Review Round-up

As you might have guessed from the lack of posts recently, I ended up getting that teaching job! I've been back for two weeks now and it's been exhausting, but I think it's going pretty well. I am still planning to write more about this soon but I wanted to get some reviews that I've been sitting on out of the way. All three of these books come from my Tried and True list, so I've been making progress on that. It's ground to a halt now that I'm working again but at least I got to squeeze in a few good reads while I could!

The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (audiobook)

This was a surprisingly quick "read" and like Gladwell's other books, had a lot of interesting information. The premise here is twofold: 1) change is often quite gradual until a tipping point is reached and then there's a rapid shift, and 2) things that tend to go viral (or "create epidemics", as Gladwell called it over a decade ago, before the concept of "viral" became a thing) all tend to follow similar patterns in the way that they spread. Gladwell outlines the factors involved in something being "sticky" enough to become an epidemic. Some of the things discussed are common sense but a few things stood out for me. The research that went into the creation and success of Sesame Street, for example, was really interesting, especially since my daughter is just starting to discover Elmo and friends right now. 

Every time I listen to an audiobook, I comment on the author reading it. Gladwell reads this one, too, and for the first time, I think it may have been better if he didn't. His voice was so soft and soothing that it was hard to stay engaged sometimes. He could almost lull you to sleep. 

The Imaginary Girlfriend, John Irving

I bought this short memoir of Irving's at used book store several years ago, intrigued by the idea that a man who constantly insists that people stop looking for an author's life in his novels would have written a memoir. It turns out, he doesn't give us much to work with. If you're interested in his wrestling career, there is lots of high school and college wrestling minutiae. I would have been much more interested in his family life and writing career. There were a couple of surprises: Irving is dyslexic and actually hates the city of Vienna. The Vienna bit surprised me considering how much a part of his novels Vienna tends to be, and not usually in a negative way. It's worth the read for the sake of completeness if you are an Irving fan but you're not missing much otherwise.

And The Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini (ebook)

Oh, how I loved this book! It's been over a week since I finished and I'm still thinking about it. 

If you are familiar with Hosseini's previous novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, you probably already know that this, too, will break your heart. That's what Hosseini does. He pulls at your heart strings until they snap, but he does it so well. And The Mountains Echoed was much more subtle and less devastating than The Kite Runner, and not at all emotionally manipulative like I found A Thousand Splendid Suns to be. There is no gratuitous tragedy here, just the simple, beautiful heartbreak of people living their lives and making difficult choices that have lasting consequences across generations. I loved the story, I loved the characters, and I loved the way the story was told through the different viewpoints and formats. This is easily my favourite book of the year so far.

Review: Kitchen Confidential

Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain 

Audiobook, non-fiction, memoir

Audiobooks have found their way back into my life after an almost two year hiatus. I used to listen to them during my daily commute when I taught at a school that was 30 minutes away. Lately, I've been listening while I work around the house. It actually makes doing chores feel a little bit more like me-time.

Anthony Bourdain is a surprisingly (to me, anyway) good writer. His love of language almost rivals his love of food. He's a good story teller, self-aware and cynical, but funny. I enjoyed learning about his early exploits and his life as chef at La Brasserie Les Halles in New York. He also provides some pro tips for home cooks and advice for restaurant goers. The "What I Know About Meat" chapter was my favourite; it made me laugh out loud.

When it comes to memoirs in the audio format, I always prefer the ones narrated by their authors and this one is no exception. No one else would be able to do Bourdain's style the proper justice. That said, there are some pitfalls to the audio format. At times, Bourdain read too fast, especially at the end of some chapters so there was barely any transition. I'd expect a story to keep going but nope, he'd moved on to something completely different. Also making the flow awkward at times, the chapters alternated, seemingly at random, between Bourdain's history and his industry advice. It felt disjointed while listening to it. I don't think that would have been an issue if I was reading it and could see how the chapters were laid out. 

Overall, this was an interesting, entertaining read but I'd recommend getting the print version rather than audio.

Review: Bossypants

Bossypants, Tina Fey
Audiobook
Rating: 3.5/5.0

In the mood for something lighter on the drive to/from work, I've been listening to Tina Fey's Bossypants. Since Fey reads it herself, it is very funny and entertaining. It does make a difference when the author does the reading. Case in point: Steven Tyler's memoir, Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?, was read by a guy who tried to sound like Tyler and that was funny at times for all the wrong reasons.

In Bossypants, Fey talks about various parts of her life, from her awkward teenage years through her days working at The Second City in Chicago, to her time on Saturday Night Live and eventually 30 Rock. I really enjoyed the Don Fey chapter, where she describes how badass her father is, and the chapter on her disastrous honeymoon cruise to Bermuda. Fey also details how she came to play Sarah Palin in the famous SNL parodies, which was a very interesting behind-the-scenes glimpse into how the media and politics come together during an election campagin. The book ends with Fey trying to decide whether or not to have a second child. I could relate to a lot of her feelings on that subect, though we are only trying for our first right now.

One of the most interesting parts of the book for me was the way that Fey discussed being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field. She specifically mentions the institutionalised sexism she encountered at The Second City. If you're interested, zeteticat from Bookish Habits transcribed that part in her review, here.

As much as I enjoyed Bossypants, I only gave it a 3.5 because ultimately, it wasn't very satisfying. Fey would sometimes go off on tangents that were amusing (surviving photoshoots for magazines, the different writers on 30 Rock and their MVP jokes) but I would have rather heard more about her own life experiences. She gives snapshots about certain parts of her life but there is a lot that we don't hear about. Her response would probably be that it's none of our business, which is fair, but then how much of a memoir is it? As a result, I didn't come away from this book with as much insight into her as I'd expected.

I'd still recommend Bossypants but for now, Craig Ferguson's American On Purpose remains my favourite celebrity memoir.