Atheneum Books for Young Readers
New York - (c)2004 - 244 pp
ISBN: 0-689-85639-3
2004 Newbery Medal Winner
A young, Japanese girl faces racism, death, family pride, and unionization for workers in the Midwest and South in the late 1950's.
I am disappointed that this novel was chosen for the Newbery Medal Award. While not a bad book, by any means, I didn't feel that this story every struck any particularly strong chords or said anyting in a new and creative way. It seemed all too obvious that the sister was going to die, very early in the book. It also seemed too obvious that the parents were likely to vote for the union despite their talk against it.
The only thing that made this story slightly unique was that it was a Japanese family working in the Midwest and deep South. Otherwise, I didn
t feel there were any fresh angles for this kind of story.
A disappointing choice for medal winner, and not likely a book that I will go about recommending.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
X-MEN: SHADOWS OF THE PAST -- Michael Jan Friedman
illustrations by Jose Ladronn
bp books - distributed by Simon & Schuster
New York - (c)2000 - 328pp
ISBN: 0-7434-0018-6
A powerful extraterrestrial being who is being held prisoner in another dimension captures Professor Xavier and replaces him with a doppleganger and attempts to destroy the X-Men and the earth.
I have generally enjoyed reading novel versions of comic book heroes, and I have generally enjoyed works by Friedman, but this book just falls flat. the 300+ pages feel padded with ...what? Not much of anything. This could have been a decent 24 page comic, but as a novel it just has nothing to hold anyone's interest.
bp books - distributed by Simon & Schuster
New York - (c)2000 - 328pp
ISBN: 0-7434-0018-6
A powerful extraterrestrial being who is being held prisoner in another dimension captures Professor Xavier and replaces him with a doppleganger and attempts to destroy the X-Men and the earth.
I have generally enjoyed reading novel versions of comic book heroes, and I have generally enjoyed works by Friedman, but this book just falls flat. the 300+ pages feel padded with ...what? Not much of anything. This could have been a decent 24 page comic, but as a novel it just has nothing to hold anyone's interest.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME -- Mark Haddon
Doubleday
New York - (c)2003 - 226pp
ISBN: 0-385-51210-4
An autistic boy writes a book about his search for a killer (of a dog), and the discoveries that he makes along the way.
A very interesting book, as it gets in to the head of an autisitc boy, explaining the reasoning behind many of his actions. Some of the best description comes when he describes how he shuts down, sort of like when you press CTRL + ALT + DEL on the computer when he gets an information overload. His chapters are sequential, not 1,2,3 but lowest to highest, all prime numbers. He is a math genius and math plays a lot in to the book, yet done in such a way that even a math-loathesome person such as myself can get through it it. I can see where this book might win a great many prizes for its subject matter and it's handling of the information. However, I never really felt drawn in to the book. Certainly this is because of who is telling the story and how he (an admittedly unemotional person) does it. But by keeping my at arms length, even in the book, I couldn't feel the attachment to it that I would like when reading a book.
New York - (c)2003 - 226pp
ISBN: 0-385-51210-4
An autistic boy writes a book about his search for a killer (of a dog), and the discoveries that he makes along the way.
