I had a hold on this book at the library for so long that I forget what made me add it to my list. Probably some round-up of the best graphic novels. I had a hold on this book at the library for so long that I forget what made me add it to my list. Probably some round-up of the best graphic novels.
I expected it to be grisly, to be read through your hands over your face, but it isn't. It only treats Dahmer's life in junior high and high school, up to his first murder, as seen through the eyes of a classmate. Backderf wasn't exactly friends with Dahmer, but they hung out a lot. His crowd is fascinated and amused by Dahmer, who plays up a freakish persona, but as Dahmer becomes more obviously drunk and tormented, even their nerdy crowd rejects him. Backderf synchronizes his own memories with details of Dahmer's life culled from interviews and FBI files. Backderf's final days of high school, filled with valedictory outings with friends and his family's preparing to send him off to college, are bitterly contrasted with Dahmer's experience of those same weeks, during which his mother abandons him and he kills his first victim.
The book is eerie, because of the normal-seeming ambiance portrayed--normal, at least, by the weirder, woolier standards of the 1970s--and because the author seems so convinced that Dahmer could have been steered off the path he was on, either by an attentive adult or by suicide. These are weird things to think about a high school pal, which the narration and artwork deftly and concisely highlight. This is not a pleasant read, but the author's presentation of his personal experience of this story is accomplished....more
I probably shouldn't live in Texas, right? Jenny Lawson is like the deranged love child of David Sedaris and Mary Karr, although the Sedaris comparisoI probably shouldn't live in Texas, right? Jenny Lawson is like the deranged love child of David Sedaris and Mary Karr, although the Sedaris comparison gives her more credit for subtlety than she deserves and Lawson's family seems more loving and cheerful than Karr's. To me, Lawson takes every joke two steps too far, but I suspect that's what other people like about her. I got this as a Kindle Daily Deal for $2 and read it on an airplane, which seemed to be the right amount of effort for something that is itself so casual.
Recommended: Again to Allison and for the same reasons as the last one....more
This detective thriller combined a plot that was surprising and generally plausible, with some sharp writing. "The porch railing needed a paint job...This detective thriller combined a plot that was surprising and generally plausible, with some sharp writing. "The porch railing needed a paint job... Every time one of us leaned on it, the chipped, sun-baked paint crackled under our forearms like logs in a fire." The plausibility may have dropped off at the end, but apparently in the cause of an interesting philosophical conundrum. Overall, this was a solid step more sophisticated than most efforts in the genre....more
"Bunch of Amateurs"--great title--kind of makes the opposite point from Idiot America. That book identifies cranks as derailers of serious discourse w"Bunch of Amateurs"--great title--kind of makes the opposite point from Idiot America. That book identifies cranks as derailers of serious discourse who damage America. This one identifies amateurs, even when they're a bit nutty, as "the soul of America"--curious and industrious people who won't kowtow to the establishment.
I'm predisposed to like the argument of the present book more, but this treatment is all over the place. I echo the reviews that wonder what some of the chapters actually have to do with the main theme. When he stays on track, this author is pointed and at times quite funny. I particularly liked the beginning bit about John Adams and Benjamin Franklin in Paris--"Franklin thought Adams was an officious prick. Adams thought Franklin was a decadent blowhard." I also liked how he concluded with a story about one of Franklin's biographers, which mirrors the opening and is a good story on its own.
In between, though, there are sections that meander too far into discussing archaeology or astronomy, as opposed to the role of passionate amateurs in those fields. Maybe this is just exhibit 8000 in making the case that magazine writers don't necessarily pull off full-length books....more
I'm a big Eleanor of Aquitaine fan* and was intrigued to read a story about the younger generation, the children of Eleanor, Henry, and Louis. In the I'm a big Eleanor of Aquitaine fan* and was intrigued to read a story about the younger generation, the children of Eleanor, Henry, and Louis. In the end, though, I felt this book was undermined by a thousand cuts of historical inaccuracy. The 12th century characters keeps breaking into 20th century high-school French; they bathe all the time and dress in fabrics that weren't available until hundreds of years later; they nosh on salad and dab their lips with white-linen "serviettes." The main character has a hobby of sketching, as if people would have allowed sheets of parchment to be casually drawn on out of boredom--by a woman.
If you can ignore this kind of thing, this is a three-star effort, with a plot somewhat reminiscent of The Other Boleyn Girl.
