When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi ------------------------- 4 Stars

I tend to shy away from "sad" books. There seems to be too much despair in the world, and too many things I've studied in world history, that I always prefer to avoid the subject. When Breath Becomes Air falls into the "sad" group of books, but it is also falls into the another category - "rewarding" books to read.

If you've not heard about this book, you should! It's about an incredibly accomplished and, beginning to be world-renowned, neurosurgeon and neuroscientist who was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer at only 36 years of age (something like a .0002% chance).  Not long after, the author passed away and this is his nearly finished memoir which he began writing after his diagnosis and almost finished before he passed.

To begin, the author is a superb writer and, overall, incredibly smart dude. As he was doing his undergrad, he struggled between learning about one's physical mortality (doctor) and understanding one's morality (philosopher side). Through his life, he was an avid reader and writer, and this shows through during the novel. It's almost hard to believe how accomplished a doctor Kalanithi is while also being such a superb writer.

The story is told in two parts; pre- and post- cancer. Not surprisingly, the second half is much more challenging to get through. As I reflect more upon the novel after finishing, I think I understand more now about why it came across as so tragic. I think part of it is the importance and value a person like Kalanithi has to a society and world. As you learn more about his work, and the accomplishments and ways he has helped others, you realize how much was taken from others. Truly, his death, without doubt, has/is leading to deaths/illnesses of others. This was not a fun take-away. To complicate and make things harder to digest, his wife and family were large parts of the joys of his life. In fact, there is a beautifully written afterword by his wife, that really got the tears flowing!

So, I do recommend the book but you need to know what you are getting into. I'm not a huge fan of crying on my book while reading, but I made an exception for this one! It's a truly tragic story but one that's worth reading to give you a lot more insights about both death and life.

Carousel Court - Joe McGinniss, Jr. --------------------- 4.5 Stars

So, how time flies. 8 years ago, I read and reviewed Joe McGinniss Jr's first novel The Delivery Man. I knew him briefly from playing some basketball while living in D.C.  Anyway, the book was pretty awesome and well worth reading if you have not picked it up. However, I would recommend you read his newest book first.

Carousel Court came out earlier this year and is a fantastic read. Similar in many ways to his first novel, it's gritty, drug induced fun for the whole family. And this one really is about a whole family. Newly married couple moves to California with a young child and quickly goes under water on their new home. As they struggle to figure out what to do, their marriage begins to unravel and both find their own outlets to maintain whatever sanity they have left.

As I rate books on entertainment value, this one is a knock out. Gripping and hard to put down, I flew threw it in about a week. It was a kind of a mix of Gone Girl and Girl on a Train but seemingly more realistic. The author does a fantastic job describing the history of the two main characters in engaging ways while still keeping the pace of the novel moving forward. Also, he has a great knack for quickly moving from a description about a scene, that includes intimate details to help visualize, to out of control drug use and violence.

The book also hits closer to home than the last. Not that my marriage is falling apart and am behind on mortgage payments, but I can relate to the loss of one's 20s and the "grind" of work and kids on a daily basis. Again, the author does a good job of framing, albeit probably an outlier of a situation, what many in some parts of country are struggling with too often.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an engaging and entertaining read, and it's wonderful to see the author continue to hone his already impressive skill set further.  Like this last book, it would get an "R" rating, but the story is a good one and characters quite interesting. I only wished he would write books more often than every 8 years (though, if there always this good, I can wait!).

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami ----------------------- 3.5 Stars

Haruka Murakami is one of the most accomplished and well known contemporary science fiction writers.  I've had1Q84 on my list to read for a few years now and was going to tackle but persuaded myself to check out Norwegian Wood instead. Why? Two reasons. First, 1Q84 is like 1,000 pages and I wasn't up to take that on after just finishing one of a similar length and I didn't know if I really wanted to go "all in" on one of his science fiction books. Sure, I could have read one of his shorter books that were more typical of Murakami's style but instead choose the very "straightforward" Norwegian Wood. Did I regret it? A little.

This book is a very slowly told love story about a college age student who has fallen in love with two women. The book is also incredibly depressing, has a dreary outlook on the world, an over abundance of focus on sex, lots of elements of suicide and a confusing ending. Sooooo, I had a real mixed experience with it.

On a positive, this book actually made me think far more about it after I finished it then during. The book is a bit of a slog to read, with nothing extremely exciting for long periods. However, the book is beautifully written and has a great deal of nuance and subtlety. Unfortunately, sometimes the book was so subtle and points made so hard to decipher, that it simply felt boring. Nonetheless, upon concluding and thinking/looking back at what transpired. I was more intrigued than when I was reading. What to make of that? Certainly, it's a good sign the novel was so thought provoking and ending open to interpretation that I continued to mull over various parts but what does it say about the entertainment value of reading it that I continually felt it wasn't moving anywhere?  I know one might argue that the novel was supposed to mirror real life, and is most likely Murakami's most "traditional" novel, but when the reader continues feels frustration from the lack of plot movement does that matter?  Will I continue asking more questions of myself in this blog?