A very interesting book, as it gets in to the head of an autisitc boy, explaining the reasoning behind many of his actions. Some of the best description comes when he describes how he shuts down, sort of like when you press CTRL + ALT + DEL on the computer when he gets an information overload. His chapters are sequential, not 1,2,3 but lowest to highest, all prime numbers. He is a math genius and math plays a lot in to the book, yet done in such a way that even a math-loathesome person such as myself can get through it it. I can see where this book might win a great many prizes for its subject matter and it's handling of the information. However, I never really felt drawn in to the book. Certainly this is because of who is telling the story and how he (an admittedly unemotional person) does it. But by keeping my at arms length, even in the book, I couldn't feel the attachment to it that I would like when reading a book.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
NICK HORNBY * SONGBOOK -- Nick Hornby
McSweeney's Books
San Francisco - (c)2002 - 146pp
Illustrated by Marcel Dzama
ISBN: 0-9719047-7-4
A collection of essays/reviews of pop music. Including:
Teenage Fanclub - Your Love Is The Place That I Come From
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird
Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker
Rufus Wainwright - One Man Guy
Santana - Samba Pa Ti
Rod Stewart - Mama, You Been On My Mind
Bob Dylan - Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
The Beatles - Rain
Ani DiFranco - You Had Time
Aimee Mann - I've Had It
Paul Westerberg - Born For Me
Suicide - Frankie Teardrop
Teenage fanclub - Ain't That Enough
J. Geils Band - First I Look At The Purse
Ben Folds Five - Smoke
Badly Drawn Boy - A Minor Incident
The Bible - Glorybound
Van Morrison - Caravan
Butch Hancock and Marce LaCouture - So I'll Run
Gregory Isaacs - Puff The Magic Dragon
Ian Dury - Reasons To Be Cheerful
Richard and Linda Thompson - Calvary Cross
Jackson Browne - Late For The Sky
Mark Mulcahy - Hey Self-Defeater
The Velvelettes - Needle In A Haystack
O.V. Wright - Let's Straighten It Out
Royksopp - Royksopp's Night Out
The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
Soulwax - No Fun / Push It
Patti Smith - Pissing In A River
This collection is really more like a series of mini-essays with a song or songs providing the purpose behind the essay, rather than a series of song reviews. It's always interesting how Hornby gets from point "A" to point "B" in these collections, but few of them actually get me to want to listen to any particular song. Worth the read, but I'll admit that I'm glad to have read the library copy rather than buying my own.
+++++++++++
trade paperback version
Riverhead Books/Published by The Berkley Publishing Group
New York - (c)2003 - 207pp
ISBN: 1-57322-356-5
Includes all of the above plus:
"It's a Mann's Worlds"
"Alternative Earle"
"Sweet Misery"
"The Entertainers"
"Pop Quiz"
Discography
The above set of essays are not about any particular song, but albums or sets.
The gem found here is Hornby's description of the ever-present pop music as "aural smog." Again, I'm glad to have read these, but I'm not likely to wish I had the book on my shelf to read again or hand out to friends. (Actually, most of my friends already have a copy.)
San Francisco - (c)2002 - 146pp
Illustrated by Marcel Dzama
ISBN: 0-9719047-7-4
A collection of essays/reviews of pop music. Including:
Teenage Fanclub - Your Love Is The Place That I Come From
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird
Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker
Rufus Wainwright - One Man Guy
Santana - Samba Pa Ti
Rod Stewart - Mama, You Been On My Mind
Bob Dylan - Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
The Beatles - Rain
Ani DiFranco - You Had Time
Aimee Mann - I've Had It
Paul Westerberg - Born For Me
Suicide - Frankie Teardrop
Teenage fanclub - Ain't That Enough
J. Geils Band - First I Look At The Purse
Ben Folds Five - Smoke
Badly Drawn Boy - A Minor Incident
The Bible - Glorybound
Van Morrison - Caravan
Butch Hancock and Marce LaCouture - So I'll Run
Gregory Isaacs - Puff The Magic Dragon
Ian Dury - Reasons To Be Cheerful
Richard and Linda Thompson - Calvary Cross
Jackson Browne - Late For The Sky
Mark Mulcahy - Hey Self-Defeater
The Velvelettes - Needle In A Haystack
O.V. Wright - Let's Straighten It Out
Royksopp - Royksopp's Night Out
The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
Soulwax - No Fun / Push It
Patti Smith - Pissing In A River
This collection is really more like a series of mini-essays with a song or songs providing the purpose behind the essay, rather than a series of song reviews. It's always interesting how Hornby gets from point "A" to point "B" in these collections, but few of them actually get me to want to listen to any particular song. Worth the read, but I'll admit that I'm glad to have read the library copy rather than buying my own.
