13. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian (5/24/2011 - 5/30/2011)
Bohjalian crafted a masterpiece in this book, in my opinion. I could not put it down -- the combination of courtroom drama with the primal acts of both giving life and taking it made for a quick and fascinating read.
The plot is both wonderfully basic and amazingly complex. The events themselves are relatively straightforward: during a dangerous winter storm, Sibyl, a midwife, performs an emergency C-section on a patient she believes has died during the trials of giving birth. She is trapped in the patient's home by ice and road conditions, and ultimately saves the baby while the father and her assistant look on in horror. Within days, Sibyl is charged with murdering the mother and the rest of the plot revolves around her trial, intermixed with journal entries that help illuminate the world of home-birth, especially as compared with hospital births and the controversies that try to force mothers to have babies in hospitals instead of at home (if a home birth is what they desire).
The story is told from the point of view of Sibyl's daughter, Connie, which allows for much speculation on the reader's part as Connie is not always privy to everything happening around her and thus neither is the reader. In some of the courtroom scenes, Connie doesn't know what is really happening -- after all, she is only 14 and her father and grandmother are trying to protect her from potentially seeing her mother convicted of murder.
No details are spared the reader whatsoever. I am fortunate and my mother works as a labor and delivery nurse, so I've seen several live births and am familiar with what accompanies life's entry into this world. Not all readers may be as familiar with the situation and so there is some potential for misunderstanding or just generally being grossed out. However, Bohjalian does a great job of giving the reader enough details to understand what is happening (most of the time, at least). And the suspension crafted by the end of the book is incredible -- even I was not expecting the ending that was delivered (no pun intended :) ).
The experience of reading this book was highly emotional for me, possibly because I understood it so well. It's difficult to root for a main character that may or may not have murdered her patient, and since I was ultimately allowed to make that decision for myself, based on the ending evidence that the book provides, I was extremely emotionally involved by the end. In fact, thinking about it now (I am writing quite a long time after finishing the book), I'm still not 100% sure whether I think Sibyl is innocent or guilty. There are so many factors that play into what happened, and more are introduced as the book continues. As I mentioned before, the events themselves are pretty basic -- a woman dies while giving birth during a storm, and the midwife, since they cannot make it to a hospital, performs an emergency C-section to save the baby. But the information that comes out throughout the rest of the book makes even these events so much more complicated -- and all before I as the reader tried to decide between guilty or innocent.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book, especially for women. The information given about home vs. hospital births is well researched and so this book could potentially help readers understand or even make decisions about their birthing choices. But even more than that, Midwives is a well written book that makes for a great read (provided you can handle some slightly graphic descriptions).
Friday, May 27, 2011
12. Under the Banner of Heaven
12. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (5/19/2011 - 5/23/2011)
I have read most of Krakauer's other books, including Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, and so have been anxious to read this one. Under the Banner of Heaven details the events leading to and surrounding the murder of a 24-year-old mother and her infant daughter by her two brothers-in-law -- who have consistently claimed that they were instructed to "remove" this woman by the voice/guidance of God.
Ultimately, this is a book about Mormonism, and not the mainstream Mormonism that now permeates American society (I know I've seen many commercials aiming at showing how normal Mormons are, and that's fine but that's not what this book is talking about). This book discusses hardcore fundamentalist Mormonism, which includes a variety of sects that are scattered throughout the American West and Western Canada. These groups, which are surprisingly large, some over 40,000 people, practice a religion that I can only really describe as horrific. From the stories, women are treated essentially like slaves, unable to protest or even utter a word really about their treatment by their husbands -- treatment that includes physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, rape, pedophilia (many women are married off before they are 15), and of course the foundation of fundamentalist Mormonism: polygamy.