Well, I'm not sure what to think about Murakami at this point. This book made him a star in Japan and at least three of his books are incredibly well acclaimed, but I really didn't love this one.  It was fine but I really couldn't get into the "love" story aspect of it and the dreariness of the tone. However, I definitely want to take one of his more traditional science fiction novels to try to get the full Murakami experience. In the meanwhile, do feel free to check this one but be forewarned about some of the concerns noted above.

Shantaram -- Gregory David Roberts ------------------------ 4.5 Stars

One of the great parts about summer, is that I finally have some real time to put toward reading. I purchased Shantaram over a year ago, and it's been sitting on my Kindle as I wanted to make sure I had a good chunk of time to invest into this page 944 page behemoth. Well, I finally had that time and enjoyed it immensely.

While not as well known as other longer books I've read, this book did not disappoint (though, all other books I've read at this length did earn 5 stars). If you are not familiar, briefly, it's a story about an escaped convict from Australia who winds up in India and gets connected with unsavory characters while also falling in love in different ways. More than anything, this was a book about Bombay, India, a city and country that I was mostly unfamiliar with.

At 944 pages, it really is a saga. Many, many things transpire and the book had a strong plot that kept me interested and wanting to pick it up often. It's a tough couple hundred pages to get through at the start as the author is setting up the varying storylines, but once it gets going, it's a fascinating story.  It also had a lot of great dialogue between interesting characters; which I enjoyed immensely.

The book also was a love story. Not just between Lin, the main character, and a girl, of course, but other people/things as well.  He was in love with India, with the slums, with a godfather type figure, with friends, etc. Further, the book was a look at what love does to people and how it motivates self-interest. The book was also about crime and violence, which, of course, is fascinating. Besides being a criminal to begin with, Lin gets back to his old habits in parts of the novel. War was also given it's fair due with a trip to Afghanistan during it's war with Russia (timing is 1980's for the novel).

So, why not 5 stars? Well, as much as I loved the novel, I did feel like the author would it pour it on a bit heavy sometimes with some of his writing. To say some of the prose is flowery and exaggerated is a large understatement. While most of it comes off as fitting and just part of the book's style, there are some parts that are just cheesy. Also, like I mentioned, it was tough to get into.  Any book earning 5 stars should not take 200 pages to get you connected and fully engaged.

Overall, I would strongly recommend this book to most people. If you have any interest at all in learning more about the sights and sounds of India, I would highly recommend. Even not, it's a great read and great story!

The Daily Show (the Book) an oral History -- Chris Smith -------------------- 3.5 Stars

Like many college educated liberals in their mid-30s, I was a HUGE fan of Jon Stewart's Daily Show. I remember falling in love with it during George W.'s presidency and enjoying it further during Barack's eight years (sad to say I didn't even give Trevor Noah a chance when Stewart quit two years ago (though John Oliver's show in HBO is fantastic!)). So, it seemed like a no brainer to check out a very complete and comprehensive history of the show.

What was cool about The Daily Show (the book) an Oral History as it's simply interview after interview, spliced together, from everyone who was a big part of this show. Of course, Jon Stewart is a big part, so are the producers, writers, directors and correspondents on the show (John Oliver, Stephen Colbert/Carrell, Jessica Williams, Lewis Black, etc.). The book is a fun and easy read. While Chris Smith, includes some small notes throughout, he does an incredible job of taking these individual interviews with each person and include small chunks, sometimes only sentences or paragraphs, one after another to tell the history of the show. And it really is comprehensive; he starts from the days when Stewart took over for Craig Kilborne all the way through Trevor Noah taking the reins.

For the most part, the book is what you might imagine. Them going through the history of the show and the various individuals interviewed providing their memories of various events and shows throughout the years. For the most part, its an enjoyable read. I forgot about many of their shows and the comedians interviewed are just as funny when talking about the show as they were on the show. I even pulled up YouTube to check out some clips I had forgotten about over the year (like his "fights" with Bill O'Reilly or Jim Cramer).

What I liked most about the book were two things. First, the nostalgia I felt about those past years and the joy I had watching the show. I loved how Stewart always was willing to comment and make a point about things in society and the world that he thought needed to be questioned or discussed. The show was great at making people laugh but always having a point in doing so. Second, and more surprisingly, I learned a lot about Stewart and what kind of person he is. Besides brilliant and funny, he proved to be incredibly caring, for those that worked for him, and for those that need to be supported.  He also always striving for excellence. This meant working hard, very hard in pursuit of trying to master something that he considered to be most important: Truth. I admire Stewart even more after the book and I would bet you would as well if you check out this interesting book.

Neuromancer - William Gibson --------------- 2 Stars

So, I realized that my dad recommended Arthur Clarke's Childhood's End to me almost seven years ago. Besides being an incredible book, it was one of only a few ever to receive 5 stars on this blog.  If you have not read, I would check out as soon as possible. As I was talking to him recently about how much I enjoyed, he said I had to check out Neuromancer, another class science fiction novel. Unfortunately, I didn't find nearly as much enjoyment with this suggestion.

