tales of fate and fortune on the road

~ Tell us the title: the Kindness of Strangers

~ Who penned this work?: 26 different people

~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?: yet another fateful trip to Powells

~ Number of pages: 271

~ Time passed from start to finish?: about a month(ish)

~ Describe the cover: There is an outline of a human torso and strangely shaped head with a heart outline in the middle of the head and whimsical, childlike text declaring the title and basic information.

~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?: Probably travel, but I found it on a random shelf while passing by in hopes of escaping the store with only one book...

~ Summary of the basic plot: It is a collection of true short stories of adventures and encounters with strangers during travel all over the world.

~ Background information on the story/author: Each story in the book is shared by a different author, but they all get a little mini bio at the beginning of their story. Most authors have penned other works in newspapers, magazines and/or their own books.

~ What did you think of it? It was great! Each story is only a few pages long, so it was easy to read a story a day quickly and not feel that I should be using my time more wisely. :) It made me long to indulge my sense of adventure and either get lost somewhere in the world or pick up a hitchhiker and learn of their journey. It also reminded me that simple kindness towards one another no matter what barriers may exist is beautiful and powerful.

~ Which page was your favorite? Perhaps the table of contents because it represents the diversity that exists within the pages. :)

~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters? Um...this would be hard considering the whole 26 different stories thing...

~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. "Here's what I love about travel: strangers get a chance to amaze you. Sometimes a single day can bring a blooming surprise, a simple kindness that opens a chink in the brittle shell of your heart and makes you a different person when you go to sleep - more tender, less jaded - than the one you were when you woke up."

Also: "DECENT UNDERWEAR: It's important."

~ Choose your rating: I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it

~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page. Then, after a few moments of reflection, my host reached down to the floor next to his bed and picked up what I took to be his two most valuable belongings.

Memoirs of a boy soldier

~ Tell us the title: A Long Way Gone

~ Who penned this work?: Ishmael Beah

 
~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?: My sister gave it to me for my 25th birthday.  It got lost in boxes during my packing and moving, and patiently waited for my eyeballs to see it again.  

~ Number of pages: 229

~ Time passed from start to finish?: Three days

~ Describe the cover: A small boy walks, staring at the ground, on a dirt road, wearing green flip flops with holes in the soles and a gun slung over his shoulder.

~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?: Memoir, Biography

~ Summary of the basic plot: From back cover: At the age of twelve, Ishmael Beah fled attacking rebels in Sierra Leone and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence.  By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.  At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at this rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and, finally, to heal. 

~ Background information on the story/author: From inside: Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980.  He moved to the United States in 1998 and finished his last two years of high school at the United Nations International School in New York.  He graduated from Oberlin College in 2004.  He is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children's Rights Division Advisory Committee and has spoken before the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities (CETO) at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, and many other NGO panels on children affected by war.  He is also the head of the Ishmael Beah Foundation, which is dedicated to helping former child soldiers reintegrate into society and improve their lives.  His work has appeared in VespertinePress and LIT magazine.  He lives in Brooklyn. 

~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it): Wow. Yet again, a memoir written by a child of war has blown me away.  This book, like many others, includes a map in the front, which really helps to put the story in context for me.  Only 4 years older than me, I can relate much better to the timeline and cultural references as well.  There is also a list at the back of the book with a succinct history of the country.  I have learned more about world history from reading memoirs such as this than I ever learned in school.  Several things stand out to me that I wasn't expecting.  First, the writing is clear & concise, yet beautiful & evocative.  Much of the story is written with the voice of the child he was at the time, which I find notable.  He didn't write the story as an adult looking back, but rather as the part of him that's still that child, remembering things as they happened.  I was blown away by the things Ishmael experienced.  It's incomprehensible, especially when you consider the parallels in time.  It's easy to think of these stories as happening far in the past, in a wholly different place and time, but Ishmael was killing his first person when I was learning about Lewis and Clark in 4th grade.  He was completely robbed of his childhood, and the unfairness in that is striking.  For some reason, I assumed that his rehabilitation had taken place in the US (shame on me for that), and was surprised that it took place in his own country.  After the joy of realizing that he had an uncle in Freetown that would take him in, I was furious with what became of the situation a few years later, feeling that Ishmael had simply been through too much already.  I also felt slightly angry at the intro, where it calmly states that he moved to the US in 1998, when in fact he fled from war for the second time, constantly in fear and unsure whether he would survive. 

~ Which page was your favorite? Share why: Page 200.  Ishmael was selected to come to the United States to speak about his experiences, and found a group of fellow children and adults who cared for him and became very close with him.  As he is leaving, everyone bursts into tears and says goodbye.  The closing to the page weighed on my mind.  He said: "I was sad to leave, but I was also pleased to have met people outside of Sierra Leone.  Because if I was to get killed upon my return, I knew that a memory of my existence was alive somewhere in the world."

