This book was excellent. I listened to the audio book version read by the author, and enjoyed it much more than his other book I just listened to, TheThis book was excellent. I listened to the audio book version read by the author, and enjoyed it much more than his other book I just listened to, The Tipping Point. I listened to most of Outlier on a road trip with rapt attention, I found it so interesting. The basic premise of the book is that there is more than meets the eye to the super successful people or "outliers" in society such as Bill Gates, The Beatles, and elite soccer players and hockey players. I won't say what his reasoning is based on but he makes a convincing case in each example. He also touches on a lot of other subjects such as why math is easier for Asians, why America is falling behind in education, and how a culture's social idiosyncrasies can cause problems in the workplace; the latter was illustrated using stories of airline pilots from different countries.
Highly recommended for anyone with interest in business and biographical books. Now I must go and get my 10,000 hours of practice in on my guitar. ...more
I thought The Tipping Point was OK. I thought the chapters about the success of Sesame Street and how the Ya Ya Sisterhood took off were interesting. I thought The Tipping Point was OK. I thought the chapters about the success of Sesame Street and how the Ya Ya Sisterhood took off were interesting. Some of the trends in the book seemed to be a bit too complex to explain in the simple fashion in which he used. The book reminded me a bit of Freakonomics, but the latter book made more sense to me. I'm going to give Gladwell's book Outliers a try next. ...more
This book killed me. It had me hook, line, and sinker. I could relate my experiences with my own dogs to the main character dog throughout the whole bThis book killed me. It had me hook, line, and sinker. I could relate my experiences with my own dogs to the main character dog throughout the whole book.
Usually when I feel a book is pandering to my emotions I get a little cynical but throughout the book I felt like the dog's stories were realistic. While reading, I often thought of our dog, Rex, who we had for eleven years before he died in 2015. Rex was abused, and tied to a tree and abandoned at a local state park. Once we adopted him, Rex's sole purpose in life was to protect this human mom and dad and two human brothers. He was all business. He watched his humans like a hawk and was ready to jump in the way of a threatening dog and keep and eye on an approaching stranger. Right up until the time it was to go to the vet for that final tearful good-bye, he spent his last minutes laying in the yard keeping tabs on people walking by his house. He couldn't walk well, was pretty much deaf, and his eyesight was failing, but he was still brave, supremely loyal, and never left his watch right up until he left his home for the last time. And he knew he was loved by his family.
Now, we have two new dogs, both adopted this summer. We are slowly establishing that special connection between humans and their dogs, the one that our family enjoyed with our prior three dogs. It is amazing how dogs are locked in to their owners, and how they enjoy our companionship and friendship and grow to know our emotions and moods. I think the book did an excellent job accurately portraying the amazing connection between dog and their humans. With our new dogs, I know the sadness and despair they both went through when they were surrendered by their prior owners and read about similar situations in the book. It all really hit home.
I'd recommend this book to dog lovers and especially owners of rescue dogs, who are giving a second chance to a dog who was rejected and let down by humans. All dogs deserve a loving family and a purpose, and all people deserve to feel the unconditional love and unwavering companionship of a canine best friend. ...more
Excellent book. I really enjoyed the narration by the author, she had a nice voice and there are some parts in the book that are so poetic and nicely Excellent book. I really enjoyed the narration by the author, she had a nice voice and there are some parts in the book that are so poetic and nicely written/narrated that I went back and listened to them twice.
The book is basically about Helen Macdonald's taming and raising of her (awesome) hawk, Mabel. Helen's father dies and she becomes grief-stricken and depressed, and then decides to purchase and raise a hawk like her father did. The book alternates between Helen and Mabel's story and related hawk-rearing stories from author TH White, who wrote a book about raising a goshawk which Helen read when she was young. There are also flashbacks in which Helen recalls stories about her dad.
Hawks are savage hunters and killers and there are some gruesome and unpleasant parts in the book. (Our back yard bird feeders are visited by hawks and I even have a video of a hawk catching and eating a crippled squirrel in our back yard - so I've seen it up close and personal.) The way humans treat hawks and the animals used for hawks' food in the book was a bit cruel at times. There are parts of the TH White story which are odd and depressing.
