Existential Moments in Reading and Blogging
December 22nd, 2011 § 5 Comments
i’m going through a reading identity shift, which is a good thing. but, i’m not sure where that leaves this blog.
when i went back to school a year ago and decided to pursue a MA in English (instead of continuing on with Biology or IT work), i thought this blog would play some part in the process. and early on, it did. i tried to keep blogging about books i was reading in class (like my Toni Morrison binge), and it was exploratory and fun. but, as things got busier with grad school and i was reading less novels and more theory, the blog just didn’t fit. i mean, who wants to hear about me fumbling through composition and cultural studies theory?
also, i’m finding that the 300 or so books that are taking up shelf space are no longer in my target reading zone. i used to love a good novel, but now i’m more interested in non-fiction, politics, social justice, and the like. my interests have shifted so dramatically that i surprise myself every day. i’m happy with the change and my time spent thinking and reading and living feel more meaningful as a result. « Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Fire Monks
July 20th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Title: Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets Wildfire at the Gates of Tassjara
Author: Colleen Morton Busch
Published: Penguin Press / 2011
Genre: Nonfiction
Length: 224 pages
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours
Rating: 7/10
the premise of this book was immediately intriguing to me: a small group of zen monks fight a California forest fire to protect their monastery deep in the woods. i won’t lie; i have a thing for zen monks and spiritual enlightenment, particularly when it meets real world challenges, so i couldn’t pass this one up. and mostly, it didn’t disappoint.
in the summer of 2008, lightning ignited drought-stricken California, sending off a flurry of wildfires for several weeks. with resources thin and weather conditions worsening, the monks at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center (near Big Sur) prepared for the worst. as it became clear that the fires were imminent, evacuations forced the monastery to be left unattended for the first time in its long history.
« Read the rest of this entry »
Review: I’m Here to Win
July 16th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Title: I’m Here to Win: A World Champion’s Advice for Peak Performance
Author: Chris McCormack
Published: Center Street / 2011
Genre: Autobiography, Sports
Length: 288 pages
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 10/10
i’m not going to lie. i’m a Chris McCormack fangirl. so, this book had immediate appeal to me. as a slowpoke triathlete who lives one island over, watching the World Ironman Championships in Kona each year is a must. and watching Chris McCormack win last year was epic. so, when i heard that he wrote a book about his life and was proffering advice, you can bet i was one of the first to want to read the book. « Read the rest of this entry »
Have Books, Will Travel
July 15th, 2011 § 10 Comments
we are headed off on vacation and i will be bringing books!
i have learned from past trips that ebooks are the way to go, so i have filled my kindle and iPad up with more books than i could possibly read. and i’m throwing a few in the suitcase for good measure.
digital books (read: takes up no space)
Review: State of Wonder
July 14th, 2011 § 4 Comments
Title: State of Wonder
Author: Ann Patchett
Published: Harper Collins / 2011
Genre: Fiction, Literature
Length: 368 pages
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours
Rating: 8/10
a modern-day Heart of Darkness with a female protagonist, State of Wonder beautifully captures the joys and fears associated with nature, and the essence of human connections and disconnections, in love and in friendship.
when Marina learns that her coworker has died while on assignment in South America, she is vaulted into the same daunting situation with two goals: find out the details of his death and finish the work that he had been sent to do. as she approaches these tasks, she is also forced to face her past, which include her failed attempt at becoming a doctor and a father who abandoned her. conveniently (or perhaps inconveniently for Marina), the doctor in charge of research in the jungle is Dr. Swenson, the source of much personal and professional anxiety for Marina. all of this comes together as Marina journeys deeper into the jungle, the physical and metaphoric manifestation of her life as it is. « Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Who Fears Death
July 3rd, 2011 § 4 Comments
Title: Who Fears Death
Author: Nnedi Okorafor
Published: DAW Hardcover / 2010
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 386 pages
Source: borrowed
Rating: 9/10
i’m always intrigued when i read books that are written in native English (that is, not translated) and yet are so vivid in their representations that it seems like a new and vibrant language altogether. i’ve felt this in the past when i read Someone Knows My Name and The God of Small Things, and now again with this book.
Onyesonwu is a mixed-race girl (in a post-apocalyptic Africa), forever marked by her sand-colored skin as a child of rape in the midst of a genocide-stricken land. as a child, she is shunned and feared by her mother’s people, a race unwilling to see the depths of injustice that continue to plague them. but when it is found that she possesses magical powers, Onyesonwu embarks on a physical and spiritual journey to find herself and save her people. « Read the rest of this entry »
Looking Back – June 2011
July 1st, 2011 § 9 Comments
wow, it’s been a full year since i’ve done a month-end roundup. sad, sad, sad. but, here i am and here you are, so let’s get on with it.
view of windward coast from Olomana hike
in life, i’ve been busy enjoying summer break with lots of hiking, running, and biking. tolkien and i are registered for a bunch of upcoming events, including a 144-mile charity ride around the island (in memory of a cyclist that was killed in a hit-and-run accident last year), a 100-mile fun ride, and the Honolulu Marathon. we also completed the Honolulu Triathlon last month and are just so amazed at how important triathlon has become in our lives. « Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Review: Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone
June 30th, 2011 § 9 Comments
Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Author: J.K. Rowling
Published: Scholastic / 1998
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction
Length: 320 pages
Source: borrowed
Rating: 10/10
i hardly ever do re-reads of books because i’m always so overwhelmed with all of the books i haven’t read. but, when Giraffe Days announced her intent to re-read the Harry Potter series this year, i just couldn’t resist. with the release of the final movie and the recent Pottermore announcement, the world is all abuzz with Potter love anyways, so what better time?