~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters?  I have no idea. 

~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why: "I walked behind the coffin, the sound of my footsteps clinging to my heart."   During the time period when Ishmael was a soldier, the children soldiers were drugged with cocaine and other drugs (another thing I was completely shocked by) to keep them energized and numb their emotions.  The contrast between that time of his life and how much he FELT when this quote happened was astounding.

~ Choose your rating:
          - Changed. My. Life.
          - I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
          - A definite page-turner
          - Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
          - Why did I waste my weekend on this?
          - A disgrace to paper everywhere

~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page: "But on the first day of school in Freetown, all the students sat apart from us, as if Mohamed and I were going to snap any minute and kill someone."

Politics, paranoia, and country music

~ Tell us the title: The Liar's Lullaby

~ Who penned this work?: Meg Gardiner

~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?: Library Convention

~ Number of pages: 388

~ Time passed from start to finish?: About 3 days

~ Describe the cover: Black background with orange and white text, a cut off image of a woman's face and the city in the background.

~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?: Fiction, Murder Mystery, Thriller

~ Summary of the basic plot: From the back: Forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett is called upon to investigate a celebrity's shocking death in hopes of averting a national catastrophe.

~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it): It was another page-turning story by Ms. Gardiner.  The plot line in this book was a little less interesting than her first two books with Jo Beckett, but was still a good read.  There were less dramatic twists, which I was pleased about, and instead the twists were completely unexpected. 

~ Which page was your favorite? Share why: In this book, President McFarland (President of the US) is from Montana.  About dang time!

~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters? Dr. Beckett is the same as in previous reviews.  President McFarland is probably Bill Pullman, and for crazy Tasia I think of Heidi Montag.

~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why: "Her guardian angel shot her a salute and said, Good luck with that, honey.  You're on your own."  I just thought it was funny.

~ Choose your rating:
          - Changed. My. Life.
          - I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
          - A definite page-turner
          - Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
          - Why did I waste my weekend on this?
          - A disgrace to paper everywhere

~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page: "Mark."

Words to live by

The title: The Other 90%: How to unlock your vast untapped potential for leadership and life

Who penned this work?: Robert K. Cooper

How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?: I like to wander down the aisles at the library. Seriously. I saw it and picked it up, thinking it would be a cheesy self-help book about sports or something. Flipped it open and read a page, realized I was wrong, checked it out, read half of it, and then my mom ordered me my own copy.

Number of pages: 273

Time passed from start to finish?: Hmm, that's hard to say. I started it back in November I think. Read it off and on. I'd say maybe about a month of consistent reading. I read one chapter per day when I got into the swing of things, and that worked out beautifully -- gave me a chance to reflect on what I read before moving on. It's not the type of book you can read in one sitting.

Describe the cover: Nice and cheesy. A picture of a mountain peak, with big bold lettering proclaiming the title.

In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?: Business, self-help

Summary of the basic plot: The author supposedly provides you with directions to become a more efficient self that conquers the world and becomes an awesome business person. (according to the back). In reality, I saw it as his advice on life. Not a promise to fix yourself. Just a list of things he's learned about life from the people he has known. He divides the book into what he calls the Four Keystones: Trust, Energy, Farsightedness, and Nerve. He includes several stories and snippets of wisdom from his life and his mentors (especially his two grandfathers), as well as stories about extraordinary people to emphasize his points. He not only gives advice, he offers practical suggestions for putting those ideas into action.

What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it): I really enjoyed it. In fact, I took notes, which I found helped. Distilling the information into an outline as I read allows me to go back later and reflect on his suggestions and ideas. I liked the structure (although I don't know if the four keystones were necessary), and liked that he included suggestions that were both idealistic (champion at least one underdog each day) and practical (exercises for improving posture). It rarely ran into the cheesy realm, and was unimposing...I never felt like he was speaking down to his readers.

Which page was your favorite? Share why: 89-91. The story about Art Tatum, a young boy in the early 1900s who loved music, though he was blind. He couldn't afford music lessons, so someone walked him down to saloons to practice on the player pianos. He learned music by feeling the keys move under his fingers, and eventually learned to play. What he didn't know is that when they created the rolls of paper music they used two pianists. Because he didn't know, and no one told him it was impossible, he was the first (and only?) person to learn to play FOUR hands of piano music.

Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why: Where do I start? He includes a lot of quotes from other people, which I enjoyed. There was at least one quote to go with each chapter. One of my favorites was by Thoreau (shocking): "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."