Don't get me wrong -- I am entirely for religious freedom. The problem that I see with this religion is its blatant denial of the Constitution of the United States as a governing document. What seems to happen, from the carefully collected and documented research in Krakauer's book, is that these sects deny that the US government has any authority over them, that their only authority is the voice of God -- until someone tries to point out that their religion is perpetuating a belief -- polygamy -- that ends up creating a community that thrives on what is essentially statutory rape (which is defined as "an adult and a minor below the age of consent," from http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/statutory-rape/ ). When this happens, these people instantly cry "Religious persecution! Unconstitutional!" There's a double standard built into their belief system in this area, but that does not seem to matter to them -- and unfortunately, it creates a problem for any politician that would consider taking them on. No matter how much good it would ultimately do, no politician yet seems to want to tarnish his or her reputation by being accused of being unconstitutional to a religious group (no matter how specific or accurate or proven the evidence of patterns of statutory rape).
Obviously, this book brings up some hot issues for me -- I don't at all understand the mindset of anyone who believes that having sex with a 14-year-old is sanctioned by God, let alone that murdering an innocent woman and her child was commanded to these two men. But since I've gotten all that out there, I'll try to give some straightforward information about the book itself.
The story overall is very interesting to read, especially if you are at all interested in American history or at all fascinated by how religious fervor seems to outweigh all reason. Krakauer intersperses the overarching plot with a thorough history of Mormonism -- starting with its very beginning under Joseph Smith and detailing the religion's split into what we now recognize as the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints and their lesser-known but far scarier breakaway fundamentalist sects. The story itself is very interesting, but some of the history can get boring -- there's a section close to the end of the book where I was actually tempted to put it down. Krakauer had detailed the actual murders and then suddenly leapt backward about 80 years into the past and given a summary of most history, which in my opinion was his biggest blunder in the pacing of the book. In addition, I recognized early on that Krakauer is not an unbiased observer or reporter of this story -- even though I hadn't expected him to be, I was surprised by his obvious contempt for his subject matter's beliefs and to me that seems a touch flawed for a writer of his skill and reputation.
But overall, I'd recommend the book. It's an eye-opening look into a scary part of American history, and definitely an important read for anyone considering a conversion to even the mainstream part of this faith. In a way, I almost feel bad for those mainstream Mormons -- they themselves seem harmless, and Krakauer does a good job of making sure to separate those Mormons who exist peacefully and away from the fundamentalists. But nonetheless, by nature of their religion's history and its title, those mainstream Mormons are trapped with the reputation, stereotypes, and ultimately prejudices that this country carries against the beliefs that I now understand are (mainly) limited to the fundamentalists. The Mormons can have all the commercials they want, but I don't think it's going to change the history and unfortunate actions of the few that harm the good of the many people that espouse this religion.
It's a good book -- I'd recommend it to anyone even remotely interested. Read it -- it'll open your eyes about what religion really means in America.
I have read most of Krakauer's other books, including Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, and so have been anxious to read this one. Under the Banner of Heaven details the events leading to and surrounding the murder of a 24-year-old mother and her infant daughter by her two brothers-in-law -- who have consistently claimed that they were instructed to "remove" this woman by the voice/guidance of God.
Ultimately, this is a book about Mormonism, and not the mainstream Mormonism that now permeates American society (I know I've seen many commercials aiming at showing how normal Mormons are, and that's fine but that's not what this book is talking about). This book discusses hardcore fundamentalist Mormonism, which includes a variety of sects that are scattered throughout the American West and Western Canada. These groups, which are surprisingly large, some over 40,000 people, practice a religion that I can only really describe as horrific. From the stories, women are treated essentially like slaves, unable to protest or even utter a word really about their treatment by their husbands -- treatment that includes physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, rape, pedophilia (many women are married off before they are 15), and of course the foundation of fundamentalist Mormonism: polygamy.
Don't get me wrong -- I am entirely for religious freedom. The problem that I see with this religion is its blatant denial of the Constitution of the United States as a governing document. What seems to happen, from the carefully collected and documented research in Krakauer's book, is that these sects deny that the US government has any authority over them, that their only authority is the voice of God -- until someone tries to point out that their religion is perpetuating a belief -- polygamy -- that ends up creating a community that thrives on what is essentially statutory rape (which is defined as "an adult and a minor below the age of consent," from http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/statutory-rape/ ). When this happens, these people instantly cry "Religious persecution! Unconstitutional!" There's a double standard built into their belief system in this area, but that does not seem to matter to them -- and unfortunately, it creates a problem for any politician that would consider taking them on. No matter how much good it would ultimately do, no politician yet seems to want to tarnish his or her reputation by being accused of being unconstitutional to a religious group (no matter how specific or accurate or proven the evidence of patterns of statutory rape).