+++++++++++
trade paperback version
Riverhead Books/Published by The Berkley Publishing Group
New York - (c)2003 - 207pp
ISBN: 1-57322-356-5
Includes all of the above plus:
"It's a Mann's Worlds"
"Alternative Earle"
"Sweet Misery"
"The Entertainers"
"Pop Quiz"
Discography
The above set of essays are not about any particular song, but albums or sets.
The gem found here is Hornby's description of the ever-present pop music as "aural smog." Again, I'm glad to have read these, but I'm not likely to wish I had the book on my shelf to read again or hand out to friends. (Actually, most of my friends already have a copy.)
Sunday, July 10, 2005
THE MAN IN THE CEILING -- Jules Feiffer
Michael DiCapula Books/HarperCollins Publishers
(c)1993 - 186pp
ISBN: 0-06-205036-2
A young boy who wants nothing more than to be a cartoonist, learns important life lessons about failure and not giving up from his uncle, a failed Broadway musical playwright.
A fun book with lots of Feiffer cartoons. The book really hit home in many ways with me personally, as a playwright and failed cartoonist. A recommended book as a light read, particular for those interested in cartooning.
(c)1993 - 186pp
ISBN: 0-06-205036-2
A young boy who wants nothing more than to be a cartoonist, learns important life lessons about failure and not giving up from his uncle, a failed Broadway musical playwright.
A fun book with lots of Feiffer cartoons. The book really hit home in many ways with me personally, as a playwright and failed cartoonist. A recommended book as a light read, particular for those interested in cartooning.
Monday, July 04, 2005
MY LIFE IN HEAVY METAL -- Steve Almond
Grove Press
New York - (c)2002 - 204pp
ISBN: 0-8021-4013-0
A collection of short stories.
"My Life in Heavy Metal"
"Among the Ik"
"Geek Player, Love Slayer"
"The Last Single Days of Don Viktor Potapenko"
"Run Away, My Pale Love"
"The Law of Sugar"
"The Pass"
"Moscow"
"Valentino"
"How to Love a Republican"
"Pornography"
"The Body in Extremis"
A top-notch collection of short fiction, by an excellent writer. All the stories seem to center around a main-character's sexual experiences.
New York - (c)2002 - 204pp
ISBN: 0-8021-4013-0
A collection of short stories.
"My Life in Heavy Metal"
"Among the Ik"
"Geek Player, Love Slayer"
"The Last Single Days of Don Viktor Potapenko"
"Run Away, My Pale Love"
"The Law of Sugar"
"The Pass"
"Moscow"
"Valentino"
"How to Love a Republican"
"Pornography"
"The Body in Extremis"
A top-notch collection of short fiction, by an excellent writer. All the stories seem to center around a main-character's sexual experiences.
Friday, July 01, 2005
LIFE OF PI -- Yann Martel
LIFE OF PI -- Yann Martel
Audio Book -- read by Jeff Woodman (with Alexander Marshall)
11-1/2 hours on 9 cds -- Complete and Unabridged
An Indian boy, the son of a zoo keeper, is the lone survivor of the sinking of a cargo ship which had been transporting zoo animals to Canada. He survives the lengthy journey with a Bengal tiger as companion.
An interesting story at times, but droning and boring as I listened to it. It never fully captured my attention and drew me into the tale. I'm not at all sure as to why it has received the attention that it has. I would not recommend it, though I wouldn't necessarily steer anyone away from it if they wanted to read it. Very average at best.
Audio Book -- read by Jeff Woodman (with Alexander Marshall)
11-1/2 hours on 9 cds -- Complete and Unabridged
An Indian boy, the son of a zoo keeper, is the lone survivor of the sinking of a cargo ship which had been transporting zoo animals to Canada. He survives the lengthy journey with a Bengal tiger as companion.
An interesting story at times, but droning and boring as I listened to it. It never fully captured my attention and drew me into the tale. I'm not at all sure as to why it has received the attention that it has. I would not recommend it, though I wouldn't necessarily steer anyone away from it if they wanted to read it. Very average at best.
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