So, this book is, like, for real, science fiction. I say that only as a descriptor to understand that, compared to Childhood's End (CE), this stuff is much more "out there."  I think I liked CE so much because it seemed in the realm of possibility. This book, not so much. It was written about 30 years ago and took a view of the future that is very different than we are currently experiencing. (Though, the positive reviews of this book, and there are MANY, (this is regarded as one of the best science fiction books of all time) explain how, actually, much of what we have experienced in the past 20 years of new technology was described in this book. Some argue, in fact, that the Internet was something that was written about in this book (which seems accurate)).

The books plot is not straightforward at all. But, I think, it's about a data thief guy, who has some health issues, who gets hired by a powerful guy to break into some data software. There's much more than that, but it's got a Matrix type feel; again, this was 30 years ago when written. The plot is actually pretty interesting but I got so bogged down in trying to understand what was happening I really couldn't appreciate. The characters are very well described and you understand, for the most part, the motivations of the individuals in the book, but keeping up with details of the plot was a challenge.

I guess why I disliked this book so much was sort of alluded to in the last paragraph; I really couldn't understand it.  Perhaps worst, I couldn't picture it. What's so nice about most books of fiction is the visual you have in your head of the characters and events taking place and watching them take place through your own versions in your brain. With the complexity of what Gibson is describing, that was impossible for me for much of the book. And without the pictures, it's really hard to follow what's going on.

I was trying to think about how to be describe how I felt reading it, and I think the best way I can equate is to try to imagine someone describing art to you in words but not being able to see it. They would be saying things like, "Picture a blank canvas and lots of colors on it in different ways, and there is shading, and different hues, and things like that." Now, this may be easy for us to picture since we've seen it, but if you've never seen a piece of art before, it would be very challenging. That's what reading Neuromancer was for me. Gibson really is an artist and his canvas are the words he is writing from his imagination of the future. While reading it, you could feel that he was on another plane from others, which, I believe, is why this book is so beloved, but if you aren't the type of person who can visualize the art he is describing, it's a a frustrating experience.

With all that being said, I do recommend others read the book. While I did not feel entertained, was lost for much, and did not really look forward to reading each night (hence, 2 star rating), I am happy I read it and appreciate the importance of Gibson's work.

Walter and Me - Eddie Payton -------------------- 2.5 Stars

This won't be one of the longer reviews for a couple reasons. First, this book is mostly going to interest Bears fans. Second, it's a biography and not a ton to say about it.

Walter and Me is a biography/autobiography written by Walter Payton's brother Eddie Payton. If you don't know who Walter Payton is, you should.  He may be the greatest running back of all time (football, folks!). He was also my favorite player for most of my youth. This was due to two reasons. First, he was on the Bears famous '85 championship team which won the Superbowl when I was 5. The team was awesome and included Walter, the Fridge, Jim McMahon, and a few other interesting characters. Second, I loved the video game Tecmo Bowl on the original Nintendo. This was mostly due to the Bears being the best team and Payton the best player on the game.

As for the book, it's okay. While I got a few new insights into Walter, most of the book was really his brother's viewpoint on their lives. While I appreciated the early chapters learning about their lives growing up in poor, rural Mississippi, the subsequent chapters about his life were less interesting. Getting glimpses into his personal life (e.g. he is a huge practical joker, he is very introverted) was interesting, but it seemed like Eddie was more interested correcting misinterpretations about Walter than anything else.

As you may or may not know, Walter was only 45 years old when he died in 1999. He had a tremendous life and great career. One of my favorite memories was when my dad returned from a trip and gave me an autograph from Walter. He happened to see him on a plane and Walter, like many described, was very giving of his time, chatting with my dad until they were ready to take off. He truly was a great individual and amazing football player and if you revere him as much as I do, this book is for you. If not, you may want to skip this read though you should take a minute to check out the incomparable Superbowl Shuffle (Walter is #34!). 

Hillbilly Ellegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis -- J.D. Vance -------------------------- 3 Stars

I didn't hear much about Hillbilly Elegy until someone mentioned it recently and I checked it out online. Well, apparently I was really missing out as it was a NY Times bestseller and has very solid reviews. But, did it earn a 5 star rating based on the Bookmark that Book criteria?  Read on to find out; or just see above in the title :)

The basic premise, as you may gather from the title, is an autobiographical story about the author's life (and family).  He tells a narrative about growing up in Appalachia and rural Ohio and then going to the Army and working through Yale Law School. The story, however, focuses mostly about his life growing up as, he calls it, a "hillbilly". The story is a decent read but I did not feel that engaged and excited to pick it up day after day. I actually thought the story got more interesting as he got older and "made it out" but I found it a slog to get through the first half.

As I was pondering why it was that I did enjoy or get excited about this book as much as others, I think I began to really get a better sense of why this book is so fascinating to people. Mostly, I believe it stems from a deep fascination about our culture and the differences between different groups of people. Be it, economic, geographic, ethic, racial, whatever, our country seems to be become more heterogeneous and "sorted" than ever before (side note, The Big Sort is a great book explaining how/why this is happening).  I think that this book does a fantastic job of painting a picture about a group of people that many in America do not understand or look down upon. Certainly, after Donald Trump's surprise victory, a book of this type has to be checked out to help provide greater insight for those that can not or do not understand how he won. As a person living in a liberal bubble outside Washington D.C., I loved how this book made me better understand and empathize with a group of people who live no more than a few hundred miles from where I do and how different their lives are then mine.