The main story about the taming of Mabel and Helen's coping with her loss and other personal issues is excellent and worth reading, especially if you are a fan of birds of prey. I may listen to this again someday. Almost five stars.
This book spoke to me. This is a collection of essays by PZ Myers, a biology professor at the U of M - Morris. PZ is a nationally known personality inThis book spoke to me. This is a collection of essays by PZ Myers, a biology professor at the U of M - Morris. PZ is a nationally known personality in the skeptic and atheist circles, and is very active on Twitter and posts regularly on his blog at scienceblogs.pharyngula. He speaks eloquently of evolution and takes down such things as creationism, biblical literalism, intelligent design, and a number of religious-based beliefs. Each essay is interesting and well written. He mixes a lot of humor and wit in to his essays. He pulls no punches, and uses the Richard Dawkins approach rather than the Carl Sagan approach. Highly recommended to any skeptics and athiests. I'm going to read this book again with a highlighter, there are so many good points made that I need to remember. ...more
Excellent book about everything cancer. It covers the history of cancer's treatment and theories of cause going back centuries B.C.E. and runs throughExcellent book about everything cancer. It covers the history of cancer's treatment and theories of cause going back centuries B.C.E. and runs through to current diagnoses and treatments. There are recent (going back 100 years) case studies and Mukherjee mixes in some politics and business in the mix as well. The author really fleshes out the case studies in the book, adding a lot of personal information about each subject which makes each story more interesting and ultimately sadder. As the book neared its end, I had a feeling of hopelessness, but the later chapters covered new treatments and gene therapies which may provide hope of prolonged life for cancer victims. A final case study brought one such new treatment to light with a happy outcome. The book contains plenty of science and medical terminology but it written at a level a lay person can understand.
The part that interested me the most was the cigarette / lung cancer chapter. I remember hearing about this as a kid: the controversy of labeling cigarette cartons, removing TV and magazine ads like the Marlboro man, ending sports teams' sponsorships, etc. I didn't know the extent of the push back from the tobacco industry, and how aggressively they fought these changes and denied the science. How very sad that chapter in American history was.
Pretty much everyone has been touched by cancer in some way and I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn about cancer and the science behind its treatment. I learned a lot. ...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Read the bulk of it in one day on a rainy MN Saturday, and finished it today on my lunch hour. Salinger's writing is so smoI thoroughly enjoyed this. Read the bulk of it in one day on a rainy MN Saturday, and finished it today on my lunch hour. Salinger's writing is so smooth, the words just seemed to flow. The book was was hard to put down. Holden is a serial liar and often times a lout, but I found his sarcasm and wit highly entertaining. I think we all had a friend like this, an underachiever with a quick wit that could talk his way out of anything. Excellent. ...more
Very interesting early PKD. The novel seemed like three novellas which PKD tried to shoehorn together. Separately the three different stories (VenusiaVery interesting early PKD. The novel seemed like three novellas which PKD tried to shoehorn together. Separately the three different stories (Venusians, Jones, interplanetary pollen) were fun to read and interesting, it just didn't seem like they fit together. Still, a good read. ...more
The more I listened the more I wanted to shut it off. Love the science fiction, especially the jumping around via tesseract, but the narration and conThe more I listened the more I wanted to shut it off. Love the science fiction, especially the jumping around via tesseract, but the narration and convoluted story as the end approached wore me down and with thirty minutes to go I just wanted it to be over with.
I might have liked it better had I read it as it seemed like all of Meg's lines were whiny and shrill, and the dimension-jumping ladies/beings electronically-altered voices were irritating after a while. I was surprised that the scientist dad and the alien ladies talked about god and quoted the Bible. I would have been interested to hear the interdimensional / time-and-space-traveling ladies' interpretation of god was, since they traveled to countless other worlds and dealt with other powerful entities in the universe(s). It seemed odd that these seemingly omnipotent beings were quoting a holy book from a small planet in an insignificant solar system in one of the universes.