*There should be a word for us. Eleanoristas?...more
Now that I'm back in public libraries, I'm looking to try some books outside my usual favorite genres. Some of the areas I was curious about were romaNow that I'm back in public libraries, I'm looking to try some books outside my usual favorite genres. Some of the areas I was curious about were romance, sports, and novels published by "urban fiction" imprints. I was very satisfied to find Love on the Run on PW's list of the best romance books of 2012, because it's a romance, published by , featuring a star sprinter named Shayna who falls in love with her ambitious manager, Michael. Their romance is kindled as her career as a celebrity endorser takes off, but Shayna's ex-boyfriend Jarrell refuses to move on in ways that are sometimes irritating, sometimes creepy.
Like other romances I've encountered, this book features a lot of scenery that's aspirational: private jets and chefs; lavish dinners; and a honeymoon yacht (that no one seems to be sailing, so good luck with that). Not only is Michael rich and powerful, he also comes from a family of winners, with a successful doctor for a brother, a devoted mother, and a father who was an involved role model up until his death. Shayna, by contrast, was raised largely by her grandmother, while her flighty mother pursued various romances of her own.
Indeed the exploration of Shayna's family is the part of this book that feels least templated. I liked the portrayal of Shayna's grandmother, and the revelations about their family were surprising, although this plotline seemed to get somewhat short shrift in order to get back to talking about crab cakes and shoes and limousines. Shayna's mother, Beverley, is simply not much of a mother--not only does she not guide or encourage her daughter, she also behaves selfishly towards her. As the book opens, Beverley has married Shayna's ex-boyfriend Jarrell's older brother Larsen. This is somewhat embarrassing to Shayna, and it means that Shayna can't get away from (step-uncle?) Jarrell when they break up. Even after Jarrell (somewhat ambiguously) physically hurts Shayna, Beverley helps him in his machinations to get her back.
I was troubled by Jarrell, whom I found more villainous than the author seems to have intended. In the end, he leaves Shayna alone because he has a new partner. But why not leave Shayna alone because she told him to and it's her life? Neither Jarrell nor Beverley has a moment of actually respecting Shayna as the ultimate arbiter of her own body, future, and happiness, so I felt that this was unresolved, even if the author treats it as settled when Shayna and Michael marry.
As this is a contemporary romance book, it had a handful of steamy sex scenes, none of which were bad, though some of the synonyms used are pretty silly. In fact, silly is the word I'd choose to describe the sex scenes in general, which feel unconnected with the larger plot. Instead, they are connected with the characters' world of luxury. For example, when Shayna first visits Michael's well-appointed home, we hear about her "pulsating punnanny"--and she's just sitting on the sofa! (Memo to self: new sofa?) Their attraction seems to stem, not from some sense of love and understanding, but from their sheer physical attractiveness and being turned on by molten chocolate cake or whatever.
When I read random books like this, I don't know how to rate them. This novel did make me rather impatient to move on, but I do think it goes beyond the standards of the genre in terms of making the secondary characters and plotlines detailed....more
This book has been compared to Bossypants, but I think parts of it are more like the work of Chelsea Handler. I liked these essays well enough, and goThis book has been compared to Bossypants, but I think parts of it are more like the work of Chelsea Handler. I liked these essays well enough, and goodness knows it's a quick read. There are a few incisive passages about feminism--specifically, not putting up with bullshit that men do not put up with--that are quite good and have already been extensively quoted by everyone else.
I actually wish this were more of a straight-up memoir, though. The author seems to be almost exactly my age, but grew up poor in England and moved to London alone as a teenaged music journalist. I found everything that happened to her before age 25 more interesting and would happily have read a whole book about that, as opposed to the adult Moran going to clubs with Lady Gaga and whatnot.
Recommended for: Allison, but not until after January because there is a lurid childbirth scene and also because this is a book that can easily be read in five-minute increments, so you should save it up!...more
It's really embarrassing that I read this, but I wanted to try out the Kindle Lending Library and this was the only recognizable title I hadn't alreadIt's really embarrassing that I read this, but I wanted to try out the Kindle Lending Library and this was the only recognizable title I hadn't already read. I can see why this book was such a bestseller, because it is actually insightful. It also takes about five minutes to read. The author's idea is so obvious once he's expressed it that all the chapters after the first one feel rather superfluous....more
Parts of this book made me a little bored and impatient (it arrived from the library too soon after its predecessor. (The books in this series were orParts of this book made me a little bored and impatient (it arrived from the library too soon after its predecessor. (The books in this series were originally published many years apart and, like the 7-Up film series, shouldn't be consumed back to back due to recapping that begins to feel redundant.) Still, the last third or so had some good surprises. Sooner or later I'll look into this author's Jane Whitefield series....more
I've been a re-reader all my life--because some books feel like places I enjoy revisiting, or maybe I think I've changed since I first read them--but I've been a re-reader all my life--because some books feel like places I enjoy revisiting, or maybe I think I've changed since I first read them--but no re-reading experience has ever compared to re-reading Spillover nine years later in the middle of a pandemic caused by a zoonosis.
