ARC Review: Five Came Back

by Mark Harris
5/5 stars
The Penguin Press, 2014
444 pages
Adult Non-Fiction Cinema History
Scheduled to release February 27

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

Some years ago I spotted an interesting sounding book in Entertainment Weekly and promptly put it on hold. When it came in at the library, I devoured it and got my parents to read it as well with them both loving it as well. What book was this? Well as you might have guessed, it was by Mr Mark Harris called Pictures at a Revolution about the five Best Picture nominees of 1967 and it inspired me to attempt to watch all five (still haven't managed as some are boring *ahemdoctordoolittle*) as well as sparking an interest in classic Hollywood. Thus it was a no-brainer to request his next book about cinematic history. While I recognized the five director's names (John Ford, George Stevens, John Huston, William Wyler, and Frank Capra) that are the focus of this book, I didn't know that much about any of them and certainly next to nothing about their experiences during World War II.

The book opens in 1938 following the five men in their Hollywood careers, some at the height of their popularity while others were just beginning their career until the United States entered the war and all five joined up, bringing their knowledge of film making to aid in the production of films about the war for both a military and civilian audience. Harris skillfully weaves in a discussion of propaganda and the impact of war while tracing the activities of the men.

As I shared, I didn't know much about the personal lives of these men so everything in this book was revelatory. My personal favorite sections did relate to actual movies I knew (such as a look at the excellent postwar film The Best Years of Our Lives) bringing back my enjoyment of Harris' previous book but I liked all of the other sections too. The five men had such experiences journeying to the Pacific and the European theaters and serving in different branches. But they also knew each other and were united by a Hollywood background and similar challenges while in the military that help keep the thread of the story moving.

Overall: I just click with his writing-now I want him to explore the anti-Communist movement in Hollywood during the fifties as we get hints of that in this book!

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

by Gary Vaynerchuk
4/5 stars
HarperBusiness, 2013
188 pages
Non-Fiction Business Marketing

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

I made a bit of a mistake when picking out this book for review. I saw the subtitle and thought it was related to telling a personal professional story, to working on an elevator pitch of your skills and pluses, and ways to get hired or at least get your foot in the door. Instead this book is more focused on how brands/businesses can use social media to their fullest advantage. While I think some of these techniques can be adapted on a more personal scale (choosing the right message on the right platform at the right time comes to mind), for the most part it was not as personally applicable as I had hoped.

However it did become incredibly fascinating as Vaynerchuk presented case studies of what he considered successful and unsuccessful uses of different media. For example, who told a good story on Facebook? Who confused quantity with quality on Twitter? Deconstructing these examples along with Vaynerchuk was definitely my favorite part of the book and helped me get through what I considered less interesting sections of just text. These bits are loaded with personality and I zipped through them.

I've mostly stayed off most social media, excepting a personal facebook account and linkedin profile, blog twitter, and a mixed Pinterest account. I just don't have the time and energy to properly devote to each channel (and quite frankly I haven't had much interest.) However this book has me seriously considering getting a tumblr and/or instagram account; just because. I also feel like it has opened my eyes to all the marketing that is done to me. I hope to be able to more critically evaluate future efforts because of reading this book.

Something that is applicable I feel are his emphasis on putting forth to understand what you can accomplish with the media and putting your own personal touch on this. Those are good attitudes to take across many arenas and I will certainly be evaluating how I can implement them in my own (non-marketing) career.

Recommended for marketers of products of all sizes; may be less interesting on a personal level.

I Shouldn't Be Telling You This

by Kate White
4/5 stars
HarperBusiness, 2013
345 pages
Non-Fiction Business Women

Source: Library

I found myself intrigued by White's previous title Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead...But Gutsy Girls Do but my library didn't have a copy of that so I settled for her newer release, assuming that it would also feature interesting information that was still applicable for a young woman at the beginning of career.

That it does as the writing is very chatty and personal. White used to be editor-in-chief at Cosmopolitan magazine and loved writing the copy for the cover. The chapters are short and snappy, reflecting this background. I think some women will not click with this kind of writing but I found it easily digestible and even though I told myself I would just read one more chapter, I inevitably found myself reading several until I finished.

The book is divided into three sections: Getting Success, Going Big with Success, and Savoring Success. I found the last one the least relevant as it assumes a level of success that I have not yet attained though it does hammer home that the success won't be worth it if I'm burned out and unable to enjoy myself. I preferred the first two, finding more that related to me where I am now.