Oh, well. I gave ti a shot. Maybe this old guy should steer clear of YA going forward, I'm having a bad run in that department. ...more
Typical PKD. Good mind-bending story full of interesting characters and alternate realities. It read very much like a book written in the '70s. Fun reTypical PKD. Good mind-bending story full of interesting characters and alternate realities. It read very much like a book written in the '70s. Fun read. ...more
I just loved this book from start to finish. The chapters alternate between personal stories of the author's life and scientific information about plaI just loved this book from start to finish. The chapters alternate between personal stories of the author's life and scientific information about plants and trees. The chapters about plants and trees usually tackle a single subject (hackberry trees, vines, cactus, etc.) are chock full of up-to-date scientific information and the words flow beautifully like poetry. I went back and listed to some of these chapters twice, they were just so full of great information and insight presented with a love and sensitivity of trees and plants. The information you learn in these chapters will make you look differently at trees and keep you from taking them for granted.
The chapters about Hope's life began with her upbringing in Austin, MN, and carried through to the present day where she works and lives with her family in HI. I found the parts about her time at the University of Minnesota interesting as both we roamed the same halls in the Health Sciences complex and University Hospital, and spent time unwinding at the plaza there, although we probably missed each other by a couple years. Also, she mentioned on Twitter that she spend a lot of time writing on the second floor of Wilson Library, where I lived most nights while studying and writing papers while in business school at the U. I thought the personal chapters were also beautifully written and narrated by the author. Subject matter ranged from her struggles as a woman scientist, the many research trips she took, battling mental illness, meeting her husband, the birth of her son, and, at the end, promising her long-time research partner that she would collect their twenty years of stories in a book.
Highly recommended for fans of earth science, The Lorax, and women of science. ...more
I enjoyed this book. The deepening mystery over the course of the book and gradual reveal in the final chapters the book kept me on the hook for the dI enjoyed this book. The deepening mystery over the course of the book and gradual reveal in the final chapters the book kept me on the hook for the duration. I liked how the mystery was unveiled as the main character recalled suppressed memories from the traumatic events which I wracked my brain trying to figure out the whole time I was listening.
What I didn't like was how the book seemed to slide in to the YA abyss of portraying the adults as irrational antagonists. The adults in this book were petty, pompous, lazy, and entitled. Furthermore, the criminal behavior of the young people to "fix things" was portrayed as almost justified. Ugh. To me, a lot of the book seemed YA formulaic.
Full disclosure: I'm a fan and long time listener of Bob Boilen and his NPR All Songs Considered show/ podcast. I love his knowledge and passion for mFull disclosure: I'm a fan and long time listener of Bob Boilen and his NPR All Songs Considered show/ podcast. I love his knowledge and passion for music and when I heard that he a book I bought it right away. I've pretty much heard of all the artists interviewed in the book and I'm a fan of many of them. The book is chock full of interesting music history, and Bob fills in some of the chapters with his knowledge of the influential songs and artists chosen by the subject artists in each chapter. I especially liked the Jónsi (Sigur Rós), Courtney Barnett, Dave Grohl, and Colin Meloy chapters. Colin Meloy's choice hit close to home as he chose Hüsker Dü's Candy Apple Grey as the album that opened his eyes. Read the book to find out why.