However, that empathy can only go so far. Part of my frustration with the book, was certainly the subject matter. Specifically, all the challenges that go with those that Vance describes as "hillbilly". Many of them are well intentioned and kind, while many others are not. Many are not well educated and many have very un-informed opinions about many things. Some discriminate, some are racist, some are addicts and some are alcoholics. Again, many are not. I think Vance and I both struggle with the most is the mindset of many. Unlike many of his family and friends, the author did not expect a handout nor feel that it was anyone's job but his own to make something of himself. His focus on hard work and effort led him to where he is. In fact, the chances of him making it to Yale law school were almost non-existent based on his circumstances. However, the reason he has accomplished so much is a lesson for many in similar situations.

Overall, this book is great read in the macro sense. The themes are interesting, the social commentary valuable, and the overall message incredibly important. Just don't plan to be blown away by some of the very ordinary stories he tells or his writing style.

Underground Airlines -- Ben Winters ---------------------- 4 Stars

Underground Airlines is one of the more interesting plot set-ups I've read in a while. It probably falls under the genre of "revisionist" or "alternate" history but reads more like a sci-fi novel in certain parts. The basic premise: after the Civil War the South is allowed to keep four permanent slave states which exist into modern day, the time period from which the novel is told. So, was this new spin on history any good? Well, for the most part the strongest part was the set-up; the follow through could have been improved.

I really enjoyed reading this novel though the first half seemed more interesting and exciting than the second, which is odd. I loved learning more about how the current USA was allowed to have four states that legally could allow slavery. In many ways it's a dystopian novel. What's fascinating about it is all the aspects of slavery that exist in modern times with all the modern technology. To say it's a bit scary to think about, is an understatement.

The biggest area this novel struggled is actually pulling all of the plot pieces together. The story is based on a black man who is now an escaped slave catcher in the norther states; apparently a real problem in the dystopian setting of the novel. While the first half is very strong in setting up the conflict and rounding out most characters, I found the author failed to follow through at the same level of intrigue as the novel continued. While he tried to add more action, I felt like much of it fell flat compared to some of the set-up of the first half. Odd, I know, but true.

Overall, I would recommend this novel. It's a pretty fascinating idea and certainly keeps your attention throughout. While there is some lag in the second half as the author seems to be out of his comfort zone pushing an action novel, there is certainly enough there to make you keep up and you do feel a certain level of interest in learning the fates of the key characters.

The Undoing Project - Michael Lewis ------------------ 4 Stars

I really struggled trying to figure out how many starts to give Michael Lewis' new book The Undoing Project. When I heard it was coming out a few months ago, I got very excited, which probably raised my expectations much too high. I finished it about a week ago and had it at lower than a 4 but in the past week, I've thought more about it, and it's moved back up. Let's get into why.

A little bit of background to help explain: this book is about two incredibly influential, but fairly unknown psychologists named Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. A few years ago, I started reading a number of books about behavioral economics (Predictably Irrational, Nudge, and others). Basically, these two guys help create and make famous this new way of looking at decision making. If you are not a familiar with it, definitely check out this book. Basically, behavioral economics takes on normal economics, which assumes that each person acts logically, and puts a human overlay on it, which, study after study shows, people are not at all logical with money or decision making. In fact, they are often illogical. So, I've been really interested in this for the last few years and read Kahneman's comprehensive book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, a few years ago. Frankly, that book is fantastic and probably should have earned higher than 4 starts. When I heard that Michael Lewis, an author I usually enjoy reading (save the atrocious, Home Game) was writing about these two titans, I was very excited. 

Now to the problem, it's not actually the most exciting book. I'm not sure if my expectations were just too high, I knew too much already so most of this was not new, or if it's simply not a great book, but I really did not enjoy as much as I would have thought. I had two major problems. First, I was hoping to get more about the relationship between the two. Basically, it was one of the greatest partnerships in history, to the point neither actually could tell where the ideas were coming from at their peak. And while Lewis does a noble job at trying to detail their relationship, I never really felt it the way I was hoping.  He describes it in so many different ways but it still fell flat in truly adding clarity to the emotional part. Second, while he cherry picked some of the most interesting and noteworthy projects/studies they did, I had heard many of them before. The experiments are very interesting, but I thought he also did a poor job explaining just how far-reaching their research had become in the modern era.

So why did it end up with 4 stars? Because I have to think about the average reader who has never heard about Kahneman or Tversky, which is most of you! As this will be your first foray into behavioral economics, it could be a lot worst. In fact, the one added benefit of this book is that you get biographies (which truly is interesting) of these two fascinating scientists. However, if you want to get into a more meaty and thorough read and understanding of behavioral economics, then cut out the middle man and go straight to Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow!  Either way, pick one of them up so you can at least understand all the poor decision making you currently are doing!

Old School -- Tobias Wolff ----------------------------- 3 Stars

I can't really recall how this book came across my path or why exactly I felt the need to read it. Like most people, I have a limited amount of time to read so I try to only take on books that are I really think I will learn from or enjoy. So, it is with some frustration that I spent the last few weeks finishing Tobias Wolff's Old School.