Obviously, this book brings up some hot issues for me -- I don't at all understand the mindset of anyone who believes that having sex with a 14-year-old is sanctioned by God, let alone that murdering an innocent woman and her child was commanded to these two men. But since I've gotten all that out there, I'll try to give some straightforward information about the book itself.
The story overall is very interesting to read, especially if you are at all interested in American history or at all fascinated by how religious fervor seems to outweigh all reason. Krakauer intersperses the overarching plot with a thorough history of Mormonism -- starting with its very beginning under Joseph Smith and detailing the religion's split into what we now recognize as the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints and their lesser-known but far scarier breakaway fundamentalist sects. The story itself is very interesting, but some of the history can get boring -- there's a section close to the end of the book where I was actually tempted to put it down. Krakauer had detailed the actual murders and then suddenly leapt backward about 80 years into the past and given a summary of most history, which in my opinion was his biggest blunder in the pacing of the book. In addition, I recognized early on that Krakauer is not an unbiased observer or reporter of this story -- even though I hadn't expected him to be, I was surprised by his obvious contempt for his subject matter's beliefs and to me that seems a touch flawed for a writer of his skill and reputation.
But overall, I'd recommend the book. It's an eye-opening look into a scary part of American history, and definitely an important read for anyone considering a conversion to even the mainstream part of this faith. In a way, I almost feel bad for those mainstream Mormons -- they themselves seem harmless, and Krakauer does a good job of making sure to separate those Mormons who exist peacefully and away from the fundamentalists. But nonetheless, by nature of their religion's history and its title, those mainstream Mormons are trapped with the reputation, stereotypes, and ultimately prejudices that this country carries against the beliefs that I now understand are (mainly) limited to the fundamentalists. The Mormons can have all the commercials they want, but I don't think it's going to change the history and unfortunate actions of the few that harm the good of the many people that espouse this religion.
It's a good book -- I'd recommend it to anyone even remotely interested. Read it -- it'll open your eyes about what religion really means in America.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
11. Tepper Isn't Going Out
11. Tepper Isn't Going Out by Calvin Trillin (5/15/2011 - 5/19/2011)
I was surprised by this book -- it wasn't really laugh-out-loud funny, but it was a pleasant read full of small jokes, absurdities, and the occasional chuckle. It's a very simple concept: a man enjoys reading his newspaper in his parked car on the streets of New York. But since parking is such a charged subject in NYC, things quickly get out of hand and become ridiculous -- but not in a bad way. The irrational ways in which people react to small things were perfectly characterized in this story in such a way as to point out how strange we are when confronted with something we don't understand. I especially enjoyed the mayor in this book, who is constantly yelling about "the forces of disorder" and trying to arrest Tepper simply for reading the paper. Not a lengthy read, but an amusing one.
I was surprised by this book -- it wasn't really laugh-out-loud funny, but it was a pleasant read full of small jokes, absurdities, and the occasional chuckle. It's a very simple concept: a man enjoys reading his newspaper in his parked car on the streets of New York. But since parking is such a charged subject in NYC, things quickly get out of hand and become ridiculous -- but not in a bad way. The irrational ways in which people react to small things were perfectly characterized in this story in such a way as to point out how strange we are when confronted with something we don't understand. I especially enjoyed the mayor in this book, who is constantly yelling about "the forces of disorder" and trying to arrest Tepper simply for reading the paper. Not a lengthy read, but an amusing one.
10. Running with Scissors
10. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (5/13/2011 - 5/15/2011)
I have to say that I was very disappointed by this book. I enjoyed "Magical Thinking" and so purchased this at the book fair, hoping it would be as good or better considering that this is the book I always hear about when people discuss Augusten Burroughs. But it just wasn't -- the situation he is in is horrendous and I found nothing funny about any of the story at all. In fact, I felt horrified -- how, for example, was his mother not prosecuted for child abuse by leaving him in that situation? How could this so-called doctor he was living in be licensed? How could any of those kids/family members do things like that to other people? There was nothing redeeming about this book except the I think obvious fact that you should not leave your child with someone you really don't know. How dumb can you be? I would write more, but frankly I just don't want to -- the book was that bad. Hopefully the other book by him that I own, "Possible Side Effects," is better...
