All Consuming : degan

Consumed "The Overflowing Brain: Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory"

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:48:42 GMT

The Overflowing Brain: Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory

by Torkel Klingberg

Consumed "The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine"

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:48:30 GMT

The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine

by Steve Rinella

WORTH IT!

Consuming "Up in Ontario"

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:24:55 GMT

Up in Ontario

by James Sherrett

Consumed "Good Omens"

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:24:34 GMT

Good Omens

by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

NOT WORTH IT!

Consumed "Spain...A Culinary Road Trip"

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:52:38 GMT

Spain...A Culinary Road Trip

by Mario Batali

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Whiskey: The Definitive World Guide"

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:35:45 GMT

Whiskey: The Definitive World Guide

by Michael Jackson

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Watchmen (DC COMICS)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:05:52 GMT

Watchmen (DC COMICS)

by Alan Moore, John Higgins & Dave Gibbins

WORTH IT!

A story about "Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success"

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success

by Penelope Trunk

A good reminder that there is a different force at work in the workforce these days and if you are hating your cubicle, you’re not alone. Trunk gives some good ideas on how to craft the career you want and navigate resumes, job hunts and interviews. Parts of it are a bit obvious, but that may just be because I was wishing I had read this book 5 or 6 years ago.

The Horror, etc. (rated 2 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:36:35 GMT

The Beach

by Alex Garland

To start with, I should say that if I had know what this book was going to be about, then I probably wouldn’t have read it. So it’s not really that surprising that I didn’t like it. First of all, I wanted to read a book about Thailand, which this book really is not at all. They are on Ko Sanh road at the beginning and the rest of the time is spent on an island utopia that really could have been anywhere. Secondly, I hate books about the darkness of humanity. Heart of Darkness, Lord of the Flies, etc. I know it’s important to explore that side of our culture, but I am just not interested in reading about it. I’d rather watch the news.

Why I gave up consuming "Taft: A Novel (P.S.)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:29:31 GMT

Taft: A Novel (P.S.)

by Ann Patchett

I looked for this book everywhere, but I couldn’t find it. The library and bookstores didn’t have it, my friends didn’t own it and all told me it was bad, but I’ve loved all her other books, so I was determined to read it. Finally the library got in a copy and I made it about halfway. My friends were right. It is bad. I can deal with the characters, although none of them resonated with me, but what finally made me put the book down was the main character’s obsession with making up a personal history for the white boy. It made me crazy because it was so pointless and unlikely and also boring. Anyways, her other books are excellent.

A review of "The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less" (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:50:15 GMT

The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less

by Peter Bowerman

A decent account of how to get into the freelance writing business. It’s a tad arrogant and a bit dated, but the samples of documents and letters in the appendix make it very much worth your while.

So good (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:49:12 GMT

The Birth House: A Novel

by Ami McKay

When I find a good book I tend to devour it and this one I read all in one day. I loved the midwifery details and the division in the town between traditional midwife care and the new maternity hospital. And I loved the East Coast characters and language and landscape. This book was recommended to me by several different friends and did not disappoint. At times I felt like the author was trying too hard to incorporate bits of factually correct history into the narrative and so the story wobbled a bit at times – losing the plot to account for historical data – but that’s a minor issue in such a great story. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for her next book.

Help Navigating the Waters of Negotiation (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:40:16 GMT

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

by Roger Fisher

As a pushover who needs all the help she can get with negotiating, I found the layout and technique of this book quite useful. I definitely need some real-world scenarios to test it out in, but it gives you a different way of looking at the issue.

Trash

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:36:51 GMT

Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine

by Courtney Cochran

I should have stopped reading at the sentence “don’t worry Texans, it’s just a hypothetical!!!” but instead I continued on through the chirpy, Valley-girl prose, past numerous instances of “grody” “ick” and “wicked” until I felt that I was somehow learning about wine from a teenager.
Yes there is some good information in this book, and especially if you are really new to the wine world, it provides a good start, but good luck slogging through it. I certainly needed a drink afterwards.