One of the things I valued most about this book was White sharing about her successes. Initially it annoyed me as I found it braggy. That might be the point though as I've read that women aren't necessarily very good at sharing their accomplishments even though they have accomplished amazing things. This led to me reflecting on what my major achievements were this year and how I could frame them in more casual atmospheres outside of my formal performance review. I want people to know how fantastic I am at my job and I don't want to automatically bristle when I hear about other people's excellent work. Another point I valued was shared early on, being "Go big or go home." Certainly I've heard this before, as have you I'm sure, but this time it really struck me. I think of myself as a generally pretty passionate person; when I'm in, I'm all in and I want to reflect that at work.

Overall: A fun conversational read that left me feeling very cheered on and all fired up to tackle big projects and do awesome work as I scale the career ladder!

Women Who Don't Wait in Line

by Reshma Saujani
4/5 stars
New Harvest, 2013
123 pages
Non-Fiction Women's Business

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

As I've repeatedly mentioned on my blog, I have found myself drawn to books about women in business, seeking guidance on my fledgling career. The title for this book immediately caught my eye as I've read about women being more likely to hold back and not go after what they want in comparison to bolder men. I thought it would be an interesting read as I aspire to dare and take big strides in my career progression.

In general I found this a pretty absorbing albeit light read. The specifics of Saujani's path were fascinating (she ran for Congress unsuccessfully in 2010) and I appreciated the enthusiasm she has about women aspiring to ever higher levels in their career. However I'm not sure how much I can concretely apply to my own career and most of the ideas provided are ones I've read about elsewhere. Also this book is quite short so it does not allow Saujani to flesh out everything that she might at a longer length.

Of most interest to me was her pushing women to pursue STEM careers. I kind of wish I had taken the opportunity to explore that path especially if I had taken a computer science class. I will certainly encourage the young women in my life to consider such work and hope that others will be encouraged, whether through encountering this book or possibly through the Girls Who Code foundation begun by Saujani. I love the idea of people being supported as they try something new that could end up being a lifelong passion.

Overall: Not a must-read but if you like the genre, worth reading.

Smarter Than You Think

by Clive Thompson
4/5 stars
The Penguin Press, 2013
288 pages
Non-Fiction, Technology

Source: Library

Though my heart lies in YA fiction, I am interested in a wide variety of other topics including this book I've seen buzz about that examines how technology is impacting us. I have certainly read articles warning about dire outcomes from technology and I've witnessed what I consider sad consequences (for example at a restaurant I've seen parents thoroughly engrossed in their phones while their children beg for attention). This book however takes a more optimistic view about how we can and do use technology in extremely beneficial ways.

For example using newer platforms online like change.org has allowed people to find similar-minded people and organize at a scale not seen before.  Twitter allows for quick spreading of news. If I hear about an earthquake for example, I always turn to Twitter to find out more quickly and turn to traditional news once there has been time for more thorough information to be gathered. These technologies work best when they have a single clear purpose and desired outcome. Broadening it too much tends to muddy its effect. He also takes about utilizing a computer's strengths (memory and brute-force processing of data) to complement a human's mind and discretion.

Two of the most striking points for me involved historical examples. He shared about Ernest Duchesne who performed research on penicillin but was unable to get his work published and died without his findings shared with the world. Thirty-two years later Alexander Fleming shared penicillin. Think of how many lives could have been saved if Duchesne had had a platform to share his work outside of the formalized channels that rejected him or if he had found colleagues to disseminate his information.

The other point that struck me relates to our tendency to romanticize the past. For example Thompson writes about how we idealize the great letter-writing culture of the past. He says that the average was still only 5.15 letters per year at that time. So not a lot. In comparison, online has greatly sparked our writing including especially us bloggers :) And it has allowed us to connect with so many more people than we would have in the past. I really enjoyed reading about how much more writing we're producing and was struck by two examples he shared of bloggers whose years of posts added up to 2+ books. It made me wonder how long my blog would be in book format...

Overall: A very interesting and accessible work of non-fiction with some great endnotes and index.

Dare

by Becky Blalock
5/5 stars
Jossey-Bass, 2013
216 pages
Adult Non-Fiction Leadership

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

As I've previously mentioned on my blog, one of my goals for 2014 was to read more business/leadership books and to see how I could implement them in my own career for my professional development. Well, no time like the present so I grabbed this book when I saw it and eagerly ate it up.

The title really grabbed me as it brought to mind Brene Brown's Daring Greatly and its allusion to that excellent Theodore Roosevelt quote "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” I want to be a leader in the business world and I was very inspired by the insight shared in this book.

