Mislaid by Nell Zink
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well, that was different. Well-written with too cutesy a plot which was then countermanded by all the ew moments. I think I liked it? I'm going to need to sit with it.
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Books My Father Read
I am addicted to reading. This is because 1) my dad died and I inherited his books, 2) my husband is a writer and he is really well-read, and he has tons of books in the house as well, 3) I discovered that I could get ebooks and audiobooks from my library online!
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Monday, December 21, 2020
The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon
The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It's fine. There's a mystery or two and the boys solve them: a stolen car and the contents of a safe. I can barely tell the boys' personalities apart and there's nothing else that jumps out to make it memorable or wonderful.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It's fine. There's a mystery or two and the boys solve them: a stolen car and the contents of a safe. I can barely tell the boys' personalities apart and there's nothing else that jumps out to make it memorable or wonderful.
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Sunday, December 20, 2020
I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R. Hofstadter
I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R. Hofstadter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is a little uneven but it has three basic ideas: 1) the relative size of souls from small mosquitoes all the way to the most compassionate, selfless humans, and 2) the ability to share one's soul closely in great detail or largely in a general way, 3) consciousness arises from conscience.
Leaving aside the issue of animals for the purpose of this review I believe in the equal treatment and honor of all humans as the basis for good and my conception of goodness itself or God. On the flip side, sociopathic cruelty towards any human is evil and I am not open to relativism. In other words, I completely reject #1 and embrace #3.
The book itself feels like it jumps from these three topics sometimes accompanied with logic puzzles or personal stories without actually persuasively tying these topics together. It wasn't a bad read though, it definitely gets your brain going and introduces some new things to think about.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is a little uneven but it has three basic ideas: 1) the relative size of souls from small mosquitoes all the way to the most compassionate, selfless humans, and 2) the ability to share one's soul closely in great detail or largely in a general way, 3) consciousness arises from conscience.
Leaving aside the issue of animals for the purpose of this review I believe in the equal treatment and honor of all humans as the basis for good and my conception of goodness itself or God. On the flip side, sociopathic cruelty towards any human is evil and I am not open to relativism. In other words, I completely reject #1 and embrace #3.
The book itself feels like it jumps from these three topics sometimes accompanied with logic puzzles or personal stories without actually persuasively tying these topics together. It wasn't a bad read though, it definitely gets your brain going and introduces some new things to think about.
View all my reviews
Monday, December 14, 2020
Secrets of the Heart: Poems and Meditations by Kahlil Gibran
Secrets of the Heart: Poems and Meditations by Kahlil Gibran
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Allegories and poems about philosophy and religion. They vary in quality and interest. Mostly I liked the misanthropic hermit at the beginning. He's like a jerky Buddhist. I also liked "John the Madman" about the difference between real Christianity and false Christianity. There's a story about saving Satan and mermaids judging mankind. A lot of the mostly Christian philosophy (but also Muslim and Buddhist philosophy) resonated with me, but I didn't feel like I gained any new insights.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Allegories and poems about philosophy and religion. They vary in quality and interest. Mostly I liked the misanthropic hermit at the beginning. He's like a jerky Buddhist. I also liked "John the Madman" about the difference between real Christianity and false Christianity. There's a story about saving Satan and mermaids judging mankind. A lot of the mostly Christian philosophy (but also Muslim and Buddhist philosophy) resonated with me, but I didn't feel like I gained any new insights.
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Friday, December 11, 2020
Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Pérez
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Every now and then I read a book that changes the way I see the world. This is one of those.
Of course, I am aware of some of the things mentioned in the book because I am a woman. I am well aware of the relative danger I face while walking around at nighttime as opposed to a man, but there is so much more than those types of observations here. The author explores so much in the world of data that my entire perception of moving through the world has shifted.
Absolutely everything seems different. I'm even looking at the headrest in my car with wonder and confusion. I'd give this book 10 stars if I could.
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Every now and then I read a book that changes the way I see the world. This is one of those.
Of course, I am aware of some of the things mentioned in the book because I am a woman. I am well aware of the relative danger I face while walking around at nighttime as opposed to a man, but there is so much more than those types of observations here. The author explores so much in the world of data that my entire perception of moving through the world has shifted.
Absolutely everything seems different. I'm even looking at the headrest in my car with wonder and confusion. I'd give this book 10 stars if I could.
View all my reviews
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Liberal Privilege by Donald Trump Jr.
Liberal Privilege: Joe Biden And The Democrats' Defense Of The Indefensible by Donald Trump Jr.
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
First of all, this is self-published which is a huge RED FLAG that it's horrendously written, edited, and not fact-checked. I can confirm this is the case.
1) Biden versus Trump health. Donald Jr. is correct that the media has not harped on Biden's aneurysms, to the point that if I'd heard about it, I had forgotten about it. I read Promises to Keep but don't recall that fact in there but did confirm it. But okay, Biden has been so forthcoming about his health that we even know about his aneurysms. Donald Jr. is really disingenuous about President Trump's health. We know he constantly eats McDonald's, can barely walk around (forget jogging on a treadmill that's absurd), and lies about everything. Dr. Ronny Jackson is now a Republican congressman, and Republican congressman have fallen in line behind Trump regardless of his policies, words, lies.
