Sept 2012 – Bringing
Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel
Review by
Jessica Makäe
This
book is a well written, methodical, tale from the perspective of Oliver
Cromwell-a pivotal, though non-glamorous figure, in the Henry VIII / Anne
Boleyn debacle. The book takes one on the journey through all of Cromwell's
machinations to remove Anne, and how his prior experiences played into his
actions. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of his time in Italy and his
upbringing. It made him a very thorough and understandable character, if
not likeable.
This
is a recent work of historical fiction. And while it's going to sound
illiterate: I just didn't love that this book, while well-written, was a 14
hour audio book that covered what the Showtime series the Tudors covers in the
final 2-3 episodes of Season 2 (Max duration: 2 hours). The book had a
lot of extra descriptions that color the time and place, but I don't think that
taking Cromwell's perspective on things made the book more interesting than if
the author had taken Henry or Anne's perspective.
Oct 2012 – How to Be
a Woman, by Caitlan Moran
Review by Heather
This fearless author tackles numerous topics that are
considered taboo in polite conversation, from body hair removal to underwear
choice to women’s role in society. She
openly discusses her own life, and it creates a springboard for the readers of
this book to feel more comfortable discussing their own lives in ways that they
might not previously. The intended
audience is clearly women, but you definitely need to have an open mind
regarding the topics she discusses. Her
British dry wit is very entertaining, and brings levity to the book.
Nov 2012 – A Wrinkle
in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
Review by Michele
I found a love of this book and the whole series, having
read this many times growing up. Reading
it again as an adult brought up many wonderful memories of the adventures of
Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace. The
story is told by Meg Murry, who is the awkward teenage daughter of two brilliant
scientists. Meg has three brothers, 10
year old popular and athletic twins, Sandy and Dennys, and 5 year old
misunderstood genius Charles Wallace.
Mr. Murry went to work on a government project and has not been heard
from in quite some time, leaving Mrs. Murry alone with the children.
I enjoyed rereading this book but found it to be a different
experience this time through. I no
longer relate with Meg’s awkwardness the way I did when I was younger. I still enjoyed the fantasy of the story and
appreciated it for what it is, a children’s book. I look forward to sharing this adventure with
my future children.
Dec 2012 – The Five
Levels of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell
Review by Heather
So,
I have a low pain threshold for leadership/professional development books. I've
read several, and only a few would I consider worthwhile to actually recommend
to others. I would classify this as one of the better ones that I've read, and
I think it is relevant to the corporate environment.
The
biggest drawback to me was the length of this book. If it had been a 10-20 page
article in a magazine, I would have loved it, but I felt like the author
provided way more anecdotes than was necessary, and it diluted the
effectiveness of the main points.
Jan 2013 – The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
Review by Faith
This was a biographical account of Henrietta Lacks, a poor African
American tobacco farmer. In 1951 her cells were taken without her (or
her family’s) knowledge, during her treatment for cervical cancer at Johns
Hopkins Hospital. The cells became one
of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio
vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and much more, because
of their ability to quickly replicate and continue to survive. Henrietta’s
cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually
unknown, and her family can’t even afford health insurance.
The author does an excellent job of writing Henrietta’s story. She does an incredible amount of research,
including getting to know Henrietta’s family.
The research took nearly a decade, so she became pretty integrated into
the Lacks family, especially with Henrietta’s daughter Deborah.
Twenty years after Henrietta’s death, her family began getting calls
from scientists who wanted to get blood samples from them to learn more about
their family genetics. Henrietta’s
family had no idea her cells had ever been taken. The author investigates the history of the
cells, as well as her family’s desire to get recognition for the societal contribution.
I loved the author’s style of writing this book. She did a great job incorporating the medical
jargon in a friendly way, and wove in the family stories effortlessly.
Feb 2013 – The
Hoarder in You: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life, by Robin
Zasio
Review by Heather
Do you have too much clutter in your life? Have you ever thought of why you hold on to
things that you don’t use or appreciate?
How much time do you have to spend doing the “care and feeding” of your
stuff? Do you live with a hoarder (from
a mere clutterer who has “clutter blindness” to a full-fledged version)? Do you routinely purchase items you don’t
need, and rationalize your purchases because it was on sale or that you might
need it for some undefined purpose in the future? Do you think buying something like a
condiment in bulk is useful, if it takes you twenty years to consume it, long
past it’s optimal performance? Then you
need to read this book.
I have read the book twice now, and it really opened my eyes
with how I had let my “stuff” take over my life, due to some of the reasons
above. I have greatly downsized the
amount of clutter I possess, and it literally feels like an enormous weight has
been lifted from my life. I am also
finding myself exercising more discipline when I’m shopping, questioning the
motive of why I’m considering a purchase, whether it’s a piece of clothing I
don’t currently need or food that we won’t consume because our refrigerator is
already full of food. You don’t need to
throw away all your possessions, but learning to reclaim your life from
over-consumerism will indeed make you happier, as promised by the book’s title.
Mar 2013 – The
Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Review by
Jessica Makäe
This is the
story of Bilbo Baggins, a very boring "everyman" hobbit (a
comfortable, middle class sort of short pot-bellied humanoid with notably hairy
toes) who gets tangled up with an unreliable wizard and a gregarious group of
dwarves on a quest to rescue their treasure and homeland from an evil dragon.
All of these things are very counter to hobbit-culture, and he often
wishes for the warmth of his own bed, and rues the lack of second breakfasts.
Over the
course of the trek, the group has several adventures and misadventures.
Some of these include wolves, elves, shape shifters, trolls, spiders,
orcs, eagles, and Bilbo's fateful encounter with the One Ring - the big lead-up
to Tolkein's later books, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I especially
enjoyed how Gandalf wove in and out of this book, sometimes showing up to save
the day, sometimes parked outside in the 'enemy' camp. The Hobbit story
gives a hint of the complexity of the Gandalf wizard character, while showing
remarkable character development in Bilbo Baggins.
This book is
simpler than the Lord of the Rings books. It's a great introduction to
fantasy worlds without having to remember too many unusual creature or place
names. It's a classic, and was arguably the foundation of the fantasy
fiction genre. The Hobbit does seem to have a basis in much older writings,
though. As with some of the Old English / Norse sagas (Orkneyinga saga,
Beowulf) the characters often stop to compose a verse of song or poetry.
These may feel like interruptions to the narrative, but I see them as
echoes of a much older style of writing.
I enjoyed this
book as an adventure tale, and the realism of returning the characters to their
homes / place of origin was a pleasant surprise.
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