I must have thought I would enjoy the book based on a few things. First, it has the word "school" in the title so that must have captured my interest. Second, the cover picture brings up (accurate) images of a story about some sort of New England type boarding school from decades ago. Third, Tobias Wolff is a fairly impressive writer with some other pretty good novels.

Was the book enjoyable? Well, yes and no. On the positive, the book is amazingly well written. Wolff truly has a way with words and there are many sentences and paragraphs that I read more than once due to both the complexity and beauty of the words. The story is interesting but not great. I think the author is far more interested in the words and the connections he is trying to make in his analogies in the book than the actual plot moving forward. To say it's a character piece, is an understatement.

One of the odd parts of the book that bothered me is that the author never used quotation marks. While the dialogue is minimized for the most part, it did bother me the few times when individuals were talking. I also really enjoy dialogue as a part of the book so this was an annoyance for me.

On a positive, I did enjoy the "academic" nature of the book. To clarify, the book is about a bunch of adolescent boys at a prestigious boarding school, specifically focusing on the boys that are great writers. In the time of the novel, the school has visits from Robert Frost, Ayn Rand, and Ernest Hemingway. Hearing the author reflect his views of these writers through the characters in the story is very enjoyable to read as well.

Overall, the book is very well written and enjoyable foray into words. Wolff has a real talent with the pen and that is the most enjoyable part of the book. As far as looking for a book with a great plot and wonderful dialogue, I would look elsewhere. But if you are looking for a fun period piece about school, great writing, and honor, this is the book for you!

NurtureShock: New Thinking about Children -- Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman ---------------- 4.5 Stars

NurtureShock has been on my "to read" list for a few years now, and I'm very happy to have finally picked it up.  For some reason, the title scared me off a bit, and I thought it was a book about going up now and how "shocking" it is for kids. Rather, the book was sort of a Freakonomics meets child rearing, and I enjoyed it immensely.

The basic set up of the book is to cover, in multiple chapters, a variety of cutting edge and recent research about educating kids. How they learn, what helps them/what doesn't, etc. The first chapter, which is about how/when to use praise with kids, is fantastic. In fact, I think the authors writing on this subject (which included a focus of my favorite, grit), was published in the New York times to much acclaim. My guess is they got great feedback about the subject matter and discoveries so they decided to do some more research on other areas and make a book. The other chapters vary in their usefulness and holding the reader's interest, but the majority of them are quite interesting and I learned a great deal from the book. Some of the other subjects the book takes on are: the importance of sleep, why kids lie, why parents don't talk about race, why teens rebel, and many others. In fact, I was able to learn something new from nearly every chapter I read.

What made this book so enjoyable to me is a few things.  First, the writing style is clear, concise and easy to keep up with. Second, the stories that are used to illuminate a point being made are interesting and varied. Third, the book was based in research findings and data, and while the authors are certainly trying to make subjective points with the data, they can back up a lot of it. Finally, as the book applies to two important things in my life, my job and my kids, I was keenly connected and interested in nearly every view they argued.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in kids. Although it does have a bit of an education bent and focus, any parent could learn valuable information from this text and, because the stories and writing styles are so accessible, I think many will enjoy. I know I did!

Seinfeldia - Jennifer Keishin Armstrong ---------------- 2.5 Stars

I think we can all agree that Seinfeld is either the greatest comedy of all time or among the best. The show's legacy still makes it mark nearly two decades hence and watching reruns are nearly as enjoyable as seeing it for the first time. There is truly nothing else quite like it. So, one would think that a retrospective, titled Seinfledia, would be as awesome as the show. Sadly, not even close.

I was very excited to read this book as you could probably tell from above. And it's not a terrible book; it's just not very good either. The book has some interesting anecdotes about how the show was created, back stories on many of the main characters and Larry David, and how the lure of Seinfeld still looms large in modern pop culture. I also enjoyed learning about many of the bit characters and writers from the show over the years (fun fact: almost every season they'd hire new writers. Basically, David would mine their lives for interesting stories (extra points if you were from NYC) and then dismiss them after they've used them up).

The real reason why the book was so lacking is because the author only interviewed or talked to people that were on the periphery of the show. This means neither David, Jerry, Elaine, George or Kramer had anything to do with the book. Certainly, they would be the most interesting and useful people to talk to in doing a book on Seinfeld. She did interview the soup nazi, and the guy Kramer is based on, and other people like that, but you could imagine the lack of insight without any of the core being part of the book.

Overall, I really can't recommend this book save you are an absolute Seinfeld nut.  You most certainly will get some nugget out of it and learn something new about the show. However, I think your time would be better spent just enjoying re-runs and waiting from a more comprehensive account to come out.

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life -- William Finnegan --------------------- 4 Stars

Growing up in Hawaii, surfing was a large part of life. And while I never loved it, and took part much more to connect with friends and enjoy being in the water, I remember well my surfing days. With much nostalgia, I truly enjoyed William Finnegan's Barbarian Days.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Barbarian Days is truly a great surfing story. Autobiographical, the author tells his story of his upbringing in California and then early life in Hawaii.  He goes on to tell stories as he travels the world looking for great surf. The story does a fantastic job of balancing Finnegan's search for what his purpose is in life and the purpose of trying to find a great wave.