but, i don’t feel the need to do a standard review of this book, since everyone’s already read it by now, right? (if you haven’t, let me be the 1,000,000th person to tell you that you should.) so, instead, i thought i’d chronicle my Potter reading experience. « Read the rest of this entry »
Review: The Lake
June 26th, 2011 § 14 Comments
Title: The Lake
Author: Banana Yoshimoto, translated by Michael Emmerich
Published: Melville House / 2011
Genre: Fiction, Japanese Literature
Length: 208 pages
Source: publisher
Rating: 6/10
i’ve been trying to connect with my Japanese heritage in books and this was a natural choice. though i’ve never read any of her previous works, Banana Yoshimoto has made a name for herself in Japanese Literature circles and i was really looking forward to trying her on for size.
but, alas, this one didn’t work for me as much as i’d have liked. there was great potential that i could see in the writing, but i was so discouraged by one thing that i couldn’t get past. but, before i get to that, let me talk first about what i did enjoy. « Read the rest of this entry »
Mini-Reviews: Graphic Novel Bundle
June 16th, 2011 § 4 Comments
since i’m on summer break and have a little bit more free time than i would during the school year, i’ve joined in the ‘book a day’ twitter challenge (use hashtag #bookaday). since i’m not a super speedy reader, i find that graphic novels are a great way to keep up with the one book per day pace without stressing myself out.
and bonus, i found a new stash of graphic novels at the state library and have been grabbing everything i can find! so here are the first three of the batch.
i loved reading these and am gaining so much respect and appreciation for graphic novels as a genre. more review bundles to come (i hope!). « Read the rest of this entry »
Things I Learn From Books: Body Snatchers
June 15th, 2011 § 3 Comments
did you know that…
there is a difference between grave robbing and body snatching, depending on what the thief was after?
[G]rave-robbing involved the pilfering of jewels and heirlooms buried in tombs and crypts of the well-to-do. Being caught in possession of a corpse’s cufflinks was a crime, but being caught with the corpse itself carried no penalty. Before anatomy schools caught on, there were no laws on the books regarding the misappropriation of freshly dead humans.
Review: The Emperor of All Maladies
June 9th, 2011 § 3 Comments
Title: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee
Published: Scribner and Tantor Audio / 2010
Genre: Nonfiction, Science and Medicine
Length: 592 pages (20 hours, 49 minutes)
Source: purchased
Rating: 9/10
i thought i knew a bit about cancer from my days as a Biology major in college, but boy was i wrong! i learned very quickly that, relatively speaking, what i knew would have fit on the back of a postage stamp – and a very small one at that. The Emperor of All Maladies is massive, nearly a textbook, and is packed to the brim with research, accidental discoveries, anecdotes, and more. but, it reads somewhere between a mystery novel and a historical piece, with cancer at the forefront in all its ugliness and glory. « Read the rest of this entry »
Uncensored: The Perils of Reading Your Email
June 9th, 2011 § 11 Comments
this past week, the Wall Street Journal wrote a ridiculous article on the ways that YA fiction books are perilous. but, i have something more serious to address that is doing actual (as opposed to imagined) harm to people and ideas.
we probably all get chain emails from time to time, and many of them are roll-your-eyes worthy in their absurdity. but, lately, it has gotten out of hand. and when people’s belief systems and political actions are based on overtly falsified and downright racist statements, i have something to say.
so excuse me for a moment while i rant.
i received an email titled THE FLAG IS GONE, which snopes.com has documented as looking something like this, but much (oh so very much) worse.
the copy i received had the added color of phrases like DON’T VOTE FOR THE MUSLIM TRAITOR, stating outright that President Obama has redecorated the Oval Office, removing the American flags, installing middle-eastern wallpaper and yellow drapes with Arabic symbols on it. other pictures showed past presidents with the American flag in full view. « Read the rest of this entry »
Review: The Ghost Map
June 8th, 2011 § 9 Comments
Title: The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
Author: Steven Johnson
Published: Riverhead Trade / 2006
Genre: Nonfiction, Science and Medicine
Length: 320 pages
Source: borrowed
Rating: 9/10
NOTE: this is a book about disease that is spread through the ingestion of poop, so if you’re squeamish about that sort of thing, this might not be the right book (or review) for you.
i love this book, to a point. bust first, allow me to explain.
The Ghost Map is (in many ways) narrative-nonfiction at its best, breathing life into the daily bustle of London’s streets in the 1850′s during the most violent and devastating cholera epidemics of its time.
Past epidemics had produced higher body counts citywide, but none had killed so many in such a small area with such devastating speed.
Review: The Sky is Everywhere
June 7th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Title: The Sky Is Everywhere
Author: Jandy Nelson
Published: Dial / 2010
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Length: 272 pages
Source: borrowed
Rating: 8/10
this book got quite a bit of hype last year when it stormed through the book blogging community. so, i added it to my TBR list and patiently waited a while before picking it up. i prefer reading a book with my own expectations and no one elses, and although this means i’m rarely at the upstart of a great thing, i know i’m reading what i want when i want. and this charmer was mostly worth the wait.
Lennie was Bailey’s younger, less brilliant sister. when Bailey suddenly dies, Lennie is left to wade through her grief on her own. raised by their superstitious grandmother and weed-smoking, tom-catting Uncle Big, the girls lived a charmed life of relative simplicity. when Bailey dies, though, everything spins into a vortex around Lennie, including the disjointed family and Bailey’s now-miserable boyfriend Tony. and for the sake of timing, Joe, the new hunky musician boy at school has fallen for Lennie and her awesome clarinet skills. « Read the rest of this entry »
join me in my adventures and bookish encounters as a born-again english student. non-fiction to literary fiction, some YA and a dabbling of things in between. i'm adding books to the to-read pile faster than they can be read! 
