All Consuming : pastilla

Consuming "The Alchemist (Plus)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:03:34 GMT

The Alchemist (Plus)

by Paulo Coelho

Consuming "Africa: A Biography of the Continent"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:38:04 GMT

Africa: A Biography of the Continent

by John Reader

Consumed "The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:34:32 GMT

The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski

WORTH IT!

A review of "sTORI Telling"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:10:49 GMT

sTORI Telling

by Tori Spelling

Classic gossipy, junky beauty salon read . . .nothing too brain-taxing or earth-shattering . . .Fairly interesting study in the vague morality and appalling lack of self-reflection that a wealthy childhood often creates and nurtures . . . The ghost-writer did a good job of conveying that odd, soulless quality that so many (grown-up) rich kids often have. . Spelling drifts from one experience to another with little (if any) true depth, and appears to have few regrets, consequences or apologies.

Why I recommend "Up the Yangtze"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:11:11 GMT

Up the Yangtze

by Yung Chang

Saw Up The Yangtze yesterday; when it was over I just sat there, stunned, thinking (eloquently) wow-oh-wow-oh-wow-oh-wow . . .it’s still haunting me (sweetly).

I love it when a film does that; it’s even better when the way it engages you comes as a surprise. I went into the theater expecting a standard documentary about the Three Gorges dam (purposely did not read any reviews in advance), so I had no idea that I was about to see a modern mini-quest of the human spirit - mercifully devoid of that swelling, emotion-manipulating music that is so ubiquitous in most films about China I’ve seen lately. Up the Yangtze is (mostly) as gentle and beautiful as a watercolor, and as interesting and character-rich as any Austen (or perhaps I should say Lisa See) novel.

It's Been Too Long Since a Book Has Made Me Truly Laugh Out Loud (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 02:40:31 GMT

I Still Have It . . . I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It: Confessions of a Fiftysomething

by Rita Rudner

This book made me laugh. I mean, really laugh . . . the kind of belly chuckles and snorts that elicit glares from library personnel. Especially if you are 40+ and a little incontinent.

The world was getting me down. After reading the book it seemed, temporarily at least, a more pleasant place.

Thank you, Rita.

Highly Recommended for Foster Parents (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:58:34 GMT

Three Little Words: A Memoir

by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

If you are fostering or have adopted a child with RAD, this is an excellent book for understanding the child’s point-of-view.

Frivolous

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:39:34 GMT

A Weekend to Change Your Life: Find Your Authentic Self After a Lifetime of Being All Things to All People

by Joan Anderson

I’d put this book in the same category as Eat, Love, Pray.

Mostly seems to be geared toward upper-middle class women who wake up somewhere in their 40’s and feel their lives are shallow and unfulfilled. So, they leave home with a wad of cash and an “invisible backpack” (see http://www.uakron.edu/centers/conflict/docs/whitepriv.pdf if you aren’t familiar with the term) to find themselves.

While I agree with the author’s premise that it’s very helpful for women to retreat from the world for a couple of days, the spoiled, almost sorority-girl “it’s all about me” tone of the book was tiresome and grating.

Why I recommend "Don't Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:11:01 GMT

Don't Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions

by Pema Chodron

Highly recommended for anyone who is open to meditation and needs help with everyday minor flurries of anger or more deep-seated ones. Looks at anger as a habit that can be managed, rather than a inescapable reflex.

A Glimpse Into the Way Things Were in Rwanda (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:58:58 GMT

This Voice in My Heart: A Genocide Survivor's Story of Escape, Faith, and Forgiveness

by Gilbert Tuhabonye

Balanced account of what life was like before the genocide in Rwanda, a miraculous escape from slaughter, and an attempt to rebuild life with immense courage.

Fascinating (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:52:41 GMT

The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories: China from the Bottom Up

by Liao Yiwu

Intriguing, emotional, inspiring portraits of 27 fascinating, fascinating Chinese citizens.

A review of "A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:47:41 GMT

A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting

by Hara Estroff Marano

The last chapter of A Nation of Wimps offers 11 very good suggestions for parents:

Let children play
Eat dinner together regularly
Learn how to criticize your children constructively
Let children find their own rewards for achievement
Quit hovering
Stop turning parenting into a [perfectionist’s] profession
Teach children how to tolerate discomfort
Learn how to praise children for the right things
Encourage your children to problem solve and take risks
Let your kids fail
Give your kids increasing responsibility for managing their own lives as they get older
Take your own brains back and get out of panic mode (i.e. be more rational & look at challenges in childrens’ lives as opportunities to make them problem solvers, not robots)

Great list.

The 255 pages BEFORE this list . . . meh.

The author’s main goal is to prove that the “wimpy” generation, (AKA current college-aged students): flunk out of college, self-mutilate, commit suicide and just can’t handle life due to over-zealous parenting (defined as parents who, among other things, choose: excessive amounts of adult-led activities, homeschooling, expensive gadgetry esp. cell phones , internet monitoring, etc. . . . )

While I totally agree that Alpha-Parenting (AKA “helicopter parenting”) is harmful, the things the author takes pot-shots at are sometimes ridiculous (e.g. she argues that parents who provide GPS phones to make themselves and their kids feel safer are “infantilizing” children).

Her Nietzsche-esque message, (pounded out for 255 pages before the last chapter . . . and almost in spite of it): “Parents, it’s OK, even desirable to unplug from your children and leave their asses hanging in the wind.”

As a “moderate” parent (neither a hoverer nor a free reigner . . . ), I feel she has it half-right . . . but I question what percentage of parents need a book like this to give them more excuses to be disconnected parents . . . when I look around I think there are more parents who don’t parent at all than those who overdo. There are a helluva lot more social problems created by them than by the Alpha parents, who are mostly just annoying as hell.