This book is why, when I first heard the idea that covid-19 could have passed from a bat to a pangolin that was butchered by a human, I thought "Well, that makes sense." The book contains sections that use different diseases to make different points about zoonoses, and one of them is what Quammen here calls SARS-CoV, now known as SARS-CoV-1. His analysis of what allowed doctors and public health officials stop it before it became a full-blown pandemic is a chilling foreshadowing of the qualities of SARS-CoV-2. There's also a scene in China where Quammen accompanies an international group of researchers to trap bats and test them for coronaviruses--terrifying in retrospect because they don't wear PPE, reasoning that the risk is similar to riding in a cab without a seatbelt.
I stand by my original review except for the part at the end about humans being smart. Quammen actually qualifies this by discussing that humans are, well, pretty variable and not all of us would take the actions that would prevent a future pandemic. You can say that again.
Upgraded from 4 to 5 stars because this book did turn out to change my outlook permanently after all!
Original review:
This book is about zoonoses--illnesses that spread from animals to people. It describes the typical process: the virus or bacteria lives, long-term and harmlessly, in a reservoir species. When it infects an amplifier species, it can spread more quickly to humans. For example, the Hendra virus has its reservoir in flying foxes (large Australian bats), but when it infects horses, it can spread to people, who are in much closer contact with their sick horses than with bats.
Not only are zoonoses threatening because new ones can appear unexpectedly (like SARS or HIV), they are also essentially impossible to eradicate, unlike (say) polio, which is only found in humans, whom you can vaccinate. Bats come off rather badly in this book. In the past, I've learned that you should like them because they eat harmful insects. It turns out that they are the source of all sorts of nasty bugs, in the virus sense of the word.
Quammen writes quite a bit about his travels to research the book, or how one scientist introduces him to another. Not only does this give the book a bit of a travelogue feeling, it also acknowledges the essential contributions of the people who tranquilize angry macaques or go out in the middle of the night to rig up bat nets--without which none of the science would have happened. His style is vivid and entertaining, though there's one passage in the chapter about HIV/AIDS that is strangely novelistic. Not bad, just incongruous and unnecessary.
Nothing in this book will make you change your behavior, unless you are remiss about handwashing or routinely eat things bats have shat on. At the end the author emphasizes: "The purpose of this book is not to make you more worried. The purpose of this book is to make you more smart. That's what most distinguishes humans from, say, tent caterpillars and gypsy moths. Unlike them, we can be pretty smart." I didn't find this book particularly scary--just informative--so don't avoid it just on those grounds.
To the extent it contains a call to action, the book reminds us that human pressure on ecological systems creates havoc. A relatively short section deals with Lyme disease and reveals the startling conclusion that Lyme flourishes in isolated areas. Think the islands in a parking lot rather than a forest. It's where we come in contact with ecologies that we've disrupted that we find zoonoses.
P.S. Bonus points for sending me to the dictionary: "." P.P.S. Further bonus points for this sentence, even if the sentiment isn't new: "[A]nyone who favors Intelligent Design in lieu of evolution might pause to wonder why God devoted so much of His intelligence to designing malarial parasites."...more
I grabbed this from the library to review some stuff on intervals, chords, etc. What it highlighted for me was that my elementary school had an amazinI grabbed this from the library to review some stuff on intervals, chords, etc. What it highlighted for me was that my elementary school had an amazing music program, because there's very little in this book I hadn't learned by 5th grade. (And that was stuff specific to jazz and rock music or instruments I've never played.)
The book helped me un-forget some valuable details, but I don't know how useful it would be for an actual novice. It races through topics in a way that might be just bewildering if the material were new to the reader....more
Although this novel of espionage in WWII-era Egypt is not short, the plot is rather slight. Follett seems to operate on two totally different scales, Although this novel of espionage in WWII-era Egypt is not short, the plot is rather slight. Follett seems to operate on two totally different scales, huge epic and little episode, and this is a little episode. I didn't mind that, exactly, but I was a little surprised that so little complication had been introduced into the plot before it entered what was obviously the final chase. The setting in Cairo is particularly effective and reminded me of the off-the-beaten-path milieux that make me like Alan Furst so much. ...more
A review of Grisham's latest reminded me that I'd never read anything by this author. The first half of the novel annoyed me. Yes, Grisham is setting A review of Grisham's latest reminded me that I'd never read anything by this author. The first half of the novel annoyed me. Yes, Grisham is setting up the sexist and homophobic characters as bad guys, but I didn't feel that he was distancing himself enough from those attitudes (that it is awesome for a professor to date a student, that it's inherent embarrassing to be gay, etc.), and it got under my skin. Amazingly, in this dispiriting election season, this book managed to make me happy to be in 2012 rather than in 1992, the year it was published.