On the one hand, I don't normally think of myself as a big daredevil (and I work in compliance so that's not really the most desirable trait anyway in my opinion). On the other hand, I'm at the beginning of my career, I want to lean in, and I want to really grow and nurture my career. I definitely need advice and as a reader, books are an important component of that for me. After reading this, I felt that I have made some good decisions so far but am also reminded of my weak spots. There are a couple of points I intend to try out and explore in real life to see what impact I can make.

Besides Blalock's advice, there are additional words from other powerful businesswomen. All of this combines to produce an incredibly uplifting and inspirational book. It made me think about the women who have paved the path for me, making my own journey just that much easier in addition to reminding me that there are people who will root for me (sometimes I struggle with knowing that.) It's a very generous book; Blalock recognizes her blessings and wants to give back and she encourages the reader to do the same.

One thing I would have liked would have been a clearer picture of Blalock's career trajectory (as well as that for some of the other women who so graciously shared). She shares about several key positions and what she learned from them but I'm still a bit confused on how she exactly made each move to reach where she is now and how long that took.

Overall: Incredibly inspiring-definitely a fave read of the year and one I plan to go through at least one more time this year as I make plans and goals for 2014.

ARC Review: Princesses Behaving Badly

Princesses Behaving Badly by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
3/5 stars
Quirk Books, 2013
278 pages
Non-Fiction History
Scheduled to release November 19

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

I have frequently talked about my love of princesses and fairy tales so I loved the hook for this book, which references real-life princesses and how their lives don't really fit that mold for whatever reason, often because of their excesses and/or insanity.

Something I appreciated was reading about princess outside of Europe; yes, we look at a few princesses from Asia, Africa and even the Americas though most are based in various Europe countries. However the definition of princess and real is very flexible. Several of these women merely styled themselves as princess without the ancestry one would expect and several of the stories are most probably from mythology and not well grounded in fact. I thought they were fascinating nonetheless but go against what the very title of this book promises.

In general, I found the tone of this book very gossipy, which quite frankly works for me as gossip sites are some of my favorite pleasure reading (my fave for the past four or so years is Lainey Gossip). It was disconcerting though as I'm used to such figures being treated with a bit more reverence. But this book relishes in their profligate ways and sexual excesses. It started to feel overwhelming especially as I read this book in about one day. I was personally shocked at some of what was described-a good reminder that it is not just our era where we see unbelievable wealth and reckless spending.

Probably the most interesting tidbit for me was the examination of Juana the Mad, who I thought was a sad byproduct of royalty's tendency toward inbreeding. However this author suggests that she was framed as mad so the men in her life could rule in her stead. I'm embarrassed that I never considered this possibility and merely accepted this story spoonfed to me.

Overall: A rollicking ride through history looking at some overlooked or even forgotten women who made their mark on history.

*A note: I read an e-ARC that was sorely in need of some editing; I assume the finished copy will be corrected because there were some terrible errors. The finished copy should also contain a bibliography, which was sadly missing here as I would like to explore some of these figures through a more scholarly lens.

Super Pop!

Super Pop! by Daniel Harmon
4/5 stars
Zest Books, 2013
279 pages
Non-Fiction Pop Culture

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore trivia, lists, and pop culture so checking this book out was a complete no-brainer especially once I saw Liviana at In Bed With Books' positive review. I'm glad I checked it out because this book was so much fun! I don't have a lot to say about it other than I really enjoyed reading it.

I do consider myself pretty familiar with many areas of pop culture but I was pleased to discover even more new things. I did know a lot of the movies and books but there are also music, video games, and more that were new to me. I appreciated the chance to get some new ideas for entertainment to check out. The list topics are arranged in five areas and then pretty randomly within each category.

What I liked the most about the book was that it is not just lists. There are full-on (often very humorous) paragraphs explaining why something is on the list as well as providing bonus materials on occasion. I literally laughed out loud at several points and shared a few tidbits with the people around me.

Overall, I think this would be a fun book to keep as a reference, definitely something you would want a hard copy of rather than the e-book version I read. My copy featured black and white illustrations; I am wondering if the actual book has color to match the cover.

Battleship

Battleship by Dorothy Ours
3/5 stars
St. Martin's Press, 2013
276 pages
Adult History Non-Fiction

Source: Received an ARC from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

This book first got my attention when I saw it featured by the publisher on Netgalley; unfortunately my copy expired before I got to it so I was pleased to see it for offer on Amazon Vine, giving me another chance to check out what seemed to be billed as a very gripping read. While it was not to my taste, I think there will be fans of the story.

I've always heard that little girls love horses but maybe there was something wrong with me because I never got it. Horses are big and smelly and I had less than zero interest in them. Instead I was interested in this book because of the billing of a daring heiress (Marion duPont), teenage jockey (Bruce Hobbs), an American horse (the titular Battleship), and the converging paths of all the people necessary to make a racing legend like Battleship.