I have to say that I was very disappointed by this book. I enjoyed "Magical Thinking" and so purchased this at the book fair, hoping it would be as good or better considering that this is the book I always hear about when people discuss Augusten Burroughs. But it just wasn't -- the situation he is in is horrendous and I found nothing funny about any of the story at all. In fact, I felt horrified -- how, for example, was his mother not prosecuted for child abuse by leaving him in that situation? How could this so-called doctor he was living in be licensed? How could any of those kids/family members do things like that to other people? There was nothing redeeming about this book except the I think obvious fact that you should not leave your child with someone you really don't know. How dumb can you be? I would write more, but frankly I just don't want to -- the book was that bad. Hopefully the other book by him that I own, "Possible Side Effects," is better...
9. Meg
9. Meg by Steve Alten (5/12/2011 - 5/13/2011)
Quite frankly, I only picked up this book because a newspaper ad on the cover said "Meg: Jurassic Shark" as a joke and I love Jurassic Park (movie and book) with a passion. Unfortunately: this book was terrible. It was poorly written and a little cliche -- by about halfway through, I started noticing the classic serial killer movie plot: those characters who were immoral in some way, be it by having sex or screwing over the main guy or whatever, got eaten by an insane prehistoric 60-ft shark. Of course, this was highly entertaining at times, but the book got old fast -- there just wasn't anything that original about the plot. Also, Jaws is a huge favorite of mine, so that could have colored that too.
I've read reviews of this book that pointed out that you do learn a lot about oceans and submarines and such through the course of this novel, and I can't argue that. I also can't argue that it's essentially an action movie stuffed into a relatively short book. What bothers me is that it is clearly poorly edited -- character names got interchanged at least once in an obvious (the character the woman's name changed to wasn't even in that scene) and unprofessional way, and character development was almost entirely absent, especially considering that the main character (who comes off as kind of a dick) is entirely correct in his theories so there is no need given for him to change as a person.
I guess, if someone were looking for a quick, easy, and action/gore-packed read, this would be a good choice. I myself would not recommend it to anyone :)
Quite frankly, I only picked up this book because a newspaper ad on the cover said "Meg: Jurassic Shark" as a joke and I love Jurassic Park (movie and book) with a passion. Unfortunately: this book was terrible. It was poorly written and a little cliche -- by about halfway through, I started noticing the classic serial killer movie plot: those characters who were immoral in some way, be it by having sex or screwing over the main guy or whatever, got eaten by an insane prehistoric 60-ft shark. Of course, this was highly entertaining at times, but the book got old fast -- there just wasn't anything that original about the plot. Also, Jaws is a huge favorite of mine, so that could have colored that too.
I've read reviews of this book that pointed out that you do learn a lot about oceans and submarines and such through the course of this novel, and I can't argue that. I also can't argue that it's essentially an action movie stuffed into a relatively short book. What bothers me is that it is clearly poorly edited -- character names got interchanged at least once in an obvious (the character the woman's name changed to wasn't even in that scene) and unprofessional way, and character development was almost entirely absent, especially considering that the main character (who comes off as kind of a dick) is entirely correct in his theories so there is no need given for him to change as a person.
I guess, if someone were looking for a quick, easy, and action/gore-packed read, this would be a good choice. I myself would not recommend it to anyone :)
8. The Terminal Man
8. The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton (5/9/2011 - 5/11/2011)
Much as I love many, many books by Michael Crichton, I'd skip this one if I could do it again and just re-read The Andromeda Strain. The book assumes a lot of information and at times it seems like there are whole sections that are left unsaid for the reader to figure out -- but since Crichton is literally writing about brain surgery, it's rather difficult to just get it from the clues. On top of that, there is a lot of background information that can be difficult to pick through and figure out what's relevant AND a lot of action happens off-page. The ending is very abrupt and does not offer a lot of closure.
