Gretchen Reynolds
Wherever You Go, There You Are, Jon Kabat-Zinn
One book earned an "honorable mention": Coming Out of the Ice by Victor Herman keeps coming to mind when I think of the best books. It was difficult to listen to because of the subject matter (imprisonment, torture, Siberian exile), but I still think about the book now, all these months later.
Best Fiction
The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver
Caleb's Crossing, Geraldine Brooks
Daniel Stein, Interpreter, Lyudmila Ulitskaya
Best Nonfiction
Nothing to Envy, Barbara Demick
Crazy, Pete Earley
Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo
Quiet, Susan Cain
The First Twenty Minutes, Gretchen Reynolds
Wherever You Go, There You Are, Jon Kabat-Zinn
One book earned an "honorable mention": Coming Out of the Ice by Victor Herman keeps coming to mind when I think of the best books. It was difficult to listen to because of the subject matter (imprisonment, torture, Siberian exile), but I still think about the book now, all these months later.
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