The conclusion to this book with that final race that made his name was very exciting. It shows clearly all the hard work and time invested that was necessary to reach that point. However many of the passages before that bored me. There was so much information about horses and racing and I did not care nor did I need full recaps of all the races that even remotely related to the story. My expectation of this book was that it would be filled with engaging writing and be accessible to laymen and I don't feel like it met either of those.

I did enjoy the passages that focused more on the humans especially Marion's life of seemingly confirmed spinsterhood in an era that really condemned such a fate to two somewhat surprising marriages against her lifelong passion for horses. The jockey, Bruce's, story was also fascinating with his tough upbringing under his strict horse-mad trainer father that led to the very tall young man riding to victory on a comparatively small horse.

Overall: Not to my taste at all!

Note: As I read an ARC, it lacked footnotes or endnotes and pictures, both of which I hope are in the final product. I would love to see how Battleship stacked up next to the bigger horses mentioned over the course of the novel.

ARC Review: Ender's World

Ender's World edited by Orson Scott Card
4/5 stars
Smart Pop, 2013
282 pages
Non-Fiction Science-Fiction Essays
Scheduled to release April 2

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Like many people, I discovered Ender's Game as a child and have returned to it time and time again, always finding something new. I am tentatively anticipating the film version this year (Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff...for some reason I thought he'd be Mazer Rackham.)

As The Girl Who Was on Fire made me want to reread the Hunger Games trilogy, this book made me want to reread Ender's Game as well as explore the other books set in that universe, which I have never read. There are some brief references to the other stories but the main focus is on Ender's Game. Per usual, I will briefly look at each essay, which has made for a long review. Basically if you love Ender's Game, you'll find things to enjoy in this book.

How It Should Have Ended by Eric James Stone: The premise of this essay is one I identified very strongly with. To wit, that Ender's Game should have ended with Ender's victory. Upon my first reading that is what stuck me with the most and the scenes that came after seemed unnecessary and even confusing to me. Like Stone though, further readings gave greater understanding about those moments, adding to the richness of my experience. A great essay to start off the book!

The Monster's Heart by John Brown: Brown brings in some science to accompany his look at some of the most poignant parts of the novel, analyzing how fiction can still inspire very real responses in us humans. He looks at how Card evoked such strong responses and helped us visualize certain moments so vividly without necessarily even describing a lot. I especially appreciated his look at the bugger queen as I'm still wrestling with my response to the buggers.

The Cost of Breaking the Rules by Mary Robinette Kowal: Kowal attended a Literary Boot Camp from Card and learned all some writing rules there. She then proceeded to go through Ender's Game and find the multiple instances where Card broke those same rules. BUT that was as a writer recognizing that there was a cost to those decisions-a worthwhile cost but a cost nonetheless. I was pleased to see Kowal's essay here as I have enjoyed her fiction immensely.

Winning and Losing in Ender's Game by Hilari Bell: Bell looks at the cost of winning and losing in the book, specifically where winning costs more than losing and the toll this takes on Ender especially as he compares himself to Peter.

Parallax Regained: Two Views of Ender's Game by David Lubar and Alison S. Myers: This essay is a father and daughter writing about their experiences with the novel: he as a writer and she as a teacher and how it has impacted their professional and personal lives. It is written as a conversation/debate between the two of them. I especially enjoyed Myers' confession that she probably wouldn't have read it when she was young had her father been the one to suggest it.

Mirror, Mirror by Alethea Kontis: Kontis wrote the fairy-tale retelling Enchanted and looks at a prevalent theme in fairy tales as well as other stories: mirrors (as if you couldn't have guessed that from the title of the essay ;) Not only does the mirror reflect Ender to himself, the book itself reflects each reader to a degree, influencing what we get out of it.

Size Matters by Janis Ian: (sidenote: this woman inspired the name of the character in Mean Girls!) My favorite part of this essay was the observation that perhaps shorter people live longer. I'm 5'4" which is average for an American woman, I believe, but I've always wanted to be 5'10"-this note is helping me reconcile myself to my height. The thrust of the essay though focuses on Ender's size and its importance throughout the story because he really is so small, starting at Battle School younger than most of the other kids and pretty much always being the smallest.

Rethinking the Child Hero by Aaron Johnston: This book compares Ender to a Clint Eastwood character, which didn't really resonate with me as I think I've only seen one or two of his films and haven't had much interest in watching more (I don't care for westerns and that's what I mainly associate him with).

