the only reason i didn't give this 5 stars is that i suspect my florida prejudice is involved. but maybe not. this book is sharply written and riotousthe only reason i didn't give this 5 stars is that i suspect my florida prejudice is involved. but maybe not. this book is sharply written and riotous.
carl hiaasen is a gem - and he writes about florida with all the wit, brilliance, sarcasm, and love that only a native can muster. trust me, no one else laments when wetlands full of water moccasins get bulldozed. we do.
the book itself is a record of a particular moment in time, which is exactly what the series intends. folks who aren't in close proximity to the maw of the mouse (and probably lots who are) will never have heard of the many truth-is-stranger-than-fiction stories that hiaasen recounts, some hilarious, some creepy, some truly disturbing (see: Country Walk).
hiaasen isn't just out to take cheap jabs at disney. his critique of our culture is incisive and devastatingly on-point. and he doesn't spare himself in the slightest. what he criticizes about the world's most powerful entertainment machine is reflected in each and every person whose life has been touched by it (is that even a countable number? doubtful.), which makes this slim book all the more powerful.
and now i am fully armed and ready to descend into the belly of the beast for a wedding....more
i would really give this 3.5 stars. i like a lot of the imagery and language, but sometimes it seems to get lost in itself and forget to have an audiei would really give this 3.5 stars. i like a lot of the imagery and language, but sometimes it seems to get lost in itself and forget to have an audience. i would really like to read this in the original spanish because it's unclear whether the flatness of some of these poems is inherent in the original or introduced in translation. overall, solid with some truly beautiful moments. (this is not facing-page translation, so i can't really compare the two based on this edition.)...more
darley has an excellently readable style and covers all the major ground from literary to historical to trivial information on vesuvius. she most brildarley has an excellently readable style and covers all the major ground from literary to historical to trivial information on vesuvius. she most brilliantly captures the crazes and souvenirs that grow up around european fascination with the site and vulcanology in general. a quick and lovely read, something i would probably go back to if i had a chance to visit naples....more
i wanted to love this but i just didn't. too insular, too self-absorbed. too many flat out lists of streets and squares. i love london and i love litei wanted to love this but i just didn't. too insular, too self-absorbed. too many flat out lists of streets and squares. i love london and i love literary london but this book never came alive, never rose above the author to connect me to the things that i love....more
sometimes i felt like adams was trying too hard to be clever and the prose suffered for it. i enjoyed the book overall. nice blend of history and memosometimes i felt like adams was trying too hard to be clever and the prose suffered for it. i enjoyed the book overall. nice blend of history and memoir....more
pratt's classic is still one of the most useful scholarly investigations, with a wide array of applications across disciplines. her thoughts and princpratt's classic is still one of the most useful scholarly investigations, with a wide array of applications across disciplines. her thoughts and principles are clear, her examples engaging and far-reaching....more
i started this book in the boston airport and finished it in the cancun airport. well-paced, engaging, thoughtful. thompson tells the story of her lovi started this book in the boston airport and finished it in the cancun airport. well-paced, engaging, thoughtful. thompson tells the story of her love for new zealand and the maori man who became her husband, but this is not a love memoir. it's the story of cultures interacting, of the history and future of new zealand, and of the consequences of colonialism. highly recommended reading....more
a strange and out-dated book. some interesting snippets of information, but overall it is of its time and not terribly compelling now. the author givea strange and out-dated book. some interesting snippets of information, but overall it is of its time and not terribly compelling now. the author gives a sort of tour of major Mayan sites throughout Central America - dwelling on information about road conditions and the qualities of local inns, sometimes focusing more on the travel than on the archaeological site! where the book gets interesting is in its descriptions of Mayan life and rituals, particularly in contact with Spanish and indigenous Mexican invasive forces. there's quite a bit of paternalistic crap, though, so the good stuff has to be dug for and reinterpreted. only really worth it if you want something fairly short to read and are willing to do some imaginative work....more
decent background. strangely organized - some things are organized by location and some by type of activity. hoping that this will be have proven usefdecent background. strangely organized - some things are organized by location and some by type of activity. hoping that this will be have proven useful once i go to mexico. ...more
an inspiring and poetic account of guevara's travels through south america during his student days. his descriptions are lovely and his insights sharpan inspiring and poetic account of guevara's travels through south america during his student days. his descriptions are lovely and his insights sharp. worth reading and rereading....more
advice for americans who want to live overseas. too generalized for my tastes, too focused on business/management options, too repetitive. i also didnadvice for americans who want to live overseas. too generalized for my tastes, too focused on business/management options, too repetitive. i also didn't find myself liking the author's tone very much. some useful info, but overall not the book i was hoping it would be....more
oh man is this book ever translated. badly. and badly edited. perhaps the worst edited book i've ever read, typo-wise. there's something slightly charoh man is this book ever translated. badly. and badly edited. perhaps the worst edited book i've ever read, typo-wise. there's something slightly charming about the author's voice, nevertheless, and a few gems squealch their way through. a church-and-museum tour of portugal led by your grandpa is basically how i'd describe this book. ...more
this book would get a 5 for content and a 2 for writing. the style is journalistic in a bad sense of the word and includes a few factual errors that ithis book would get a 5 for content and a 2 for writing. the style is journalistic in a bad sense of the word and includes a few factual errors that i'm aware of -- nevermind that ones i'm not. the writer has an agenda and does exactly what kept me out of journalism, he cherry-picks his examples to bolster the opinion he already had before he did any research. ugh. plus there's quite a lot of subconscious/tongue-in-cheek looking down at the minority language speakers and language advocates. even the big reveal - he saves welsh for last because his parents are welsh-born - didn't save the narrator/author for me. i still don't like him, although i like the welsh and their language quite a lot.
