I've checked this out of the library enough times this year and read enough of it that I think it finally counts. I should probably get my own copy. RI've checked this out of the library enough times this year and read enough of it that I think it finally counts. I should probably get my own copy. Reading this is like finding a person on Goodreads who writes long, engaging reviews ....more
Wow, if you...meaning me...think you know a lot about Mexican food in general and in Los Angeles in particular, think again. But after reading this niWow, if you...meaning me...think you know a lot about Mexican food in general and in Los Angeles in particular, think again. But after reading this nifty book you'll know quite a lot more....more
This isn't a book, it's just notes on a trip Joan Didion took to the south in 1970 for a book or article she never wrote. Some of it is intriguing, soThis isn't a book, it's just notes on a trip Joan Didion took to the south in 1970 for a book or article she never wrote. Some of it is intriguing, some sounds like every other thing written about the rural south, some is sort of boring. Not really worth publishing as a book, I don't think....more
I'm compromising on the rating here because it was a well written, insightful book but I certainly didn't enjoy it. Took me three weeks to read becausI'm compromising on the rating here because it was a well written, insightful book but I certainly didn't enjoy it. Took me three weeks to read because I could only take a little bit at a time. It's not about the entire 2011 Japaneses earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown, just a narrow focus on one town and the lost students in a grammar school. Sad sad sad....more
I expected to like this more than I did, it sounded right up my alley. And it was okay, hence the rating. Mainly it was just too long. It would have mI expected to like this more than I did, it sounded right up my alley. And it was okay, hence the rating. Mainly it was just too long. It would have made a great article in a history magazine. But there was too much technical stuff about font creation,etc., too much detail about the author herself. And then she tries way too hard to create dramatic suspense at the prospect of uncovering information about people who were alive in the 1940s. If it was the 1540s, sure, but it just wasn't that long ago and I would expect that the information would be available if anyone looked long and hard enough. So I wasn't blown away with wonderment like I was obviously supposed to be. Like the MYSTERY of HOW ON EARTH letters written in France ended up in antique store in MINNESOTA which is like, way far away from France! Answer: the seller bought them in France. (Hope that wasn't too big a spoiler.)...more
This was fun for any nerd type who likes charts and graphs and totally pointless statistics (although it was sad to see that best sellers have gotten This was fun for any nerd type who likes charts and graphs and totally pointless statistics (although it was sad to see that best sellers have gotten steadily "dumber" in the last fifty years, it didn't surprise me much)....more
3.5. I've had this book for a long time and just realized I'd never read it. For a book that covers so much territory it was quite quick and easy. A g3.5. I've had this book for a long time and just realized I'd never read it. For a book that covers so much territory it was quite quick and easy. A good review, and for anyone just beginning to study art it would be an excellent book to start with. It even has charts to help keep tract of artists that you might get confused at first....more
I'll give this the same rating I gave Jeff Ashton's book about prosecuting Casey Anthony. I watched the trial, and I thought Casey was guilty, but theI'll give this the same rating I gave Jeff Ashton's book about prosecuting Casey Anthony. I watched the trial, and I thought Casey was guilty, but there was always something slightly off about the state's story, never quite made sense to me. I understand why the jury found reasonable doubt. This book did give me some insights that I had never been aware of before, and actually the theory that she drowned accidentally does make more sense than that Casey committed premeditated murder of that beautiful little girl by duct tape and chloroform just so she could go out and party. Obviously Casey has some serious mental issues, yet the psychiatric reports said she was free of mental illness, so maybe she had been just completely messed up by her father. She certainly isn't stupid and should have been perfectly capable of holding a job and living a normal life. If the drowning story is true, still nothing makes sense about why the body was hidden unless George and Casey really were just so afraid of the wrath of Cindy that they had to pretend there was a kidnapping and murder instead of them being responsible by neglecting to watch Caylee. And in their grief and panic they failed to actually come up with a cohesive story, Casey made it up by the seat of her pants as she went along.
Another thing I really didn't think about with this case and that this book points out, is just how much influence the media DID have with making out Casey to be a monster. I realized that I had allowed myself to be manipulated as well.
The writing here was a bit sloppy, but one doesn't read this sort of thing for it's literary merit, so that doesn't bother me so much. Jose Baez comes off as pretty much of an egomaniac, but then Jeff Ashton is too, so it's no wonder they hated each other, that was very apparent during the trial.