A Teenless World by Mette Ivie Harrison: Harrison looks at children acting in an adult world and speaking in an adult manner. Card makes this utterly believable-although Ender is but six at the start, I never found myself pulled out of the story thinking that no one that age would talk like that.  This book offers kids a chance to imagine themselves in positions of incredible power and responsibility and it's intoxicating.

Ender on Leadership by Colonel Tom Ruby (USAF, Retired): This military man discusses how Ender's Game impacted him and other soldiers with their conceptions of leadership, striving to add that element of extraordinary compassion and feeling that Ender has.

Ender Wiggin, USMC by John F. Schmitt: Schmitt discusses the history of the Marine Corps and its reorganization and philosophy in comparison to the tactics used by Ender in the Battle Room. This chapter also includes a look at Tactical Decision Games, which I immediately wanted to try out as soon as I can gather a group of people to explore it with.

The Price of Our Inheritance by Neal Shusterman: Shusterman looks at the war being fought and how it hinges on the question "How many people would you kill to protect the lives of your  children?" The answer: As many as necessary, which is displayed in the book but how does that impact Ender? At the end of the war, he is condemned by the very people he saved. A very thought-provoking read.

If the Formics Love Their Children by Ken Scholes: Scholes only very recently came to Ender's Game, in fact not reading the book until he was contacted to write an essay for this book. As such, he entered with an adult's mind and prepared to study the book against the background when it was originally published and how that has changed (and what has remained the same) over the years.

Ender's Game: A Guide to Life by Matt Nix: I mostly have to mention this one as the author is the creator of "Burn Notice," one of my mom's favorite shows and beloved by my whole family really. Throughout his life, he has connected with people because of this book and it has served as a guide as he figured out what he wanted to do with his life (eventually settling on creating an excellent action/mystery/thriller/comedic/romantic/all-around awesome show).

As I wrote this review, I realized just how many essays were in this book-there are so many perspectives! I also should mention that interspersed between the essays are some questions and answers from OSC, giving further (fascinating) insight into the writing of Ender's Game.

The Secret Lives of Codebreakers

The Secret Lives of Codebreakers by Sinclair McKay
4/5 stars
Plume, 2012
Originally published by Aurum Press, 2010
322 pages
Adult Historical Non-Fiction

Source: Library

I picked this up after having my interest piqued with the news that "The Bletchley Circle" will be coming to PBS in April. This show follows women who had worked at Bletchley Park during WWII. I was also interested in the life and times of Maggie Hope and just a general interest in code breaking.

Although I knew a little about breaking the German Enigma code, there was still much ground to explore as this book covers some of the ciphering that went on during World War I as well as the time period leading up to the second world war; there were those prescient enough to plan ahead so that England had a jump start when war did break out. Then of course this covers through the war and its aftermath, including decades long silence on the part of its participants. They still don't know everyone who worked here as records weren't kept and some have taken/will take the secret to the grave.

This book captured well the intensity of life at Bletchley Park alternating with the tedious parts. They worked eight hour shifts around the clock, switching shift times every week. Some of the work was repetitious and much of it was dull albeit vital. Because of the young women who cross-referenced the deciphered work painstakingly on index cards, they were able to stockpile and analyze a great amount of information that may have aided and cut down on the length of the war.

The amazing thing to me is how secret this was kept. People in the nearby town knew something was happening. Relatives of the men here wondered why they weren't at the front. But for the most part, people just kept their heads down and didn't probe. I'm so amazed at the lack of blabbing and the general agreement of everyone to just keep going. The reminiscences of people further back up the attitude of the time.

Overall: An interesting book about something I bet most Americans don't know much about. I would have liked to read more about the actual code breaking but this was very absorbing and educational.

Sexy Feminism

Sexy Feminism by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and Heather Wood Rudulph
3/5 stars
Mariner Books, 2013
212 pages
Adult Non-Fiction

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've considered myself a feminist for probably about ten years now, since I was a teenager and started learning what feminism could mean. That commitment has never wavered through years of attacks on feminism, women, etc. But I haven't read many of the classic feminist texts (bell hooks being someone I keep meaning to try but I keep getting sidetracked by all the fantastic YA fiction out there!) so I do keep an eye out for new texts that could become feminist classics.

Unfortunately I don't anticipate this being one of those works. It's written very simply and engaging but is ultimately very simplistic. My main reaction to everything was "...and? Your point is?"  There really wasn't much depth and I was expecting more. I wonder if this might be a better starter feminist text because nothing in here was new or challenging to me. I feel like I was encouraged to create my own life that works for me, which, um, I was already doing.

