We'll see how this goes...five minutes in and I've already felt completely disgusted in two totally different ways!
After what seems like FOREVER (it tWe'll see how this goes...five minutes in and I've already felt completely disgusted in two totally different ways!
After what seems like FOREVER (it took me a long time to get through this due to the stereo in my car no longer allowing me to use the aux port, like a JERK, and now I can only listen to my audiobooks at home)...
I still don't really know how I feel about this.
Okay, so, I found the beginning super difficult to get into. Wolfe describes, in detail, what happens to pilots' bodies when they crash, and it is graphic and gratuitous and disgusting. And I'm not really super easily grossed out. This did it though!
There are also a number of descriptions of/comments about women in this book that grossed me out as well.
And I felt like the entire time I was listening to this book, I was trying to figure Tom Wolfe out. I picked this up because I've read so many astronaut autobiographies that list this book (or, I dunno, maybe the movie version) as the inspiration behind this career choice. But Tom Wolfe basically spends the entire time making fun of things and pointing out the ridiculousness and stupidity of the beginnings of the space program and I just couldn't figure out what exactly he was trying to do here, or how people would be inspired by it.
But. I guess it's still sort of entertaining. The whole book (especially as read by Dennis Quaid), feels like hanging out with some obnoxious friend of your grandfather's who fancies himself a great storyteller. You know?
I guess I'm glad I finally read this, and I can't say I entirely hated it, but I also...still just don't really get it....more
I'm pretty obsessed with so many aspects of this book (the polar regions, aviation, survival stories), so I really thought it would be right up my allI'm pretty obsessed with so many aspects of this book (the polar regions, aviation, survival stories), so I really thought it would be right up my alley. And I enjoyed it, but...didn't really love it like I thought I would, and I'm honestly not even totally sure why. Except for maybe I wanted more details about all of those things, and felt like instead a lot of it was a little glossed over.
Part of it is that there are SO MANY NAMES, and I didn't feel like I ever really remembered who was who. I got a much better sense of people from the epilogue, but until then I couldn't have really distinguished among any of them.
I guess this was just one of those books that feels like too much and not enough at the same time, you know? Interesting, and somewhat enjoyable, but not entirely satisfying....more
I started reading this on the airplane last time we flew out to San Diego, so it's taken me awhile to get through it. It consists of a number of essayI started reading this on the airplane last time we flew out to San Diego, so it's taken me awhile to get through it. It consists of a number of essays about flight, and partly I found it really interesting and beautifully written, while partly I feel like Langewiesche has a tendency to go on longer than necessary, and I almost always found myself losing interest before he got to the end of each essay. But I mostly enjoyed this, and would be interested in trying a full-length book of his at some point....more
Excellent, extensively researched biography of a forgotten great--Wilkins was a visionary and a total badass! If you have an interest in the history oExcellent, extensively researched biography of a forgotten great--Wilkins was a visionary and a total badass! If you have an interest in the history of exploration, especially in the polar regions, this is your guy. If you have an interest in war photography, climate studies, submarines, or aviation, he's also your guy. And if you have an interest in weird religions and ESP? Guess what! Totally your guy as well!
This book is super interesting, covering all 1,000 (approximate) of Wilkins's narrow escapes from death and expeditions taken and obsessions obsessed over decades too soon. Excessively modest, scientifically minded, and somehow able to make a 29-year marriage work without both parties being in the same place for more than two months at a time for most of it, I just find him very, very fascinating. In the super dorky shrine to polar explorers that exists only in my head (for now!), his portrait is going up right there alongside the big names.
Highly recommended for polar exploration/aviation nerds like myself!...more
I always think I won't like this as much as I did when I first read it as a kid, especially once the little prince's annoying rose is introduced, but I always think I won't like this as much as I did when I first read it as a kid, especially once the little prince's annoying rose is introduced, but every time I'm surprised. Anyway, this is a great audio version, and I very much enjoyed revisiting it--I don't think I'd read it since high school!...more
So, a number of things made me pick this book up. First of all, the cover--gorgeous! And then there's the aviation aspect, and the mentions I saw of iSo, a number of things made me pick this book up. First of all, the cover--gorgeous! And then there's the aviation aspect, and the mentions I saw of it being compared with The Book Thief in that Death and Love are personified. But I was still kind of prepared to be disappointed.
Anyway, you can probably tell from my rating that I was not. In fact, I loved it to death (HA)! That's a super flippant (and dumb, really, I'm sorry) sentence, but the fact is, I totally bawled my eyes out and feel like going off and reading a bunch of fan fiction about Love and Death, which is so ridiculous I don't even know why I'm saying that out loud.
When I first started this, I didn't think it was as good as Code Name Verity. I had a harder time connecting with Rose at first, and the story starts When I first started this, I didn't think it was as good as Code Name Verity. I had a harder time connecting with Rose at first, and the story starts out...kind of quietly, even though something terrible has just happened to a fellow pilot and it's all going on in the middle of World War II. Also, I'm not a huge fan of poetry in general, and so I read the poems in the beginning of Rose's story thinking, "blah, blah, boring."
And then, God, Ravensbrück.
I had to walk away from this several times because of the heartbreak and the horror of it. I was just in tears. I grew to love Rose and her small family of Rabbits, I really did, and it just gutted me when... Okay, spoilers, but it's a book about a concentration camp, and not everyone makes it out. Even now I'm starting to cry about it all over again.