The story itself is interesting, as most of Crichton's are: a man suffers from brain damage that causes sudden, extremely violent episodes that he has no memory of but during which he has seriously injured others. A team of doctors attempt a novel surgery on his brain to circumvent the seizures but this backfires and makes everything worse than before. The story is set up over the course of 5 days, a similar formula to The Andromeda Strain and others of Crichton's previous works. Unfortunately, this novel just doesn't engage readers like his other works do -- often I finish Crichton feeling like I've really learned something (Jurassic Park: chaos theory and dinosaurs, The Andromeda Strain: space and adaptation, Congo: don't train monkeys as guards, etc), but this time around I did not have that feeling.
The book wasn't hard to read and it certainly wasn't bad, but I would have to say that it's probably the worst Crichton I've read. Perhaps, if one is interested in the functioning of the brain, it might be better, but otherwise I'd read his other novels.
Much as I love many, many books by Michael Crichton, I'd skip this one if I could do it again and just re-read The Andromeda Strain. The book assumes a lot of information and at times it seems like there are whole sections that are left unsaid for the reader to figure out -- but since Crichton is literally writing about brain surgery, it's rather difficult to just get it from the clues. On top of that, there is a lot of background information that can be difficult to pick through and figure out what's relevant AND a lot of action happens off-page. The ending is very abrupt and does not offer a lot of closure.
The story itself is interesting, as most of Crichton's are: a man suffers from brain damage that causes sudden, extremely violent episodes that he has no memory of but during which he has seriously injured others. A team of doctors attempt a novel surgery on his brain to circumvent the seizures but this backfires and makes everything worse than before. The story is set up over the course of 5 days, a similar formula to The Andromeda Strain and others of Crichton's previous works. Unfortunately, this novel just doesn't engage readers like his other works do -- often I finish Crichton feeling like I've really learned something (Jurassic Park: chaos theory and dinosaurs, The Andromeda Strain: space and adaptation, Congo: don't train monkeys as guards, etc), but this time around I did not have that feeling.
The book wasn't hard to read and it certainly wasn't bad, but I would have to say that it's probably the worst Crichton I've read. Perhaps, if one is interested in the functioning of the brain, it might be better, but otherwise I'd read his other novels.
7. Dog Info Books
Over the course of this summer, I am reading a number of books about getting and raising a dog in order to help myself understand what I'm getting in to (as I am seriously considering getting one at the end of this summer). These books are quick and easy reads -- I'll keep track of how many of them I do read and their titles, but otherwise I won't count them individually as part of this list.
1. Hi! It's Me, Your Dog! (5/9/2011-5/10/2011) -- A first-person account from a dog's point of view of what it's like to live with, be cared for by, and love a human. Full of great information and trivia, very straightforward, and also mildly hilarious :)
2. Happy Dog: How Busy People Care for Their Dogs (5/12/2011-5/14/2011) -- Full of advice for taking care of a dog when you have a busy life, but doesn't seem to care about how much money you have; almost all suggestions involve having over people take care of your dog for you, such as dog-sitters and groomers and the like. A great solution if you have the money but a) most people don't and b) then I kinda feel like it isn't really your dog if you aren't the one spending time with it. All other solutions involve setting your schedule up completely surrounding your dog, as though it's a child -- which isn't not. Verdict overall: good not great
3. Civilizing Your Puppy (5/15/2011-5/17/2011) -- This book was interesting and some of the chapters were really original and helpful, but others were not. The author raises Great Danes and is clearly biased toward big dogs; she called little dogs pests and other such things, and some of her tips will not be helpful for anyone getting a smaller dog. I also noticed that much of this book is a re-hashing of other dog training/tips books -- I don't think that's necessarily the author's fault as much as the dog-books-industry: a lot of dog books out there have the exact same info. Oh well! Still: not a bad book, especially if you want a bigger dog.