There were some great ideas in here but I didn't think they received enough attention. For example, political rights are largely skipped over but there is an entire chapter on bikini waxing (dull as dishwater to me). Sexy feminists are given a brief profile but not very many-I would have loved some more analysis of contemporary women who are making their mark on feminism through their actions in the public eye. In some ways, the book seems to be more about making the word "feminist" more palatable to people by making it not sound so crazy (what is crazy about valuing the life and contributions of approximately 50% of the world's population as much as that of the other 50% I ask?) and I am in favor of that but I wish this book had more of substance to offer.

The Irresistible Revolution

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne
5/5 stars
Zondervan, 2006
367 pages
Adult Christian Non-fiction

Source: B-day present :)

This is going to be a shorter review since it's Saturday, it's non-fiction, and it was just amazing so I don't have any nits to pick. My very good friend gifted this to me for my birthday since she knows what a reader I am but that I don't really read a lot of non-fiction. Claiborne is one of her favorite authors and I'm excited to have been introduced to him.

Favorite Quote: "I have pledged allegiance to a King who loved evildoers so much he died for them...teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for." (pg 365)

Trying to decide where exactly to start is quite difficult as the book covers a lot of ground following Claiborne's life as a Christian, from his inauthentic conversion as a youth, accepting something he didn't fully understand and tracing his adult life searching for that authentic faith and disturbing his comfortable lifestyle for something Christlike. It's a history but it's also a calling to work and an inspiration for where to go. The overwhelming impression I have is of the fire in Shane as he reaches out to us, very personally, trying to shake us up especially good for me as I had become somewhat complacent in the waning days of 2012. Additionally I found his writing style just very smooth and engaging even when it made me uncomfortable, either because I knew he was calling me out in a way I needed to be challenged or because I didn't entirely agree with him.

The other theme I would like to touch on is the seeming contradiction in the subtitle "an ordinary radical." How do those seemingly opposite words fit together in Claiborne's vision? Well he traces the word "radical" back to its origins in "root" and sees it as utterly fitting that his lifestyle is now more in line with that of those in the early church. If it seems odd to contemporary Western Christians, then that's more a reflection of the culture in which we immerse ourselves; it would seem typical to disciples in the early church. There are lots of other educational passages in this book and all together it was an excellent read and very jolting.

Thank you very much Kim :)

What Matters in Jane Austen?

What Matters in Jane Austen by John Mullan
4/5 stars
Bloomsbury Press, 2013
Originally published in England, 2012
320 pages
Austen Non-fiction

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jane Austen is my favorite author so whenever I see something related to her, my interest is piqued. While enjoying a very pleasurable rereading of Pride and Prejudice, I noticed many points that I hadn't before. I thought about age and the way the characters related to each other and the way Austen phrased. These are some of the items addressed in Mullen's work here, a true labor of love, stemming from his years studying Austen. He delves deeply into the minutiae, the little details that some may skip over but that make Austen's novels.

Among the questions are "How Much Does Age Matter?", "Do Sisters Sleep Together?", and "What Do the Characters Call Each Other?" Although I had pondered some of these themes, most of them were new to me. Especially interesting was discussions about the role of weather, if servants ever appear, and which card games are for bettors. He draws on all six of the published novels in addition to referencing Sandition. Every possible relevant item is included in his exhaustive chapters. Consequently even I found this a bit overwhelming. I would definitely not recommend this to a casual fan. No, it is most definitely intended for the serious Austen reader. You will also probably want to have read all six novels (possibly multiple times) in order to be familiar with everything he references. And be warned, that this book will probably make you want to read the books again. On tap for my 2013 is Mansfield Park and possibly Emma as well.

This book did feel on the academic side and as the book progressed, I found myself feeling a bit tired. Certain sections are referenced different times for different points and I may have read this too fast. If I read just one chapter every week or on occasion, I probably would have been able to process everything more thoroughly and not find it so dry.

Overall: Recommended for the Austen-ite; others will likely find it all too much.

The Panem Companion

The Panem Companion by V. Arrow
4/5 stars
Smart Pop, 2012
237 pages
YA Non-Fiction

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For whatever reason, I've been super into reading books about The Hunger Games. Earlier this year, I reviewed The Girl Who Was On Fire and loved it so I was thrilled to check out another release from the same publisher looking at some different aspects of this beloved trilogy.

The weird thing for me is how interested I've been in reading unofficial guides and analysis about the books. I've been a huge Harry Potter fan, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and others but I didn't necessarily want to read anything other than the fictional texts, whether official or unofficial. Yet something about Collins' text really drives me to think about it more academically and makes me love it even more. I suspect that has something to do with the fact that instead of being fantasy, it is dystopia and as Arrow tracks in this book, events could occur that lead to similar circumstances to create the world of Panem. It's not likely. Also because of that closeness to our real-life, I feel more easily able to see the similarities and ways of approaching analyzing them especially in Collins' presentation of war and reality television, the juxtaposition of which Collins has admitted was a huge jumping off point for the series.

