Regrety's Big Book of Fabricated Folktales from Finland (April Winchell)
Just exactly what it sounds like (well, aside from "Big"): A book full of made up folktales and invented facts and statistics about Finland, usually about how Finland smells like pee and everyone who lives there is a depressed drunk who takes turns beating each other with sticks to pass the time while the moonshine ferments. It has nothing in common with the author's other book except the quality of writing, which is still excellent. This is a good bathroom book, as it is a little short (like this review).
Grade: B+
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
"Game Change"
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime (John Heilemann and Mark Halperin)
It's no secret that I love gossipy political trash, and here's a great example. This book covers the 2008 campaign, with about 50% of the book being Obama facing off with Hillary for the Democratic nomination, a small interlude where McCain brushes aside the joke campaigns of Guliani and Fred Thompson to lock up his own nomination, and then maybe the last third being the general election. This is well-written, entertaining trash - the charecters are outsized and there's never a dull moment. My one and only complaint is that I think a little too much time is given to the Democratic primary; I don't know if that's because the reporters had the best sources on this or they found it the most interesting, but I would have liked the ratios switched so the first third was the Democratic nomination fight, then the second half was the general election. That's really my only complaint - I re-read this recently, and even with the material now being rather dated (perhaps a concern for the new reader) and having read it before, I still had trouble putting it down.
Bonus! New words I learned from this book: "Ripshit" - this is a great word; Try using it at least once a day - and the cryptic terms "political big feet" and "thumbsuckers", applied to important members of the national press and government, I think (???)
Grade: A-
It's no secret that I love gossipy political trash, and here's a great example. This book covers the 2008 campaign, with about 50% of the book being Obama facing off with Hillary for the Democratic nomination, a small interlude where McCain brushes aside the joke campaigns of Guliani and Fred Thompson to lock up his own nomination, and then maybe the last third being the general election. This is well-written, entertaining trash - the charecters are outsized and there's never a dull moment. My one and only complaint is that I think a little too much time is given to the Democratic primary; I don't know if that's because the reporters had the best sources on this or they found it the most interesting, but I would have liked the ratios switched so the first third was the Democratic nomination fight, then the second half was the general election. That's really my only complaint - I re-read this recently, and even with the material now being rather dated (perhaps a concern for the new reader) and having read it before, I still had trouble putting it down.
Bonus! New words I learned from this book: "Ripshit" - this is a great word; Try using it at least once a day - and the cryptic terms "political big feet" and "thumbsuckers", applied to important members of the national press and government, I think (???)
Grade: A-
Saturday, November 26, 2011
"Bloody Mohawk"
Bloody Mohawk: The French and Indian War & American Revolution on New York's Frontier (Richard Berleth)
I really enjoyed this book. Berleth's sweeping history of the Mohawk river valley is engrossing - the story picks up where the English have already come and taken over from the Dutch, who are snooty old money at this point, and the people of the long house have an uneasy co-existance with the white settlers, supplying them with pelts in return for manufactured goods. The book follows the sweep of events until at the end, the confederation of the native peoples is ripped apart in the extremely bloody and personal conflict of the Revolutionary War (spoiler alert).
My only word of warning here is that "Bloody Mohawk" really isn't kidding. During the first half of the book it's not too bad, but by the time the Revolutionary War starts, it's a mercy when people are just getting shot point-blank in the face with muskets and not getting scalped while still alive or hung with their own entrails.
If you can deal with the depressing and frankly astonishing amount of blood shed in the second half, you won't want to miss this.
Grade: A
I really enjoyed this book. Berleth's sweeping history of the Mohawk river valley is engrossing - the story picks up where the English have already come and taken over from the Dutch, who are snooty old money at this point, and the people of the long house have an uneasy co-existance with the white settlers, supplying them with pelts in return for manufactured goods. The book follows the sweep of events until at the end, the confederation of the native peoples is ripped apart in the extremely bloody and personal conflict of the Revolutionary War (spoiler alert).
My only word of warning here is that "Bloody Mohawk" really isn't kidding. During the first half of the book it's not too bad, but by the time the Revolutionary War starts, it's a mercy when people are just getting shot point-blank in the face with muskets and not getting scalped while still alive or hung with their own entrails.