We've seen Biden bicycling around, and Biden suffers from a life-long stutter, not mental impairment as Donald Jr. would have you believe. But Donald Jr. doesn't mention the stutter AT ALL in his assessment because he's not interested in reality or educating the public, (hence the self-publishing) this is a lengthy ad in the form of a book. Now yes, the many political memoirs I read were also ads, but they were about the candidate's accomplishments not baseless attacks on their competition.
2) The DNC did not pick Joe Biden, primary Democratic voters did. He wasn't my first choice at all, but lots of CONSERVATIVE Democrats did want him. "Leftist extremists" typically called progressives, have virtually no power in the Democratic party. Biden is centrist, Nancy Pelosi is centrist, as are the majority of Democrats with any power. DT Jr. attacks Biden both for being too liberal, and too conservative, and for being racist to boot. I don't disagree that Biden has exhibited racism in the past (one of the reasons I supported more progressive candidates) or that he is very conservative, but President Trump has definitely exhibited more racism and more recently. So his argument completely falls apart logically.
3) This one is a perfect example of how DT Jr. constantly twists logic. Did Donald Trump Jr. commit treason? He doesn't discuss the details at all while dismissing the entire thing as impossible. Well, meeting with Russian informants to get information about Hillary Clinton is a crime that is dangerous to our country: a) You aren't supposed to receive presents from foreign countries that might make you beholden to them, b) they shouldn't have "kompromat" or secrets of yours that they may use for blackmail, and finally, c) you shouldn't allow foreign countries to influence our elections to their benefit, and I would add, d) Russia is our enemy in that it seeks to divide and harm our population so that it may follow its policy of local dominance over its neighboring countries and world hegemony more generally. DT Jr.’s emotional but not logical stance against this position is that the punishment for treason is the death penalty. No one of consequence in the Democratic party has called for the death penalty, or even really supports the death penalty more generally. The majority of death sentences that have been carried out in recent years have been by conservative leaders who have not issued pardons or delays. (By contrast, Steve Bannon has called for the beheading of private US citizens for merely advocating the truth.) Regardless, none of this contradicts that DT Jr. committed crimes for which he should rightfully pay. President Trump is well aware of this which is why he seeks to try to pardon DT Jr. before he has even been rightfully charged with these crimes.
4) He's right about political hypocrisy regarding sexual assault- something both Democrats and Republicans engage in. Um hello Roy Moore? https://www.washingtonpost.com/invest...
And then DT Jr. also does by not mentioning the many sexual assault and rape accusations against his father and his father's admission of sexual assault on tape.
5) Did media support liberal candidates? Or did media love all the money they made from the spectacle that was Donald Trump in 2016? Did they pound Hillary Clinton for her email server issue?
6) I'm old enough to actually remember what actually happened with regards to Russian election interference. I also read the Mueller Report (written by lifelong Republican Mueller) and listened to our intelligence agencies that were all in agreement about the facts but not in agreement with the Trumps. The intelligence agencies also said there was no truth to the accusation against Joe Biden behaving inappropriately with regards to Hunter Biden's business. Continuing to push this narrative goes beyond lying to participating in Russian efforts to destabilize our elections and our democracy and to divide our people.
On and on, the pattern in this book is the same, DT Jr. attacks Biden or his family for a small or untrue infraction and fails to mention the huge MOTES in the Trump families' eyes. It's infuriating and misleading and it gets one star for making the world a worse place.
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My rating: 1 of 5 stars
First of all, this is self-published which is a huge RED FLAG that it's horrendously written, edited, and not fact-checked. I can confirm this is the case.
1) Biden versus Trump health. Donald Jr. is correct that the media has not harped on Biden's aneurysms, to the point that if I'd heard about it, I had forgotten about it. I read Promises to Keep but don't recall that fact in there but did confirm it. But okay, Biden has been so forthcoming about his health that we even know about his aneurysms. Donald Jr. is really disingenuous about President Trump's health. We know he constantly eats McDonald's, can barely walk around (forget jogging on a treadmill that's absurd), and lies about everything. Dr. Ronny Jackson is now a Republican congressman, and Republican congressman have fallen in line behind Trump regardless of his policies, words, lies.
We've seen Biden bicycling around, and Biden suffers from a life-long stutter, not mental impairment as Donald Jr. would have you believe. But Donald Jr. doesn't mention the stutter AT ALL in his assessment because he's not interested in reality or educating the public, (hence the self-publishing) this is a lengthy ad in the form of a book. Now yes, the many political memoirs I read were also ads, but they were about the candidate's accomplishments not baseless attacks on their competition.