4. 51 Puppy Tricks (5/21/2011) -- This isn't a ton of reading in this book as it's essentially a list of dog tricks and how to teach them to your dog, but it may have been one of the most helpful books I've read about actually training your dog! The tricks are organized by style -- easy ones like "sit" and "stay" are together, housetraining ones (like teaching your dog to ring a bell when it needs to go out) are together, and so on. In the front of the book, every trick is broken down and listed according to what age of dog can best learn it, which will allow a new owner like me to be able to assess what my puppy can probably master (which is awesome!). And every trick is accompanied by pictures of each step so you can make sure you are teaching your own dog correctly. I loved this book -- if I end up getting a dog, I'll definitely buy it!
5. Getting Fit With Your Dog (5/21/2011) -- Pretty straightforward. This book contained a lot of basic information about how having a dog can help increase your health and how exercise keeps both you and your pet healthy. There was also a lot of summarized (at least for me, since I try to stay up-to-date on health risks and fitness) information about why being overweight, out of shape, etc is bad for you and why exercise is good for you. Not the best read, but all I wanted was a quick confirmation that getting a dog can help me be in better health and I got that.
6. The Dog Bible (5/23/2011 - 5/27/2011) -- This is by far the best of these books that I have read! I have had a lot of reservations and mixed feelings about getting a dog -- feeling "trapped" or like I have no personal freedom, guilt about potentially leaving a dog at home, annoyed with a puppy, etc -- and this book addressed every single problem I could think of in the emotional transition of getting a dog.
1. Hi! It's Me, Your Dog! (5/9/2011-5/10/2011) -- A first-person account from a dog's point of view of what it's like to live with, be cared for by, and love a human. Full of great information and trivia, very straightforward, and also mildly hilarious :)
2. Happy Dog: How Busy People Care for Their Dogs (5/12/2011-5/14/2011) -- Full of advice for taking care of a dog when you have a busy life, but doesn't seem to care about how much money you have; almost all suggestions involve having over people take care of your dog for you, such as dog-sitters and groomers and the like. A great solution if you have the money but a) most people don't and b) then I kinda feel like it isn't really your dog if you aren't the one spending time with it. All other solutions involve setting your schedule up completely surrounding your dog, as though it's a child -- which isn't not. Verdict overall: good not great
3. Civilizing Your Puppy (5/15/2011-5/17/2011) -- This book was interesting and some of the chapters were really original and helpful, but others were not. The author raises Great Danes and is clearly biased toward big dogs; she called little dogs pests and other such things, and some of her tips will not be helpful for anyone getting a smaller dog. I also noticed that much of this book is a re-hashing of other dog training/tips books -- I don't think that's necessarily the author's fault as much as the dog-books-industry: a lot of dog books out there have the exact same info. Oh well! Still: not a bad book, especially if you want a bigger dog.
4. 51 Puppy Tricks (5/21/2011) -- This isn't a ton of reading in this book as it's essentially a list of dog tricks and how to teach them to your dog, but it may have been one of the most helpful books I've read about actually training your dog! The tricks are organized by style -- easy ones like "sit" and "stay" are together, housetraining ones (like teaching your dog to ring a bell when it needs to go out) are together, and so on. In the front of the book, every trick is broken down and listed according to what age of dog can best learn it, which will allow a new owner like me to be able to assess what my puppy can probably master (which is awesome!). And every trick is accompanied by pictures of each step so you can make sure you are teaching your own dog correctly. I loved this book -- if I end up getting a dog, I'll definitely buy it!
5. Getting Fit With Your Dog (5/21/2011) -- Pretty straightforward. This book contained a lot of basic information about how having a dog can help increase your health and how exercise keeps both you and your pet healthy. There was also a lot of summarized (at least for me, since I try to stay up-to-date on health risks and fitness) information about why being overweight, out of shape, etc is bad for you and why exercise is good for you. Not the best read, but all I wanted was a quick confirmation that getting a dog can help me be in better health and I got that.
6. The Dog Bible (5/23/2011 - 5/27/2011) -- This is by far the best of these books that I have read! I have had a lot of reservations and mixed feelings about getting a dog -- feeling "trapped" or like I have no personal freedom, guilt about potentially leaving a dog at home, annoyed with a puppy, etc -- and this book addressed every single problem I could think of in the emotional transition of getting a dog.
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