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable part of the book is the author's description of waves. Frankly, I never thought there would be so many ways to describe the ocean and a wave. Amazingly, Finnegan does so page after page (and there are plenty), describing, and vividly recalling, wave after wave across our planet.

Similarly, I very much enjoyed Finnegan's description of all the different places he's surfed. From southern (and northern - San Fran.) California, to Hawaii, to the Pacific, to South Africa, to Portugal, and then to Long Island.  He really goes on a journey around the world, while beautifully describing the people and places he goes, to find great surf.

The book is not perfect, though. It's slow in portions. It sometimes feels like an odd balance between the surf stories and Finnegan's true search for what his purpose is. About that... I did feel a bit of annoyance for the author.  I'm not sure if his goal was to earn sympathy (I doubt it was), but his writing does feel that way sometimes.  Specifically, the reader is supposed to sympathize when he struggles to figure out his lot in life, which girl to date and follow, how to really make his mark, etc. Along the way, though, he travels the world doing nothing more than searching for good waves. In Finnegan's defense, I should note that he worked to stop apartheid in South Africa and traveled to war torn countries to report on their situations internationally.

Without a doubt, the most enjoyable part of the book was one of the early chapters about Maui. During his early years, the author was living in Lahaina and working in a bookstore for ends meat. While the Maui he described then was not the exact same as my memories,  the amazing surf spot, Honolua was. Ironically, it was not until I was nearly leaving Maui (which turned out to be forever...#sad) that I appreciated just how lucky I was.

So, if you have any interest at all in surfing, or a great story about trying to find one's self or just a great travel book, do yourself a favor and pick up this book.  You won't regret it.

The Girls: A Novel - Emma Cline ----------------------- 4 Stars

As some of you know who have read my blog, I love a good mystery and especially have enjoyed these female led, sort of crazy stories, that started with Gone Girl.  I sort of liked Flynn's other book, and very much enjoyed the knock off, The Girl on the Train. Joining the same ilk as those books is Cline's, The Girls. Although a bit different set up and plot, same storyline -- some people are crazy!

So this one is about a girl growing up in the late 60's in the Bay Area of California. Like, seemingly every book now, it does the jumping back and forth thing where the main character is now much older and is living her life while reflecting back to  many years ago. The crazy part: she was, more or less in a Charles Manson like cult one summer. And that summer, the cult did something bad...read the book to find out more!

In general, I found this book very entertaining and enjoyable to read. First, it's a very good plot and very interesting story. There was never a dull moment and once one strand of time seemed like it was getting a bit boring, the author would switch to the other. Also, impressively, the book maintained your interest without any real fireworks. Unlike that drunk girl on the train, this book was pretty even keeled throughout. Second, I really enjoyed the main character. Cline does a fantastic job of really making you feel the angst and apprehension of this young teen girl struggling with her parent's divorce and how to fit in socially. The allure of the cult seemed perfectlwhen considered in the context of the other parts of her life. Three, the book does a fairly nice job of making you feel what life was like in the late 60s. While not overtly part of the plot, the author does a fantastic job of making you really get into the setting. Finally, the book is, in many ways, a mystery novel. While it's not quite a 'whodunnit', and you more or less know what's going to happen, the author increases the excitement about events as the book moves on.

Of course, there are areas this novel could improve. While I did like the pace in general, there are parts were it gets to slow.  There are some parts where there seems to be a monotony to the chapters and it almost seems like the same events are going on again and again. I also felt the "future" character was a bit underdeveloped and did not really get a sense how the events in her past really affected her. While the author did a very nice of explaining and, having the reader feel what her life was like now, I was surprised there wasn't more connection between the earlier parts of her life and where she was in the present.

In general, I think The Girls is a real good read and fits in well to the genre I described at the start. If you like that type of book, you'd probably enjoy this as well. I do think that this book also could appeal to other readers as well. It's a very well written book, and the first Cline has penned, I believe. I suggest giving her a shot.

All the Lighe We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr ----------------------- 2.5 Stars

Ok, so I know that Anthony Doerr's All the Night We Cannot See is this beloved book by many people, has amazing ratings on Amazon (click the link above), and won the Pulitzer Prize, which I think means someone important like the book.  And you probably think I'm crazy for only giving it 2.5 stars; well, I tried my best but I truly couldn't appreciate the book.

For those of you unaware of the plot of this New York Times bestseller, it's about two competing stories of youths during World War 2. One, a blind French girl, removed from her home and the other, a teenage boy who joins the German ranks due to his fantastic skills working with radios. And this is basically where my malaise began. While both characters are interesting, and the author certainly does more than enough to round them out and make the reader connect with them, I found them boring. Certainly, I appreciate their challenges and plights (as much as one can with fictional characters). But really, I found them both quite slow to develop.

Now, don't get me wrong, the telling of the story really is quiet beautiful and I'm not ignorant enough to not understand why this book has won awards, but it just didn't do well against my ranking system, which is mostly based on entertainment value to me. I certainly appreciate the authors well created and thought-out to descriptions of scene after scene after scene, but I just couldn't get myself that excited about picking up the book and reading it.