2) The DNC did not pick Joe Biden, primary Democratic voters did. He wasn't my first choice at all, but lots of CONSERVATIVE Democrats did want him. "Leftist extremists" typically called progressives, have virtually no power in the Democratic party. Biden is centrist, Nancy Pelosi is centrist, as are the majority of Democrats with any power. DT Jr. attacks Biden both for being too liberal, and too conservative, and for being racist to boot. I don't disagree that Biden has exhibited racism in the past (one of the reasons I supported more progressive candidates) or that he is very conservative, but President Trump has definitely exhibited more racism and more recently. So his argument completely falls apart logically.
3) This one is a perfect example of how DT Jr. constantly twists logic. Did Donald Trump Jr. commit treason? He doesn't discuss the details at all while dismissing the entire thing as impossible. Well, meeting with Russian informants to get information about Hillary Clinton is a crime that is dangerous to our country: a) You aren't supposed to receive presents from foreign countries that might make you beholden to them, b) they shouldn't have "kompromat" or secrets of yours that they may use for blackmail, and finally, c) you shouldn't allow foreign countries to influence our elections to their benefit, and I would add, d) Russia is our enemy in that it seeks to divide and harm our population so that it may follow its policy of local dominance over its neighboring countries and world hegemony more generally. DT Jr.’s emotional but not logical stance against this position is that the punishment for treason is the death penalty. No one of consequence in the Democratic party has called for the death penalty, or even really supports the death penalty more generally. The majority of death sentences that have been carried out in recent years have been by conservative leaders who have not issued pardons or delays. (By contrast, Steve Bannon has called for the beheading of private US citizens for merely advocating the truth.) Regardless, none of this contradicts that DT Jr. committed crimes for which he should rightfully pay. President Trump is well aware of this which is why he seeks to try to pardon DT Jr. before he has even been rightfully charged with these crimes.
4) He's right about political hypocrisy regarding sexual assault- something both Democrats and Republicans engage in. Um hello Roy Moore? https://www.washingtonpost.com/invest...
And then DT Jr. also does by not mentioning the many sexual assault and rape accusations against his father and his father's admission of sexual assault on tape.
5) Did media support liberal candidates? Or did media love all the money they made from the spectacle that was Donald Trump in 2016? Did they pound Hillary Clinton for her email server issue?
6) I'm old enough to actually remember what actually happened with regards to Russian election interference. I also read the Mueller Report (written by lifelong Republican Mueller) and listened to our intelligence agencies that were all in agreement about the facts but not in agreement with the Trumps. The intelligence agencies also said there was no truth to the accusation against Joe Biden behaving inappropriately with regards to Hunter Biden's business. Continuing to push this narrative goes beyond lying to participating in Russian efforts to destabilize our elections and our democracy and to divide our people.
On and on, the pattern in this book is the same, DT Jr. attacks Biden or his family for a small or untrue infraction and fails to mention the huge MOTES in the Trump families' eyes. It's infuriating and misleading and it gets one star for making the world a worse place.
View all my reviews
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Caffeine by Michael Pollan
Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I didn't quit caffeine to test out what Pollan is saying, but I did drink extra coffee while listening to this audiobook and I just remembered another study that said that coffee makes you extra-persuadable... hmm. Well, I enjoyed the book and I am persuaded. Nonetheless, I am going to keep drinking coffee because I'm addicted and I choose to cherry-pick the evidence of longer-lived coffee drinkers.
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I didn't quit caffeine to test out what Pollan is saying, but I did drink extra coffee while listening to this audiobook and I just remembered another study that said that coffee makes you extra-persuadable... hmm. Well, I enjoyed the book and I am persuaded. Nonetheless, I am going to keep drinking coffee because I'm addicted and I choose to cherry-pick the evidence of longer-lived coffee drinkers.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2020
The Messengers by Lindsay Joelle
The Messengers by Lindsay Joelle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a surprise. I am not a huge fan of YA or the Amazon free selections but this was short and I was delighted by some complicated characters in an intergalactic war riddled by "plague." The length and constant discourse made it feel like a play, but this could have been lengthened into a full and interesting novel with more descriptive and interior writing.
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a surprise. I am not a huge fan of YA or the Amazon free selections but this was short and I was delighted by some complicated characters in an intergalactic war riddled by "plague." The length and constant discourse made it feel like a play, but this could have been lengthened into a full and interesting novel with more descriptive and interior writing.
View all my reviews
Monday, December 7, 2020
Pale Ride by Laura Spinney
Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World by Laura Spinney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I've read a few books about the 1918 flu this year, and this was an excellent overview ofthe history, science, and changing culture of the time. It was entertaining, well-written, and not overly dark considering the topic.
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I've read a few books about the 1918 flu this year, and this was an excellent overview ofthe history, science, and changing culture of the time. It was entertaining, well-written, and not overly dark considering the topic.
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Sunday, December 6, 2020
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I thought this had interesting concepts about an alien invasion and I even liked the inversion of time, memory, and religion, but I didn't think it was executed all that well.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I thought this had interesting concepts about an alien invasion and I even liked the inversion of time, memory, and religion, but I didn't think it was executed all that well.
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