This leads me to the fun part: the song that changed my life. Where I grew up there weren't many choices for music on the radio. You had pop music on WIXX out of Green Bay, hard rock/metal on WAPL out of Appleton, and country western playing on stations everywhere else on the dial it seemed. I was pretty much listening to pop until I started hearing more hard rock at parties I went to and started tuning in to the loud music on WAPL, which at the time played the likes of AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Krokus, Ozzy, Dokken, Tesla, Quiet Riot, Foreigner, Metallica, and others. When I got to college I was all about metal, and went to a number of concerts of the aforementioned bands. When I was a sophomore at the U of M, I started hanging out with a group of kids who were more into alternative rock. One of my friends who knew I was a metal head put in a cassette of one of the bands he liked and wanted me to hear it because he thought I would like it. The cassette was "Candy Apple Grey" by Hüsker Dü, and as soon as the first song, 'Crystal', started screaming through the speakers I knew I was going to like this band. Wow. The song was was an avalanche of noise, with my now favorite artist, Bob Mould, yelling the lyrics and lighting up his guitar as Grant drummed and Greg bounced along on the bass. As the cassette continued, the songs changed drastically from loud to soft to loud, and the vocals changed from Bob and Grant depending on who wrote which song. While 'Crystal' melted faces, the sad, acoustic 'Hardly Getting Over It' put a lump in your throat. It was such and interesting album, with all of its sonic twists and turns; such different styles of music on one cassette. Not long after hearing 'Crystal' and "Candy Apple Grey" I headed down to the record store in the basement of Coffman Union on the U of M campus and bought the other Hüsker Dü cassettes they had in stock. And to this day, I consider Bob Mould my favorite musician as the music on the albums he's made solo (13), with Hüsker Dü (6) and with band Sugar (3) have been the soundtrack to my life since that fateful day when my friend put "Candy Apple Grey" in his car's cassette deck....more
I can't believe I haven't read this before. Listened to the audio book narrated by Selma Blair, who did a nice job as Anne. It was interesting readingI can't believe I haven't read this before. Listened to the audio book narrated by Selma Blair, who did a nice job as Anne. It was interesting reading about Anne's views on politics, women's rights, and the ongoing war updates while she was hiding in the annex. I listened to the latter chapters on a nice stroll through the woods in a local county park and was unprepared for the abrupt ending. Sad. ...more
I loved this. The version of Mary in this book is not the pure, holy Mary I grew up learning about in Catholic school. This is a bitter, recluse Mary,I loved this. The version of Mary in this book is not the pure, holy Mary I grew up learning about in Catholic school. This is a bitter, recluse Mary, who lives alone and was not happy with what her son became in his later years before crucifixion. She didn't believe in his miracles and questions his actions right up until his death. After the crucifixion, she tolerates the disciples only because they look after her and regards them as a bunch of misfits. She is irritated by what they say and write about her son after his death and doesn't believe in his divinity. She wants to remember his life as it really was, not their embellished interpretation of it. This book was a nice contrast to the traditional Easter story currently in full swing. Oh yeah, and it was narrated by Meryl Streep. It doesn't get better than that.
On a related note: I also greatly enjoyed the Oscar-nominated movie based on Tóibín's book Brooklyn, which stars Agatha from The Grand Budapest Hotel as a lonely Irish gal trying to make a life in Brooklyn. ...more
**spoiler alert** I loved parts and hated parts but overall think it was a satisfying end to the trilogy. Much of the audio book was delivered through**spoiler alert** I loved parts and hated parts but overall think it was a satisfying end to the trilogy. Much of the audio book was delivered through stories told by Tobi, who was talking down to the naive, childlike, Crakers and this gradually became annoying. Also, much of the book told through flashbacks which filled in the back stories and connected the main characters of this and the previous books. The primary characters in this book were less interesting than those in the prior two installments, and I found the Crakers to be mostly irritating. I thought the inter-species relations and eventual cooperation was interesting. The part that I found most unbelievable was after our heroes captured the two painballers towards the end of the book. These freaks raped and tortured one of the women in their group, killed some of their friends, tried to kill the rest of them, and were basically homicidal psychopaths laying waste to all humanity in their way, but there was still a debate at the end of the book whether to give them a second chance and allow them in to their gene pool. Seriously. But despite my griping I loved the way the book ended up with a positive outlook for the survivors going forward. Overall, the series was great and I hope the film adaptation does it justice. ...more
An incredible collection of first person monologues, all related to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. I remember this well, and what I did not kAn incredible collection of first person monologues, all related to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. I remember this well, and what I did not know at the time was that as a college kid watching CNN I knew more about what was going on than many of the Russians did. This includes the citizens of Chernobyl and the fireman and military that were some of the first people on the scene.
This was the largest technological disaster in history and it was the result of cutting corners on construction, poor design, a lack of safety measures, incompetent management, and other factors. The people who were ordered to respond were sent in to an incredibly highly radioactive area with little or no protection against radioactivity.
The monologues collected by Svetlana Alexievich were from many types of people affected by the disaster: military personnel, firemen, spouses of those who were sent there, local children, plant workers, teachers, college professors, local environmental and nuclear scientists, and also government personnel, some who were very high ranking.