Another thing that troubled me was how sad the book was. And unlike, the Nightingale, pretty much right from the start, this book depressed me. While I understand that World War 2 is ripe for good narratives and fictional works, it's become tiresome to me. That, perhaps, may also be why I did not enjoy this book as much. Not more than a month ago I finished the Nightingale, which I enjoyed more than this, but the book were so very similar. Both are similar settings and time periods, both have a few different characters who are written about and go back and forth in taking the lead and both books skipped between time periods. By the way, what's with that in books now?  I feel like every book I read starts with almost the ending of the story, goes back and tells the story while sprinkling in parts from the future, gets to the ending (which we already knew about) and then finishes with a bit more new information. Certainly both this book and The Nightingale followed that schedule.

So, I totally get why people like this book and I did enjoy many parts of it. The writer is very strong and the story, while glacially slow, was interesting and worth reading about. Certainly, all the people who enjoy this book can't be wrong, just know what you're getting into.

The City of Mirrors -- Justin Cronin ---------------------- 4 Stars

About 3 years ago, I read an absolutely superb book, and one of a very small and select few that has earned 5 stars on this blog. It was titled The Passage, and I reviewed it and it's sequel, The Twelve, here and here, respectively. When I finished The Twelve, I read there was a final book in the trilogy coming out sometime in the Spring of 2016.  This was a few years ago and I pretty much forgot about it until about a month ago when I was looking for a book to read and checked the NY Times bestseller list. Wouldn't you know, Justin Cronin's, final book in the trilogy, The City of Mirrors was number 1? What a very, very welcome surprise. Well, did it live up to the first? Not quite but it sure beat the sequel.

Quickly, the basic synopsis of the series: a set of core story characters are living in a post-apocalyptic America after a virus nearly killed off everyone. The virus has led to a set of, basically vampires, that rule the land at night. The books jump around by timeline, in some cases by millennium, as the reader learns more about both the main characters and the viruses affect upon the world, past and present.

This book concludes The Passage trilogy. Coming in at over 2,000 pages between the three, the author does a pretty fantastic job weaving them all together while also going into sufficient, and welcome depth, to better understand all the core characters, including motives and what ends up happening to them. This book is about all you could ask for to conclude this series, as the scope of the story and depth in which the author had described many prior events/characters was going to be hard to fully wrap-up.

For the most part, the book is very entertaining (which is the main criteria for my rating system). I thoroughly enjoy Cronin's style whereby he will have great description of important plot developments and action and then take full chapters to go into depth to describe a scene or person in the novel. It's a great way to both feel like you really know and understand the characters but don't get bogged down on items unrelated to the story. At one point, Cronin really takes a detour and basically includes a 100 page novella early in the book about an older character that hadn't really been detailed yet.

My biggest complaint about this final installment is the slowness to get the action going. Like other epic tales of fictional apocalypses, this has a classic good guy (or girl)/bad guy scenario. You know that eventually, they are going to square off, and it was pretty clear that the book was setting up to do that; I just didn't think it would take so long to get to. It seemed like at least half the novel just setting things up. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed that half and Cronin does such a good job of rounding out the scenes that it's hard not to enjoy, but it just felt so obvious that the book was slowed down. However, once things to start going, it's a furious final quarter of the novel. I even liked the final chapter and how the entire trilogy was pulled together.

Overall, if you have not read The Passage, I would highly recommend you do so soon. Please know that even though the books have a vampire element and are apocalyptic, they are really phenomenal reads and really are just vehicles for fantastic storytelling . I would also suggest that if you read The Passage and got frustrated with The Twelve, you owe yourself the reading of the City of Mirrors partly to understand how the story ends and because Cronin is much more on his game in this final book.

The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah -------------------- 4 Stars

So, here's something crazy about Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, if you click on the link in this sentence, you go to Amazon. There, you can see this book, as of this writing, has been reviewed 26,268 times and has averaged 5 stars. That's literally the highest rating a book can earn on Amazon. For the most part, I have to agree with all those fans though I don't think it's a 5 star caliber book in my mind.

To be clear, this is a very entertaining book that I enjoyed immensely. A quick summary: World War II, France, two sisters who have very different lives and struggle to connect with each other, have parallel stories that inevitably end up being quite sad. In addition, a future character is recounting all of this in a modern time as she returns to Paris for a remembrance celebration.

Overall, the book is a breeze to read and a pretty enjoyable novel. Do note that it gets fairly depressing as the story goes and the war gets worst though. Having never read a Kristin Hannah novel before, I did enjoy the storytelling and dialogue immensely. I also think she did a very nice job of rounding out the characters and making you identify and feel for each of them (including the "bad guys").

While I did read this book quickly and had difficulty putting it down (it really did have a fairly suspenseful plot), I struggled with a couple of small elements that knocked it down from 5 stars. To begin with, it is a fairly sad novel. I really don't like reading/learning about war/death and I once again was reminded of that again as the focus on the Holocaust in the final third of the novel was tough. I also found a few of what I would have considered, the bigger dramatic parts, a bit too glossed over. There were two specific "major" moments in the book that I though the author did a poor job of describing and did so quickly. While I like the breeziness for most of the scenes in the novel, spending a bit more time around the large events would have been worth the time. Finally, I found a few of the love parts a bit sappy. Don't get me wrong, I like a good love story, but, to me, some of it seemed a bit contrived and a few of the lines read to me a like a bad romance novel (or a good one, I don't really know the difference).