that said, the material itself is fascinating. and the book got me to think more clearly about some general questions that have been prominent in my life lately. (taking a class on bilingualism and learning 2 languages will get a person to think about languages, after all.) there's not a lot of new ground in this book, but for someone who is interested in global language use, there is something to be said for a readable (ie not linguistic textbook) work on the topic, which this is.
i would recommend this book only with this caveat: know what you're getting - basically an expanded version of a sunday travel section piece - and what you're not - an eye-opening trip around the world through minority langauges....more
i wanted to like this more than i did. and i might have liked it more if i had read it before Eat, Pray, Love. there were some nice moments and a few i wanted to like this more than i did. and i might have liked it more if i had read it before Eat, Pray, Love. there were some nice moments and a few good insights. but... i dunno. maybe the generation gap was a problem - i don't feel like i can identify as much with this career-oriented, well-off, divorcee mother of two. some of the travel descriptions were also sort of flat. not a book i am likely to come back to ever, but not a waste of my time either....more
although i liked the book and the author/narrator, i did have a couple of problems. first, i felt absolutely bombarded by metaphors and similies, partalthough i liked the book and the author/narrator, i did have a couple of problems. first, i felt absolutely bombarded by metaphors and similies, particularly relating to car accidents. i didn't have enough time to digest one comparison before i was being asked to swallow another. it was too much. i also had a bit of a disconnect with the dichotomy between tone and reality in this book. there's something about gilbert's style of writing that's very chummy - this is a common and useful memoir style. however, she's not writing about experiences that are available to most people. i wanted her to write a little less like these types of experiences are accessible to all and a little more like these experiences were special privileges. that said, i liked taking this voyage with gilbert and i would love to read her new book when it comes out....more
for the first time in my life, i feel like i've encountered a buddhist evangelist. the description i read of this book just didn't prepare me for how for the first time in my life, i feel like i've encountered a buddhist evangelist. the description i read of this book just didn't prepare me for how overbearingly religious it would be. i might have enjoyed it more if i'd realized in advance. there were some good enough tips in here, but it wasn't particularly helpful for me. oh well....more
this book was somewhere between useful and hokey. i'm glad to have the good bits to reference now, though. the integration of quotes and ideas from acthis book was somewhere between useful and hokey. i'm glad to have the good bits to reference now, though. the integration of quotes and ideas from across disparate cultures and sources was especially nice....more
this was definitely a right-book-at-the-right-moment read for me. i'm having a mini-obsession with the idea of pilgrimage, and i've long been obsessedthis was definitely a right-book-at-the-right-moment read for me. i'm having a mini-obsession with the idea of pilgrimage, and i've long been obsessed with spain, which is why i bought this book at random from amazon. hitt's storytelling style is comfortable, like hanging out at a bar with someone. he's at his best describing people, places, events. although the book would seem odd without his admissions and internal monologue, they're the lease interesting parts. his historical anecdotes are wonderful -- probably because they're the sort of weird, erudite bits that i spew at people without warning. strangely, i never felt close to the author/narrator, but i do feel close to the journey. i could very well look back on my reading in december and decide this is my favorite book of the year. ...more
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