When the author started expounding the virtues of Sudbury Valley Schools though, which have few set curriculum standards and allow children to choose their own curricula . . . I totally tuned out . . . any theory that is grounded in the idea that American schools and homes need less structure seems extremely misguided at best . . .

Why I recommend "Half of a Yellow Sun"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:38:17 GMT

Half of a Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Adichie manages to tell the complex story of Biafra in a stunningly simple, understated way . . . no theatrics, no hysteria, and surprisingly little vitrol towards the West . . .

Unforgettable characters, absorbing story lines, profound themes . . . this book has it all.

A story about "The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:11:54 GMT

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

by Sylvia Plath

Today I curled up with a pot of Earl Grey and read The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath (2000). Her journals begin in 1950 when Plath was 18, a freshman at Smith. They end in early 1962. Ted Hughes burned the last journal (in which she no doubt recorded his mental cruelty and philandering). She killed herself February 11, 1963.

NYT review: “As maddeningly incomplete as they are, these journals are a revelation. Most strikingly, where one expects morbidity, one finds instead an almost pagan relish for life.”

[Thinks of the line from Annie Hall: “Oh, Sylvia Plath, whose tragic suicide was misinterpreted as romantic by the schoolgirl mentality.”]

Well, Woody Allen got it 2/3 right. Her suicide was tragic. My schoolgirl mentality could relate to aspects of Sylvia’s life. But nothing about her death seemed “romantic.”

Her journal is absorbing on many different levels, though: voyeuristic (a glimpse into a sexy debutante’s not-so-good-girl’s journal); analytic/medical (a glimpse into a young, intelligent mind on-the-edge-of-madness), academic (a chance to live vicariously through her “dream” academic career), and as a period piece (a vivid trek through 1950’s life and mores).

The hours flew by. I got home with her words throbbing in my temples and feeling the weight of a familiar brilliance, creative inspiration, trivial foolishness and pettiness . . . elements that unchecked can destroy a human spirit . . .

Felt no deep affinity with Sylvia Plath, just sympathy and a confused relief that through cruel (?) fate my own life was denied that sort of insanity, intensity and a career in the world of screwed-up narcissistic poets. (Came close, though.)

A question I have about "Laughing with Lucy: My Life with America's Leading Lady of Comedy"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:53:41 GMT

Laughing with Lucy: My Life with America's Leading Lady of Comedy

by Madelyn Pugh Davis

A quick read; fairly entertaining: competent, bland, tactful. I have long been curious as to how Madelyn Pugh became successful at a time when television writing was dominated by men; I admit I was hoping for an Unsinkable Molly Brown tale, imagining her to be sort of a bitchy, backstabbing, beer-guzzling, clawing-her-way-to-the-top gal. No such luck. Damn! Basically, she paints herself as a Bland Token Woman Employee: a hard-working dame who mostly thought like a man and didn’t cause the network execs trouble.

A story about "Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 03:42:05 GMT

Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far

by Amy Grant

I saw Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith at an Orange County concert in 2003. The show wasn’t well-attended, and it was clear Amy was not impressed with the thin crowd . . . the result was quite amusing. She wasn’t exactly a grump, but there was a plucky, almost curmudgeonly quality about her disappointment that was very endearing. In this live performance, you could really see the strong personality behind this early Christian star . . . not a surprise because after all, she making a name for herself long before there was such a thing as a female Christian pop star, (much less a “cross-over” star). Anyone who could have blazed THAT trail so successfully must have had some steel in her spine . . . and it’s clear she did.

So, that’s why when Mosaic came out, I was looking forward to reading it. I guess I was hoping that side of her personality would shine through again . . . the strength and stubborness and the “cute grouch” . . . but alas! it wasn’t there. Closest she came was including a funny, funny story about how her three children reacted to roadkill (in their own unique styles) . . . other than that, her personality via Mosaic comes across as being a bit whitewashed and artificial . . . too bad, because she is neither of those things.

Why I recommend "The Knitting Circle: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:47:03 GMT

The Knitting Circle: A Novel

by Ann Hood

Emotional, but not too heavy. It’s a book about forgiveness and growth, but hey, if you’re just not in the mood to forgive and grow TODAY, you don’t close the book laden with guilt . . . no preachiness. Just good old-fashioned storytelling. (Hood’s writing style reminds me of Maeve Binchy.)

Why I recommend "Marley and Me"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:37:02 GMT

Marley and Me

by John Grogan

A great book for a less-than-perfect dog owner.

WARNING: Check out Amazon.com to see the complaints.

Why I like people who have consumed "The End of The Alphabet: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:13:18 GMT

The End of The Alphabet: A Novel

by Cs Richardson

If you enjoy this type of writing, you could very well be a Michael Ondaatje fan, too.

Why I recommend "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge: The Book of Mnemonic Devices"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:58:33 GMT

Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge: The Book of Mnemonic Devices

by Rod L. Evans

I like books of lists. And lists of lists to help me remember lists.

This book is a gem.

Why I recommend "Little House on a Small Planet: Simple Homes, Cozy Retreats, and Energy Efficient Possibilities"

nobody@allconsuming.net (pastilla) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 05:16:34 GMT

Little House on a Small Planet: Simple Homes, Cozy Retreats, and Energy Efficient Possibilities

by Shay Salomon

For anyone who is fed up with consumerism . . . and cares about ecology . . . and peace . . .this book is SO FRESH. Ahead of its time, IMHO. Entertaining and very worthwhile read.