Please don't let that last paragraph skew you to think you should skip this book. I mean, 26,000 people can't be wrong, right? While I did have a few small issues, I do think this book is really quite good and one of the better stories I've read in a while. Top it off with some very easily to connect with characters and add some great dialogue and you get one good novel!

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World -- Adam Grant ----------------------4.5 Stars

Adam Grant's Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, has been kicked around a lot recently on various lists and circles as a real "hot" book this year in the non-fiction realm. After a few others I know suggested I pick it up after raving about, I felt I should check out. I was very, very happy about my choice!

To be blunt, this is a fantastic read. It's one of the more enjoyable books I've read in the past few years, and gets one of the highest ratings since this blog began seven years ago. What makes it such a great read? A number of things. To begin with, it's got a great premise: originals/creative individuals are critical to our world but are often misunderstood and/or challenged to allow their creativity come out. Grant does a great job of expressing early just how critical and underrated originality truly is. After selling us about the many benefits of "non-conformists" he then goes through and explains to us how to better leverage our own creative attributes and support others in those areas.

If the previously mentioned summary was not enough, the book stands out because of the many specific ideas and actions that can be taken from the reading. That's what I most liked about the book, there were specific things offered that can have an immediate impact in a personal or professional setting. Often I remember highlighting a passage or idea and reflecting about how useful it was in the moment I was in or for the future. This is perhaps why the book is so impressive. I've read many books that fall under "workplace culture" and often they are interesting but lack specific and readily actionable take-aways (I'm looking at you lately, Gladwell). Not true here, this book had so many wonderful and specific things that you can take from it to improve and change your life (I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true in some small (and maybe larger) ways).

Let me continues to gush. The book is a very accessible and easy read. The writing style is simple but interesting and Grant's stories and anecdotes he uses to prove his points are fascinating and well researched. Speaking of research, Grant is a researcher by training so you can also trust that the information learned and points can be a bit more trusted (again, I'm looking at you Gladwell). Also, there are some wonderful endnotes included that often will include additional research that are fascinating.

So, any negatives? Not many I can think of. Perhaps some of the stories are a bit slow or don't have an obvious connection to a point he makes. Or maybe the focus of some of the stories are skewed. I don't know, I'm picking nits, really. Honestly, this book could have easily earned 5 stars but I just didn't feel it was on the same level of the few fictional epics that earned the highest rating. The bottom line is, I highly suggest picking this up and reading it immediately. I sincerely doubt you'll regret your time and more likely will come away better understanding about the importance of originality in our world!

Missoula: Rape and The Justice System in a College Town -- Jon Krakauer -----------------3 Stars

I have to confess, I'm a big Jon Krakauer fan.  If you've not read any of his previous books, you're missing out.  Coming to fame after writing about a tragic Everest climb titled Into Thin Air, he continued with Into the Wild which became a mediocre movie (though a great soundtrack), and also a great book about the Mormon faith/culture (Under the Banner of Heaven), and recently the scam that  made up the story for Three Cups of Tea. I truly enjoy his very deliberate and logical writing style and ability to take the mundane and make interesting.  Well, did Missoula hold up to my expectations?  Sort of, but not really.

Missoula is basically a book about the challenge of rape and sexual assaults that are becoming all too typical at college campuses across the country.  Specifically focusing on a few years at the University of Montana, Krakauer paints a picture of a sexualized group of young men, many who play football, whose relationships with woman are the focus of much of the story.

Overall, I didn't love the book. While he does a good job of focusing on a small cast of individuals and tries to illuminate a large problem by telling the stories, at different stages, of a few, the book struggles in many directions.  First, the stories are simply not that interesting. Sad, certainly, but the tale of relationship, then rape, then police investigation, then legal trial, then aftermath, simply aren't as entertaining as other similar tales.  Second, I feel like some of the writing as not as tight and well detailed as I remember it.  I felt like he rambled a lot and there were many areas that could have been skipped over and abbreviated.  Third, and most importantly, the book is incredibly depressing.  The stories of rape and sexual assaults are increasing yet the likelihood of any penalties for those accused is small.  In fact, by percentage it's the crime with the lowest incarceration rate for those accused.  So, basically, committing rape is the safest law to break if trying not to get caught.  Beyond that, I had no idea quite how damaging the assaults are to those involved.  Nearly always they destroy relationships and families, but by far the most saddening things I learned are the ways young woman deal with it.  They are hurt physically and emotionally.  They are scarred socially and many have long term psychological issues.  Simply, rape ruins lives in many more ways than I was aware.

I do suggest reading this book should you have an interest in learning more about the specifics of sexual assaults and the epidemic that is the college rape crisis. I learned many things that I did not know.  The cost, however, is that you have to be prepared to deal with some pretty tough material and some incredibly difficult stories about the ruining of people's lives.  In general, I really enjoy non-fiction but the down side can be that when it's sad and true, it's tough to deal with.