But the second half of the novel is a great adventure and the good guys win. There's an interesting structure where one character unravels the mystery quite early on, but it's only slowly revealed to us while she tries to escape her opponents and publicize their misdeeds. The book ended on a fairly high note so I'd read another by Grisham--recommendations welcome....more
I made the mistake of picking this up before seeing Clara's review (which you should read because she's an expert). The book is somewhat outdated. SinI made the mistake of picking this up before seeing Clara's review (which you should read because she's an expert). The book is somewhat outdated. Since it clearly predates the 2008 election, there's no discussion of Obamacare, its achievements, or its compromises. As a simple exposition of the downsides of overtreatment in our medical system, it would best be read by someone who's skeptical of the idea and wants as much treatment as they can get. As a member of the choir, I found that this book's preaching went on longer than I needed....more
Years ago, I decided that I wanted to see all of the extant Brueghel paintings--a fun project that has led me to visit some places I otherwise wouldn'Years ago, I decided that I wanted to see all of the extant Brueghel paintings--a fun project that has led me to visit some places I otherwise wouldn't have. Online, I've met people who are trying to do the same thing with Vermeer, but nobody new is signing on for that, even though Vermeer has fewer known works, because one of them was and no one knows if it will ever be seen again.
This book eventually gets to that case, but it tells many other stories along the way. FBI agent Wittman worked not just on stolen paintings but also on looted artifacts and misappropriated cultural treasures. He often worked undercover, and his stories of duping greedy thieves in seedy hotel rooms are very satisfying. Not only do the good guys win, but art is returned to be appreciated by the public.
The writing here is workmanlike (Wittman enlisted a journalist as cowriter) but I didn't mind because the tales are so good. The backstory on Wittman's childhood is reasonably interesting and not drawn out. He also tells about how he went to trial for drunk-driving/manslaughter (and was acquitted) after a car accident that killed his good friend and FBI partner. This isn't particularly relevant to the art theft theme, but I think he had to address it since it dwarfs the rest of his career in the public record, and the authors do make an attempt to tie it to his approach as an FBI agent.
The book concludes with Wittman's effort to recover the Gardner paintings. If you follow the art world, you know he didn't succeed, because you would have heard about it. But he comes tantalizingly close and is apparently in contact with a syndicate that possesses the art. Then bureaucratic turf wars get in the way and the criminals shimmy out of the net. This part of the book is heavy-handed--there's a guy in Boston who comes off particularly badly and would probably want to issue a rebuttal--but having had no idea that there were any leads at all, I devoured the last fifty pages of this book. ...more
This biography immediately reminded me of why I liked this author so much in high school. There's a lot of serious information and context here, but iThis biography immediately reminded me of why I liked this author so much in high school. There's a lot of serious information and context here, but it reads quickly and the people all come through as colorful and motivated. The first half of the book--describing the arrival of an unpromising minor German princess at the Russian court, her conversion to Orthodoxy and renaming, her marriage to the childish Peter, and the pressure on her to conceive an heir--is more direct and absorbing. The second half of the book, which deals with her actual reign as Empress after deposing Peter, isn't as well organized. Massie tells some parts of the story chronologically, but other themes (like Catherine's lovers and art collection) are given their own chapters, which leads to some redundant sections and jumping around in time.
Massie's account makes me wonder if anyone has ever written an analysis comparing the careers of Catherine and Marie Antoinette, contemporaries who both coped with being married off into ornate, hostile foreign courts; husbands who were at once contemptible and dismissive; and awkward public pressure to conceive, when in both cases, it was actually the husband who was incapable. Catherine turned this into a historic career filled with political and military success and patronage of the arts; Marie Antoinette's life ended at the guillotine. It would be interesting to explore not just the differences in their characters, but also the differences between their countries at that time, in terms of political systems, economies, and readiness to overthrow the monarchy. ...more
I found the message of this book so exciting that it will be hard to review it qua book. It reads a bit like the disappointing memoir Remembering SmelI found the message of this book so exciting that it will be hard to review it qua book. It reads a bit like the disappointing memoir Remembering Smell, and I had already read the 2006 New Yorker article, , which made me wonder about my vision. The book, which goes into much more detail, leaves me as convinced as a book (rather than a medical exam) could, that I do have this problem and that it is correctable.