Besides looking at some of the most important characters, settings and themes of the trilogy, this book also contains a lexicon looking at the background behind the names of (I believe) all the named characters. Though these analyses are purely guesswork, they do provide interesting insight into some of the thoughts that may have guided Collins when naming as well as providing foreshadowing on their eventual fates to those who know.

The best part of this book though is that it is pushing me to reread the trilogy, something I haven't done since first reading it in 2010. I think that will be a 2013 goal and I can't wait!

Stress Point

Stress Point by Susan Francis Martin
4/5 stars
Thomas Nelson, 2012
267 pages
Adult Christian Non-Fiction

Source: Received a copy for review through Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review.

I was interested in this book because of its subtitle: "Thriving Through Your 20s in a Decade of Drama." I am in my twenties and have found some areas of life difficult, in particular negotiating the job area, which is the very first chapter. So I figured this book would be pretty applicable.

Chapters aim to cover every aspect from work as mentioned above to relationships, money issues, and spiritual maturity over the course of ten chapters. Martin broke down each chapter into five sections, using these three guiding images: "Worshiping at the Throne of the King", "Waiting at the Throne of the King" and "Finding Focus on the King." These are images we can as we aim to conquer the stress points in our lives. Each chapter has multiple journal questions to work through but my personal favorite part was how Martin shared a different name of God with us and how that name has give her inspiration through stressful parts of her life.

Many of the points were familiar to me, which is good as I obviously need to hear some of these things again.  One immediate application for me was when earlier this week I was looking at my closet and hating all my clothes. I caught myself and shook my head to literally shake those thoughts out of my head. Instead I reflected on how lucky I am to have so many choices, closed my eyes, and then picked the first short-sleeves shirt I saw. Another application for me was waking up every morning this week and thinking how lucky I am to get to go to work instead of groaning about getting up. This was something my pastor had preached about earlier this year and I'm happy to have had it repeated because I need to hear these things multiple times to make sure they really sink in and change me.

I did struggle a bit with the beginning of each chapter as Martin shared three case studies; in many of the chapters, I didn't relate to any of the case studies and since they were a jumping-off point, I felt my entry into that section was a bit stymied. But I loved the career section and found that one to be very helpful.

Besides the book chapters, there are also summary pages, additional discussion questions, and online videos at Martin's blog if you're looking for more information about this book. I think this would be a helpful read for many Christian women in their twenties.

Death by Petticoat

Death by Petticoat by Mary Miley Theobald
3/5 stars
Andrew McMeel Publishing, LLC, 2012
126 pages
Non-fiction; American History

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the idea for this book-it is right up my alley as a history major who specialized in US history. I love collections of truths and myths that break them down in easy-to-read ways and this looked like the perfect quick read for me.

And it was a quick read. Each entry is only about one page and includes a picture to further illustrate the point. The writing was easy to read and due to the shortness, you can very quickly read this book. I think it would be fun to pick it up and read an entry or two at a time. It looks like a nice book to support The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and its missions of preservation and education.

However I ended up being disappointed on a few counts. First the focus is mostly on colonial times (which is forecast by the collaboration with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation but which I didn't notice). I thought it would cover a longer period of time and be more mixed. But most of the myths come from colonial times with just a few from later days. Second was the myths themselves, most of which I had never even heard of-two separate mentions of room taxes as a for example. I guess these are questions that tourists ask when visiting Colonial Williamsburg, which makes me very worried for our school system if in fact American-educated people are thinking these things are true. My expectations were that I would have at least heard of the myths even if I knew they were false from my more specialized studying.

Overall: Good for some light reading but not recommended for history scholars.

Island of Vice

Island of Vice by Richard Zacks
4/5 stars
Doubleday, 2012
366 pages
Historical Non-Fiction

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

This is a hard review for me to write because I do not read much non-fiction. And most of what I have read in the past years was for academic research, not for fun. While I could produce an academic paper on this book, that would be decidedly not fun and it would not fit the content of my blog and general review style. But I still would like to be informative so here's my attempt :)

I was attracted to this book due to the presence of a certain Mr. Roosevelt, aka my favorite president and inspiration for my user name. 1858 is his birth year and TR was also a voracious reader, although I expect he read much more non-fiction than I did. This book covers the years of Roosevelt as a police commissioner on a mission to rid New York City of its vice, something that the people of NYC don't really want to do. Sure they don't want murderers, destruction of property, or burglaries but drinking, gambling, and prostitution were immensely popular activities and corruption within the Tammany Hall dominated police force was rampant.