The comments of the government employees ranged from horror, sorrow, and outrage over Russia's handling of the disaster to Communist Party members defending Russia's handling of it and downplaying the magnitude of it.
The monologues range in length from several paragraphs to several pages and all are incredible stories, most of which are hard to read. The situations described were so sad and dire, and storytelling was very personal. During the monologues, Alexievich inserted the speakers reactions while they talked, such as [Silent. Then cries for a long time] or [She smiles suddenly] which adds a personal touch to the stories.
Many of the stories hit me hard. One I can't forget was spoken to Alexievich by Viktor Verzhikovskiy, chairman of the Khonyniki Society of Volunteer Hunters and Fisherman, and two of his fellow hunters. These local men and others were sent in to "The Zone" after it was abandoned by human inhabitants. The sportsment were ordered to kill all the pets and farm animals which were left behind so that these radioactive animals could not leave the area, breed with other animals, and spread radioactivity. As you would expect, most of the abandoned pets were friendly and happy to see humans again until they realized what was happening. It was extremely hard on the sportsmen to be put in this situation and their description of this awful experience was a tough read.
This book won the Nobel Prize in Literature. I highly recommend it, especially for those who remember when this happened.
I live a few miles from the nuclear plant in my city and canoe past it several times a year. I can't imagine leaving my house and belongings and never being allowed back, or worse yet, receiving a fatal dose of radiation. Technology can be our best friend or our worst enemy. ...more
The second book in the Oryx and Crake trilogy didn't disappoint. The events of this book take place concurrently with those of Oryx and Crake, with thThe second book in the Oryx and Crake trilogy didn't disappoint. The events of this book take place concurrently with those of Oryx and Crake, with the timelines finally converging at the end. Like in the first book, the disturbing dystopian future is the setting, but this book is told through the eyes of two characters from The Garden, the cult-like group we were introduced in Oryx and Crake. Jimmy, Glen, and Oryx make their appearances, and it is interesting to see the other side of Jimmy especially.
I'm glad I "read" the audiobook, the original music sang by The Gardeners was entertaining and well done. A lot of work went in to the production. The narration of this book was fantastic also.
My only complaint about the book is that there seemed to be too many coincidental meetings between some of the characters. I'm not sure how big the city was where this all went down, but it seemed like the same people always seemed to run in to each other. I really liked the book overall. It was dark and disturbing, and the dystopian society is deliciously sinister. Looking forward to the third book, which is downloaded on the iPhone and ready to go....more
I think the subtitle of the book sums the book up pretty well: what going to space taught me about ingenuity, determination, and being prepared for evI think the subtitle of the book sums the book up pretty well: what going to space taught me about ingenuity, determination, and being prepared for everything. The book focuses on these three things in Chris's life as a young astronaut wanna-be through his final stint in space as the Commander of the ISS for five months. I thought the parts which took place in space were the most interesting. I forgot that Chris spent time on the Mir as well as the ISS, and flew on the Space Shuttle and the Soyuz. His description of the Soyuz flights were especially interesting, I can't recall reading any other accounts of Soyuz experiences. I was surprised to read how physically hard life was for Chris after he returned from five months on the ISS. It made me wonder how future Mars astronauts would fare someday. After reading the book I re-watched his Space Oddity video, which he recorded on the ISS. I forgot how great that was. Good stuff. Recommended for fans of space travel. ...more
Excellent YA fiction book about a facially-deformed boy's struggles through his first year of middle school. Narrated mostly by the main character, AuExcellent YA fiction book about a facially-deformed boy's struggles through his first year of middle school. Narrated mostly by the main character, August, with some chapters told from the point of view of friends and family. This book runs you through a gamut of emotions as you watch August go from being a protected home-schooled kid to experiencing the cruel realities of being a new kid in school. According to a twenty-year veteran middle school teacher I know who also read the book, Wonder is a very accurate portrayal of what goes on in a typical middle school. Despite its 320 pages it was a really quick read. While I was reading the book I kept thinking of a quote from one of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut: “Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”...more
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