Ho Hum Redux

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:25:55 GMT

A Hedonist in the Cellar: Adventures in Wine (Vintage)

by Jay Mcinerney

Basically the same as Bacchus & Me, but a little less arrogant, a little less outdated, a slight fewer mentions of his Prada wardrobe, a little bit better writing and somehow a little bit more boring. I would definitely give this one a pass.

Thoroughly Researched and Well Told (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:27:26 GMT

Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu

by Laurence Bergreen

After tramping through Marco Polo’s ‘Travel’s’ and not being able to make much sense of place names and old world euphemisms, Bergreen’s book is a joy of information and adventure. He sticks closely to Marco’s journey, but also includes a lot of background information on the Polo family, the times and the places he is visiting, and seeing the big picture in context crystallizes everything. It’s still a big book and a bit of a slog to get through, but I liked how it straddled the lines between biography, history text and adventure story. There are also 3 sets of nice photos, but I could have done with some more maps. I’m a map junkie.

The Best Book I've Read in a While (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:31:04 GMT

The Time Traveler's Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger

At first I was very skeptical of a book about time-travel. I loved “A Wrinkle in Time” when I was 6, but lately my tastes are a little different. I kept hearing good things about it, however, and after the 6th or 7th rave review, I thought I should check it out. And it was truly the best book I’ve read in a long while. It’s real, which is a funny thing to say about a book on time travel, but nevertheless… Anyways, I cleared my calendar and read it all in one day. Highly recommended.

Sad Family Matters (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:20:18 GMT

Family Matters

by Rohinton Mistry

This book is really about life and death in a Parsi family who’s patriarch is dying of Parkinson’s disease and needs to be cared for. There are so many other dynamics to the story, of course, and plot twists. It is at heart a sad book, but there is also love and revenge and cruelness and joy. Mistry is an excellent writer and has captured the story of this family with exquisite grace.

Ho Hum Drum (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:05:11 GMT

Bacchus and Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar

by Jay Mcinerney

I had my doubts about Mcinerney writing a wine book, but surprisingly he was very knowledgeable and the part that I didn’t like about it was the aspect I thought would be the most interesting – his writing style. It sucks, frankly. He switches gears about 10 times in a 3 page piece, throws anecdotes and paragraphs of information at you willy-nilly and then ends it without much of a conclusion. Also, the essays are articles from his magazine column, so there is a lot of overlap and similar phrasing which you many not notice month to month, but is sure obvious reading one chapter after another. Oh well, it’s a quick read and it is entertaining and informative, so I will say it’s OK. I will also say there are better books out there. Try “Red, White & Drunk All Over”.

Bitter, Bitchy and Self-Absorbed

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:24:44 GMT

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure

by Sarah Macdonald

I was really excited to start reading this book because the cover intrigued me and I’ve been obsessed with both travel and India lately, so a survey of India’s culture and religion from a travel point of view was right up my alley. Better in theory than in practice, however.

Right from the start, the author sets herself up as a cranky, spoiled narrator and the shtick gets boring fast. At one point near the book she describes herself as “a self-occupied, selfish, pathetic, pessimistic bitch” and at least she’s honest, but I’d rather read travel literature from people who actually appreciated the country they were visiting.

She does have moments of positivism, but her writing style breaks the cardinal rule of “telling, not showing” and so you never really get a feel for the country, just a feel for how much she hates it.

Imaginative, and not that Weird (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (degan) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:54:38 GMT

The White Bone

by Barbara Gowdy

I was a little leary of this book because I am really not a fan of animal stories. The humans invariably get it wrong and I often find it embarrassing to read stories told from a creature’s point of view because there is just something off-putting and false about it. It seems worse than science fiction in some ways, because it is a tresspassing on something we simply cannot know.

So I was hesitant to read this book, to say the least, but I heard Barbara Gowdy read at the Vancouver Writers Festival and not only did I love her stories and speaking, but she read an excerpt of “The White Bone” also, and I was intrigued.

I will not say that I loved the book. It took me a bit to get into and the vague ending seemed kind of abrubt and pointless to me, but the story is creative and imaginative in a careful way. She invents language and names, and even religion for the elephants, but it does seem believable and I could feel myself really getting into the story. Definitely worth a read.