Spurred by (mostly) Republican, native-born, wealthy Protestants though a crackdown on vice began enthusiastically by Roosevelt. As the city resisted reform though, Roosevelt began looking for an escape, which he found as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in William McKinley's cabinet on the way to the presidency.

As you might have guessed, I was most interested in the parts with Roosevelt, which made the beginning difficult as he is not really present. First we need the reformers to start agitating but for me, it was a slog. Happily Roosevelt is such a dynamic presence that once he arrives on the scene, the book picked up for me. Still as someone now more used to fiction, I found this book difficult to read.

But the information provided about Roosevelt's stint as police commissioner was fascinating. It is not a period of his life I've studied much, preferring his governorship and presidency generally, so the information presented was new to me while also demonstrating how this period of time laid a lot of groundwork for Roosevelt's future success. He certainly refined his speechmaking abilities and we see his rigid combative self that would continue to impress and enthrall us.

Overall: Definitely a great read for those interested in TR or late-nineteenth century New York City/urban centers but not a must-read in any sense for those who are not.

Take the Cannoli

Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell
Simon & Schuster, 2000
219 pages
Essays; Humor
4/5 stars

Source: Library

Continuing on my Sarah Vowell binge, I picked up this early release, a compilation of essays previously published in other editions. My guess was that the title references the famous The Godfather line "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli" and I was correct; that film serves as an inspiration for an essay here as Vowell visited Italy partly due to her love of the film.

The essays here are varied in topic, mostly focusing on Vowell's life, pop culture often music, and American history. I think my second favorite essay was "What I See When I Look at the Face on the $20 Bill" where Vowell and her sister follow the Trail of Tears, the forced march of Native Americans (including the Cherokee from whom Vowell descends) from Georgia to Oklahoma in the 1830s as the United States government stole their land.  This happened under the presidency of Andrew Jackson, who was originally ranked very high but whose legacy has been challenged in recent years, in large part due to his actions in this regard. I loathe AJ so I am thrilled with this change. However this essay is more personal due to Vowell's ancestry.

My favorite essay was actually the first titled "Shooting Dad." Vowell's father is a gunsmith with conservative leanings counterbalanced by Vowell's more liberal leanings. For a long time, she didn't get guns but as she grew older, she appreciated the artistry of his work and they learned to communicate better even when they disagreed. It was a great way to start off the collection.

Like most collections though, there are invariably a chapter or two that don't speak to the reader. That happened here too. Maybe I tried to plow through the book too fast and would have enjoyed savoring a chapter a day. I just became a little tired of Vowell's voice and the topic of the essay didn't speak to me the way earlier ones had. Still I am very happy to have read this and I will continue to seek out Vowell's writing because it is generally enjoyable with wonderful accents of humor.

The Wordy Shipmates

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
Riverhead Books, 2008
248 pages
Non-fiction; American history
4/5 stars

Source: Library

I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up other than that it came from the mind behind Assassination Vacation, a tour of spots related to presidential assassinations, ie a great book for presidential nerds like me! Imagine my pleasure to discover that this book was about the Puritans! I've become more interested in recent years, spurred by my interest in American history and religiosity.

If you're American (and even if you're not), you've probably heard about the country's Puritan roots as well as the phrase "city upon a hill." Vowell attempts to explore these and other ideas about Puritanism and the foundation of the United States of America.

For starters, I was very impressed with how committed these people were to learning and literacy; there is apparently a plethora of primary sources (admittedly from white men at the top of the social pyramid). They wanted a documented trail. And far from considering education some elitist goal in a pejorative sense, they valued education and built Harvard specifically to educate their sons so that they could be well-versed in Biblical literacy. I do sometimes feel like some sectors of the American population look down on book-learning and it makes me feel a little better to see that our historical ancestors didn't.

Of course they are human and this book is filled with their conflicts, from what it means to be pure, different interpretations of the Bible, and just plain personality conflicts.  Of special note is John Winthrop (Massachusetts Bay Colony governor), Roger Williams (Rhode Island founder), and Anne Hutchinson (a woman daring to preach) who all receive significant page time.

But as the book progressed, I found myself reading mostly a history text and wishing there was more of Vowell's analysis and asides. I really love her voice and find her humorous. If there's a topic that needs leavening, Puritanism would be one of them! But there wasn't nearly enough to satisfy me in this text and it dragged my rating of the book down.