One of those frustrating stories like Jon Benet Ramsey where you wish they could just shoot the participants full of sodium pentathol and lash them to a polygraph....more
Not as interesting as I had hoped. This is mainly just biographical sketches of the eight artists. He does of course, emphasize the times each pair's Not as interesting as I had hoped. This is mainly just biographical sketches of the eight artists. He does of course, emphasize the times each pair's lives intersected with each other, but that didn't seem to be the main focus, as it sounds like it would be. I did learn a bit about those artists I had never read a lot about before, like Freud, Bacon and de Kooning. (this is no doubt because I'm not a huge fan of those three painters) But artists are usually weird people and it's always interesting to read about them.
(this is yet another art book with hardly any pictures in it, so be prepared to Google. Not even any photos of the artists themselves)...more
This was pretty bad. I remembered this crime, the girl who was murdered in the Hollywood Hills the night she was suppose to have had a date with AshtoThis was pretty bad. I remembered this crime, the girl who was murdered in the Hollywood Hills the night she was suppose to have had a date with Ashton Kutcher. I thought that he either was the murderer or he was an idiot..he said he went to pick up her and she did not answer the door although her car was in the driveway, the lights were on and there was red liquid stain in the hallway he could see through the window. Way to put two and two together, Ashton. But this was written by the victim's childhood "friend" and it is just so annoying. It is an egregious display of the author's narcissism and melodramatic whining. AND there has been no solution to the crime, they think it's some creep who has committed other crimes but has not been convicted of this one. But hey, Carolyn attended his hearings or something, I was skimming at this point, and we sure got to hear what she wore to court every day! What a disgusting excuse to write a sensationalist book where you tell all about your dead friend's dicey past as a call girl and/or stripper or whatever she was, nice for her family, certainly, but mostly blither on about yourself. Avoid....more
My rating is just my reading experience, not a bad book. I just discovered that I already know an awfully lot of Sherlock-related trivia, no doubt dueMy rating is just my reading experience, not a bad book. I just discovered that I already know an awfully lot of Sherlock-related trivia, no doubt due to years of reading books about the subject. There is a ton of info here of course, that I didn't know, but I found I didn't really care about a lot of it, such as the many pages about Conan Doyle's children. This would be a great book for someone who is just becoming interested in the history of the character.
I might mention that it is rather peculiarly written. I kept getting the feeling that the author was out of breath, saying "and guess what ELSE!" after every sentence, like a really excited kid....more
I tend to feel forgiving towards Ann Hood after reading her book Comfort, about her little girl dying. That has stuck with me. But the one novel of h I tend to feel forgiving towards Ann Hood after reading her book Comfort, about her little girl dying. That has stuck with me. But the one novel of hers I've attempted, The Italian Wife, was beyond stinko. This one also blew hot and cold. We are about the same age, so many of her memories of childhood coincide with my own as far as what was going on in the world and what she wore, etc. And I was a childhood reader also, so the parts that were actually about books she read and how it affected her life I enjoyed. But occasionally it became a little long winded or she veered off...the brag list of all the fascinating things she's done that YOU probably haven't, for example, or the TMI reports about traumas concerning kissing or menstruation, blah blah (did I ASK?) that are so predictable and tiresome. Overall I guess the parts I didn't like balanced out with the parts I did....more
Gosh, now I have a weird name for it when I go around turning off overhead lights and overdoing Christmas decorations and bemoaning others' callous diGosh, now I have a weird name for it when I go around turning off overhead lights and overdoing Christmas decorations and bemoaning others' callous disregard of "atmosphere". I am just trying to achieve HYYGE, people! And apparently it is in my blood as I am one quarter Danish! How exciting.
I found this in my vast unread pile and just started reading it at lunch. I bought it so long ago I didn't remember it was about a fire house that losI found this in my vast unread pile and just started reading it at lunch. I bought it so long ago I didn't remember it was about a fire house that lost 12 men on 9/11. Yikes. But although obviously very sad, it wasn't maudlin or deliberately tear jerking at all. Just a profile of each man, how he fit into the workings of the station and some commentary from family members. Quite well done, because it is poignant and affecting without turning into a sob-fest....more
These books exist primarily for the pictures, of course and often the text is just fluff. This book actually had some substance to it, with both decorThese books exist primarily for the pictures, of course and often the text is just fluff. This book actually had some substance to it, with both decorating aid and historical background. ...more
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