Choose your rating:
- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
- A definite page-turner
- Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
- Why did I waste my weekend on this?
- A disgrace to paper everywhere

Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page: "He looked very old when I first saw him; I found out later he was fifty-nine."

Slick

~ Tell us the title: THE MEMORY COLLECTOR

~ Who penned this work?: MEG GARDINER

~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?: LIBRARY CONVENTION

~ Number of pages: 354

~ Time passed from start to finish?: 2 OR 3 DAYS

~ Describe the cover: BRIGHT PRIMARY YELLOW WITH BLACK CAPS TEXT AND A FAINT OUTLINE IMAGE OF THE CITY

~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?: THRILLER, MURDER MYSTERY, FICTION

~ Summary of the basic plot: JO BECKETT, THE CHARACTER ALSO FROM THE DIRTY SECRETS CLUB, IS CALLED IN TO ASSIST WITH AN AIRLINE PASSENGER GONE CRAZY. HE APPEARS TO BE SUFFERING FROM SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS, BUT THE REASONS TURN OUT TO BE QUITE SINISTER.

~ Background information on the story/author: THIS IS THE SECOND IN A 'SERIES' IF YOU WILL FEATURING THE CHARACTER JO BECKETT. EACH BOOK INVOLVES A DIFFERENT STORY LINE, BUT A CONSISTENT SMALL CAST OF CHARACTERS.

~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it): IT WAS GOOD, A VERY INTERESTING PLOT LINE. THE CHARACTERS WEREN'T QUITE AS ENGAGING AS IN HER LAST BOOK, AND ALTHOUGH YOU NEED NOT HAVE READ THE FIRST, IT CERTAINLY HELPED TO KNOW WHO THE MAIN CHARACTERS WERE GOING INTO IT. AGAIN, THERE WERE A LOT OF TWISTS IN THE STORY LINE, A LITTLE TOO MANY FOR MY TASTE, BUT THEY DEFINITELY WEREN'T PREDICTABLE.

~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters? SEE POST ON 'THE DIRTY SECRETS CLUB'

~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why: I DIDN'T NOTE ANY QUOTES AS I READ. THE STORY ISN'T REALLY A STOP-AND-THINK STORY QUITE AS MUCH AS IT IS A CAN'T-PUT-IT-DOWN SORT OF TALE. I READ IT VERY FAST AND IT WENT BY SMOOTHLY WHICH SAYS GOOD THINGS ABOUT HER WRITING STYLE (SINCE THAT'S THE AIM FOR THIS TYPE OF BOOK, NO?).

~ Choose your rating:

- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
- A DEFINITE PAGE-TURNER
- Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
- Why did I waste my weekend on this?
- A disgrace to paper everywhere

~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page: "BUT IF THIS CHECKPOINT HAD BEEN A PERSON, IT WOULD HAVE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER."

Welcome to the Dirty Secrets Club

~ Tell us the title:
The Dirty Secrets Club

~ Who penned this work?:
Meg Gardiner

~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?:
Library Convention

~ Number of pages:
394

~ Time passed from start to finish?:
2 days

~ Describe the cover:
Shiny deep red with bold black letters

~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?:
Fiction, thriller, murder mystery

~ Summary of the basic plot:
Forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett is hired by the SFPD to help solve a string of mysterious deaths.

~ Background information on the story/author:
This is the first in a series of novels involving Jo Beckett.

~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it):
It was a nice quick read, definitely unique in the world of 'thriller' stories. The main characters were fleshed out pretty well, and all really likable. There were a LOT of twists, especially at the end, and to be honest it felt like one too many. A few is a pleasant surprise, but by the end of the story I kept saying 'seriously??? Another one?' It was also nice to read a story with current references (Ms. Gardiner is younger than the typical thriller writer), but they also went a little too far and it felt like she was emphasizing them just a touch too much. All in all an enjoyable read, though.

~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters?
Jo Beckett would be played by Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen. Yes, she's a dutch soap opera star, and I just googled brown curly hair actress and she popped up, but she actually looks exactly like I imagine that the character does.

~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why:
The author really likes to use ridiculous analogies, which I kind of enjoyed. For example "He was so clean and so sober that you could scrub him against a brick wall and scrape off graffiti."

~ Choose your rating:

- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
- A definite page-turner
- Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
- Why did I waste my weekend on this?
- A disgrace to paper everywhere

~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page.
"Bodies, clothing, jewelry, lives -- all went horribly awry in the milliseconds of impact."