If you can deal with the depressing and frankly astonishing amount of blood shed in the second half, you won't want to miss this.
Grade: A
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
"Inside Scientology"
Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion (Janet Reitman)
This is the perfect starter's guide if you're interested in Scientology; Reitman has put together a comprehensive history of the church running from L Ron Hubbard's Dianetics phase up to today's staffer-abusin', Xenu-fearin', money-takin' church. Reitman navigates Scientology's often confusing maze of concepts, organizations, shell corporations, and lingo expertly. The only part of the book that drags a little is when she follows three girls born in the church and where they end up - I found myself flipping pages here as the one who's still in Scientology attempts to justify the church, and comes off like a typical 17 year old who, like, whatever, because right?
Otherwise this is a great read, if depressing, and if you keep your eyes peeled you'll see cameos from Nancy Many, Amy Scobee, and Marc Headly among other tell-all authors. Start with this book and you'll never be lost or confused while reading the others.
Grade: A-
Scientology Jargon-O-Meter reading: 0 (If you can remember what the RPF is, you won't have any trouble; Excellent primer for other books)
This is the perfect starter's guide if you're interested in Scientology; Reitman has put together a comprehensive history of the church running from L Ron Hubbard's Dianetics phase up to today's staffer-abusin', Xenu-fearin', money-takin' church. Reitman navigates Scientology's often confusing maze of concepts, organizations, shell corporations, and lingo expertly. The only part of the book that drags a little is when she follows three girls born in the church and where they end up - I found myself flipping pages here as the one who's still in Scientology attempts to justify the church, and comes off like a typical 17 year old who, like, whatever, because right?
Otherwise this is a great read, if depressing, and if you keep your eyes peeled you'll see cameos from Nancy Many, Amy Scobee, and Marc Headly among other tell-all authors. Start with this book and you'll never be lost or confused while reading the others.
Grade: A-
Scientology Jargon-O-Meter reading: 0 (If you can remember what the RPF is, you won't have any trouble; Excellent primer for other books)
Saturday, November 19, 2011
"Treason"
Treason [Navy Justice, Book 1] (Don Brown)
Yes, that's DON Brown, not DAN Brown. And man, this is a bad book. I got this for free on the Kindle store and I still feel ripped off. This is probably one of the most amateurish books I've ever read - everyone is flat and smotheringly one-dimensional. The bad guys - stock Evil Muslim Terrorists (TM) straight from central casting - all have horribly stilted "My brother, let us destroy this cute kitten in the name of our evil god, Allah" type dialog. They go around doing typical Evil Muslim Terrorist things, such as throwing hand grenades in churches, and assassinating Israeli ambassadors, and, um, serving for years in the United States Navy? Hey, I didn't say it made sense.
Meanwhile, that's just half the book. The other half is a military trial where a SEAL is accused of raping an officer. (What do these plotlines have to do with each other? Nothing! Ha ha!) This part of the book actually has our "hero" in it, a military prosecutor. And what does our hero do? Well, he, uh, prosecutes a rape case and starts dating the victim about two days after the incident took place. This part of the book gets twice as much ink as the other part, and it sure makes a Evil Muslim Terrorist named "John Neptune" throwing a grenade into a church look tightly written when the author takes twice as long to describe a boring dinner date in which nothing interesting happens. Kind of like how getting kicked in the butt is better than getting punched in the face - the Evil Muslim Terrorist sections may be incredibly dumb, clumsily written, offensive, and obvious, but at least something happens, which beats the part of the book that's dumb, clumsily written, offensive, and obvious, and nothing happens.
Overall, I'd give this a B- and a Shows Promise! from a 16 year old in a high school English class. As a finished novel, the only grade it deserves is the dreaded
Grade: F-
Yes, that's DON Brown, not DAN Brown. And man, this is a bad book. I got this for free on the Kindle store and I still feel ripped off. This is probably one of the most amateurish books I've ever read - everyone is flat and smotheringly one-dimensional. The bad guys - stock Evil Muslim Terrorists (TM) straight from central casting - all have horribly stilted "My brother, let us destroy this cute kitten in the name of our evil god, Allah" type dialog. They go around doing typical Evil Muslim Terrorist things, such as throwing hand grenades in churches, and assassinating Israeli ambassadors, and, um, serving for years in the United States Navy? Hey, I didn't say it made sense.