The two conditions discussed in the book are strabismus (cross-eyedness) and amblyopia (lazy-eye), both of which I suffer from, although not to an extent that most people could notice by looking at my face. I've often thought that I don't have good depth perception--anyone who's tried to play tennis with me would concur. Barry spends a good bit of the book explaining to people with stereoscopic vision what it is like not to have it, and devotes less attention to describing stereoscopic vision to those who don't have it. Not only did these contrasting descriptions leave me thinking that, while I may have adapted to guessing distance, I can't actually see depth, but Barry's story also made me wonder about other symptoms. For example, she talks about how she hates driving. Anyone who knows me in person knows that I've consistently arranged my lifestyle to avoid driving and that I particularly dislike driving at high speed or in unfamiliar places--it makes me anxious, although I am not an anxious person in general. It's never occurred to me that I might not like it because I just can't see well enough to process all the information and react appropriately.
The amazing thing about the author's recovery is that most of the therapy was accomplished by the most low-tech means imaginable, such as computer printouts taped to a wall or beads hung on a string, which she had to focus on in different ways. The book also has an intriguing message about the pliability of the adult brain.
The takeaway for me: the link to the website for doctors who can perform vision therapy....more
This feels like the most implausible John Wells novel yet, but is prefaced by a lengthy disclaimer about how it portrays a fictionalized version of thThis feels like the most implausible John Wells novel yet, but is prefaced by a lengthy disclaimer about how it portrays a fictionalized version of the House of Saud, so maybe Berenson knows a lot more than I think. Certainly the theme of a kidnapped ambassador--unheard of when the book came out in 2011--seems more topical now.
As usual, I found this an absorbing read, but I was a bit frustrated by the reintroduction of the character of Gaffan as Wells's partner on the missions covered by this book. I liked the exploration of Wells trying to work with someone rather than as a lone wolf, but I don't think Gaffan had been seen since the third book and I couldn't remember much about his background, appearance, manner, etc. I think Berenson could have done a better job of bringing the reader up to speed about this character, since he manages to recap other aspects of the story like Wells's and Shafer's turf war with Duto....more
This was a quick, engrossing read, in which the author's adventures investigating the story play a major part, Ã la Susan Orlean's "Orchid Thief." We This was a quick, engrossing read, in which the author's adventures investigating the story play a major part, Ã la Susan Orlean's "Orchid Thief." We get a tour through high, low, and weird points of psychiatry, such as a Canadian prison that experimented with nude, inmate-led, LSD-fueled psychotherapy in the 1960s. There are chapters that feel a bit off-topic, but I enjoyed the author's voice and was happy to follow along.
The most piquant observation is followed up in some other books that I may look up: the idea that 1% of the population consists of psychopaths who lack normal empathy; some experts viewing their brain scans even refuse to believe they're real human brain scans. Further, these psychopaths often rise to high positions in society and have significant effects on other people's lives, even when they're CEOs, not murderers. The idea that a category of people with totally different cognition--rather than, say, a vengeful God, or immoral secularists, or fate, or whoever--is responsible for bad things happening to good people is certainly a novel one to me....more
This book has suffered from unfavorable comparisons to the work of David Sedaris, but I don't think it has quite the same aims. Sedaris will write aboThis book has suffered from unfavorable comparisons to the work of David Sedaris, but I don't think it has quite the same aims. Sedaris will write about anything, if he thinks it's funny. Rakoff is more of an essayist or reporter, who happens to be funny sometimes. So he gets deployed to write about the Log Cabin Republicans or plastic surgeons or whatever, and the result is droll, but it's not a comedy piece per se.
This volume clearly dates to the first George W. Bush administration, which makes it feel a bit out-of-touch. That's also not a period I'm necessarily keen to revisit. In one post-9/11 essay, Rakoff amusingly pans the show "Puppetry of the Penis" (one of a whole series of gimmicky productions I never bothered with, cf. "Stomp," "Blue Man Group"), then reminisces about waiting with a crowd of strangers trying to get a newspaper on the morning of 9/12. One woman refuses to allow him to make a call on her cell, and he feels reassured by her familiar "cuntiness." Does 9/11 put us in touch with the better angels or our nature, or does it harden us in our nasty New Yorker habits? In this essay, both.
I liked hearing Rakoff on the radio and I remember liking his piece about being an editorial assistant (which I think appears in "Fraud"). Also, Rakoff's last book, "Half Empty," won the Thurber prize. "Don't Get Too Comfortable" was an okay one-day read, but if you're looking to read something by this author, I'd recommend one of his other books....more
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