Impacting Everywhere Soon

~ Tell us the title: Blonde Bombshell (A comedy of intergalactic proportions)
~ Who penned this work?: Tom Holt
~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?: It came from the lovely library convention
~ Number of pages: 378
~ Time passed from start to finish?: About a week?
~ Describe the cover: A pretty bright blue with bold black and white writing. Plus a giant bomb heading towards Earth.
~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?: Fiction, comedy, science fiction
~ Summary of the basic plot: A bomb equipped with artificial intelligence is on a mission from the planet Ostar (inhabited by dogs) to destroy planet Earth. Apparently the musical emissions the Earth sends into space are driving the dogs insane.
~ Background information on the story/author: Tom Holt is from London, England. His biography in the back of the book says that "At Oxford he studied bar billiards, ancient Greek agriculture and the care and feeding of small, temperamental Japanese motorcycle engines...", among other silly things.
~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it): I thought it was rather hilarious. The plot line was innovative and fun, and the dialogue was witty and engaging. Books that are considered 'comedy' rarely make me laugh more than a few times, but I was amused throughout pretty much the entire story.
~ Which page was your favorite? Share why: Page 25-26. One of the main characters takes a walk in the woods and sees a unicorn. The ensuing internal dialogue is hilarious.
~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters? Cameron Diaz would definitely be Lucy Pavlov. And Aaron Eckhart would be a smashing Mark Twain. Beyond that I'm not sure.
~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why: There are several quotes that I read twice. I enjoyed the sheer randomness and humor of them.

"Not every day you hallucinate members of the medieval bestiary. But it wasn't a hallucination. Figments of the imagination don't shit in the woods. And if they do, their shit doesn't smell so confoundedly realistic. therefore, it was a unicorn."

"There's a lot of things it could be, she said. Amnesia, incipient dementia, mercury poisoning, exposure to high levels of epsilon radiation. Or it could just mean you've been married for longer than eighteen months."

""Sometimes, she said, we choose to blot out whole chunks of our past, simply because they bother us, and we decide we don't want to carry that stuff around with us any more. It's a choice, not a medical condition. For example, I can't recall a single detail of the first time I met my future brother-in-law. Judging by the fact that it was also the last time I met him, and every time my husband suggests we get together my brother-in-law says, 'Keep that crazy bitch the hell away from me,' I gather that we didn't get on."

"She spent the afternoon fixing a small problem with the PavSoft grammar-and-spelling elf -- the poor thing had reacted badly to the latest compatibility upgrades, with the result that it'd taken to wandering forlornly across spreadsheets, curling up in a corner and sobbing uncontrollably..."

(referring to Earth) "On a planet still mostly powered by flammable goo derived from the crushed corpses of long-dead krill..."

"She had a suspicion that she was falling in love. If true, that could prove to be a real nuisance, given that the man (to use the term loosely) constituted the biggest threat that humanity and the Earth had ever faced. It was a bit like getting romantically involved with the Black Death, or having a crush on George Bush."

~ Choose your rating:

- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
- A definite page-turner
- Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
- Why did I waste my weekend on this?
- A disgrace to paper everywhere

~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page. "And, since she'd had no part in putting the clever brains inside the pretty body, but was merely the beneficiary of the result, she saw nothing she could justifiably take credit for."

Would the real Jesus Christ please stand up?

~ Tell us the title: Imaginary Jesus
~ Who penned this work?: Matt Mikalatos
~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?: My ever-deepening quest for religion...or maybe the librarian conference.
~ Number of pages: 225
~ Time passed from start to finish?: 4 Days
~ Describe the cover: A photo of a man wearing green-framed, star-shaped lensed sun glasses and a hawaiin shirt. He's also got a beard added with marker (think second grade) and a halo drawn with a yellow highlighter.
~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?: God, Comedy
~ Summary of the basic plot: Matt, the author sets out to find the real Jesus after discovering that the Jesus he was following was simply his depiction of what he wanted from Jesus.
~ Background information on the story/author: Matt Mikalatos is from somewhere around Portland and goes to Church at Village (not the Korean Presbyterian) church that's in Beaverton.
~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it): I wasn't bored, which is more than I expected. Mikalatos actually presents a number of valid points while inserting humor along the way.
~ Which page was your favorite? Share why: Pg. 64, there are no fewer than 5 Jesuses involved in this one scene.
~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters? I could see this being an Adam Sandler-ish movie. Something similar to a Bedtime Stories.
~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why: American Eagle came over and announced, "You're going to need stitches. Don't wash the blood off. The emergency room serves you faster if you're covered in blood." I like humor...and truth...so
~ Choose your rating:
- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
- A definite page-turner
- Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
- Why did I waste my weekend on this?
- A disgrace to paper everywhere
~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page. I seem to find books that do not fit this criteria...so this is from pg 222. "Krista called me and I turned the grill over to my dad."