Meanwhile, that's just half the book. The other half is a military trial where a SEAL is accused of raping an officer. (What do these plotlines have to do with each other? Nothing! Ha ha!) This part of the book actually has our "hero" in it, a military prosecutor. And what does our hero do? Well, he, uh, prosecutes a rape case and starts dating the victim about two days after the incident took place. This part of the book gets twice as much ink as the other part, and it sure makes a Evil Muslim Terrorist named "John Neptune" throwing a grenade into a church look tightly written when the author takes twice as long to describe a boring dinner date in which nothing interesting happens. Kind of like how getting kicked in the butt is better than getting punched in the face - the Evil Muslim Terrorist sections may be incredibly dumb, clumsily written, offensive, and obvious, but at least something happens, which beats the part of the book that's dumb, clumsily written, offensive, and obvious, and nothing happens.
Overall, I'd give this a B- and a Shows Promise! from a 16 year old in a high school English class. As a finished novel, the only grade it deserves is the dreaded
Grade: F-
Monday, November 14, 2011
"Scientology - Abuse At the Top"
Scientology - Abuse at the Top (Amy Scobee)
This is kinda the anti-My Billion Year Contract. Scobee's not fucking around here; I finished the whole book in a few hours in the airport terminal and my hotel room. Scobee is amazingly blase about the whole thing. The book basically starts with her getting sexually assaulted at 14 by a Scientologist, and it doesn't get any more cheerful from there. Scobee bounces around the RPF (at one point being assigned there for two years), getting weird punishments like having to eat nothing but rice and beans for months and months, and getting verbally and emotionally abused by David Miscavige, the head of Scientology (and witinesses him physically abusing other staff members first hand). Scobee must be one tough cookie, because none of this seems to do more than make her mad, and the typical Scientologist cult techniques (bad and not enough food, not enough sleep, disconnecting people from friends and family) don't have the desired effect. At the end of the book she blows and there's as happy an ending as you can get when the cult you escaped after 20 years blackmails your mother into never talking to you again unless you give them $250,000 and dumps you on the street in your mid 40's with $100 in your pocket. I'd recommend reading the book, but maybe not as your first Scientologist memior; Scobee doesn't go into the kind of context you'd get from a "Blown for Good", and you might want to read one of those first.
Grade: B
Scientology Jargon-O-Meter reading: 7 (Scobee uses extensive acronyms and jargon like "being in a treason condition" or "up-stat"; These are explained in the end-notes, but unless you're already familiar with these concepts, you will need to attempt a guess at her meaning from context or flip to the endnotes every other page.)
This is kinda the anti-My Billion Year Contract. Scobee's not fucking around here; I finished the whole book in a few hours in the airport terminal and my hotel room. Scobee is amazingly blase about the whole thing. The book basically starts with her getting sexually assaulted at 14 by a Scientologist, and it doesn't get any more cheerful from there. Scobee bounces around the RPF (at one point being assigned there for two years), getting weird punishments like having to eat nothing but rice and beans for months and months, and getting verbally and emotionally abused by David Miscavige, the head of Scientology (and witinesses him physically abusing other staff members first hand). Scobee must be one tough cookie, because none of this seems to do more than make her mad, and the typical Scientologist cult techniques (bad and not enough food, not enough sleep, disconnecting people from friends and family) don't have the desired effect. At the end of the book she blows and there's as happy an ending as you can get when the cult you escaped after 20 years blackmails your mother into never talking to you again unless you give them $250,000 and dumps you on the street in your mid 40's with $100 in your pocket. I'd recommend reading the book, but maybe not as your first Scientologist memior; Scobee doesn't go into the kind of context you'd get from a "Blown for Good", and you might want to read one of those first.
Grade: B
Scientology Jargon-O-Meter reading: 7 (Scobee uses extensive acronyms and jargon like "being in a treason condition" or "up-stat"; These are explained in the end-notes, but unless you're already familiar with these concepts, you will need to attempt a guess at her meaning from context or flip to the endnotes every other page.)
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