And the same poems that I found so boring at the start of the book I found anything but by the end.
I think this one is even better than Code Name Verity, but for different reasons. In Verity, I think it's the unexpected twists and the unique way in which Julie's story is told that make it so compelling. In Rose Under Fire, I think it's the truth shining through the fiction instead--the terrifyingly awful, painfully beautiful truth.
Definitely one of my very favorites of this year....more
I bumped into this while shelving in the YA section at the library and since I loved Beryl Markham's memoir West with the Night, I felt like I kind ofI bumped into this while shelving in the YA section at the library and since I loved Beryl Markham's memoir West with the Night, I felt like I kind of had to check out this fictionalized account of her childhood in Kenya (then British East Africa) in the early 1900s. I thought it was interesting how MacColl interspersed a piece of Markham's adult life (as an aviator attempting to fly East to West from England to New York in 1936) with her younger days. While I found MacColl's vision of Beryl fairly well written and believable, I also found her to be kind of an obnoxious brat, so at times I had a hard time sympathizing with her. Still, I enjoyed this story about a pretty fascinating individual....more
Admiral Byrd's story is an amazing one--every bit as thrilling as the stories of Scott's or Shackleton's expeditions. This pretty much reads like an aAdmiral Byrd's story is an amazing one--every bit as thrilling as the stories of Scott's or Shackleton's expeditions. This pretty much reads like an adventure novel. While I kind of think Rink went a little overboard at times with the dramatic language (and unfortunately misused the word "literally" waaaaay too often for my taste), he's done a great job here of presenting Byrd's story in a way that will appeal to kids. The audiobook narration was pretty great as well--Jay Snyder sounds a lot like James Callis to me, so I kept imagining Baltar from Battlestar Galactica or Dr. Grant from Eureka was reading it to me--ha!
Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to reading about Byrd's experiences in his own words very soon....more
Pretty cool book about flying--definitely more technical than most picture books on the subject, so good for slightly older kids. At times the order iPretty cool book about flying--definitely more technical than most picture books on the subject, so good for slightly older kids. At times the order in which the dialogue should be read is a little confusing, and I found the ending a little abrupt, but over all a nice, over-sized book for young, would-be aviators....more
Guess I'm in a graphic novel mood today! Anyway, I've been meaning to read this for ages. I think I first heard of this series right when the third voGuess I'm in a graphic novel mood today! Anyway, I've been meaning to read this for ages. I think I first heard of this series right when the third volume came out like 8 or 9 years ago, but for whatever reason I completely forgot about it until the other day. I might still try later volumes to see if it's improved, because I like the idea of different comic artists all telling stories based around the them of flight a lot. I think the main problem for me is the short story aspect of this collection though--I suppose short stories in graphic form don't in general work any better for me than they do in written form; there was really only one in this book that resonated with me at all (Paper & String by Jen Wang). But! I'm definitely interested in checking out other full-length comics by a number of the artists included here and I bet I'll enjoy them a lot more than I did these....more
Lovely book about Amelia Earhart's solo flight across the Atlantic, showcasing all the drama and freedom and beauty of flight as well as the importancLovely book about Amelia Earhart's solo flight across the Atlantic, showcasing all the drama and freedom and beauty of flight as well as the importance of Earhart's achievement. The illustrations are really well done, and at the end there's a section with more information about Earhart's life. ...more
Interesting story of Charles Lindberg's solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927. The text is great, but I really wasn't a big fan of the illustrationsInteresting story of Charles Lindberg's solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927. The text is great, but I really wasn't a big fan of the illustrations in this one. Definitely worth a read for kids interested in flight, though....more
So yeah, I liked this book. It took me a long time to get used to the way it's written, and I never really was crazy about the styleUghhhh, Jasper!!!
So yeah, I liked this book. It took me a long time to get used to the way it's written, and I never really was crazy about the style, but it worked well enough for me. What I really loved was Hig's relationships with Jasper, Bangley, and Pops, as well as with the Mennonite village. And the parts about flying. At times it's really beautiful, and at other times it's really sad and disturbing; I think it's a story that will stay in my head for awhile.
Anyway, I'll definitely keep working my way through Heller's other books!...more
While there were definitely parts of this book that I had trouble with, for the most part I really, really enjoyed it, and there were so many things IWhile there were definitely parts of this book that I had trouble with, for the most part I really, really enjoyed it, and there were so many things I absolutely loved about it--the aviation aspect, the fact that it's about best friends instead of romance, the way the story is told, and how that story changes and yet stays the same over the course of the book... All that just really worked for me. I can see myself reading this again at some point, perhaps several times. I'm glad I finally got around to giving it a try!...more
So, so great! I loved this one a lot, and had a hard time at night putting it down so I could go to sleep. And omg, the shit conversation between RinkSo, so great! I loved this one a lot, and had a hard time at night putting it down so I could go to sleep. And omg, the shit conversation between Rinker and his dad made me laugh SO HARD. And that damned waterbag! I love that it's not just an aviation adventure story, but it's also a story about growing up and about family, and the writing is fantastic. Highly recommended for folks who are into aviation yarns or memoirs. I'm so glad I finally read this, since it's been sitting on my shelf for five years or so now!...more
Loading...
