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maribouAnimals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior , by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
The author occasionally suffers from a tendency to present established facts and speculation/uninformed opinion with equal weight and confidence in the rightness of what she is saying, blurring the line between them. This bugged me. That said, I found the book a pleasure to read, and some of the opinion stuff is brilliant and insightful. Really an excellent book, despite its flaws. I'd like to read more of Ms. Grandin's work.
(183/200)
Chinese Cinderella, by Adeline Yen Mah
The bittersweet YA memoir of Yen Mah's youth as an unwanted child whose only allies within her family were weak and relatively powerless. Touching without being maudlin. I really want to read the adult sequel, Falling Leaves, now.
(184/200)
Scooter, by Mick Foley
Kid grows up in the Bronx. There's a lot of talk about baseball. Various mythopoetic archetypes invoked. Quite violent. Despite short sentences, greatly enjoyed book. Am class-ambivalent and thus appreciate a writer who can write about blue-collar people without being condescending or overly noble. A little rough around the edges, but I don't mind that in a coming-of-age novel. Hurrah Mick Foley!
(185/200)
The Jane Austen Book Club, by Karen Joy Fowler, unabridged audiobook read by Kimberley Schraf
The narrator sucked sooooooooooooooooooooooo bad. I am going to avoid her diligently in the future. However, enough of the authorial voice still came through that I liked the book overall. I want to read more Karen Joy Fowler, unadulterated by the smug, smarmy-sounding Ms. Schraf (who also made all of her characters sound much too alike, even though they were written with nice delicate differentiation).
(186/200)
The Oxford Book of London, edited by Paul Bailey
This is a very neat anthology containing short snippets of London literature dating from the 12th century to the (almost) present day. I've been reading it to get in the mood for the trip I'm taking to the UK in January. It served its purpose well. My only quibble is that the anthologizer relied too heavily on a few major sources, taking snippet after snippet from the same few books. My feeling is that a) if I wanted to read 60 pages of the book, I'd just read the book; and b) if he must excerpt so copiously, he should put it all together so that it doesn't feel like he's trying to sneak under my radar. But I suppose most people wouldn't even notice something that nitpicky. Anyway, lots of yummy bits.
(187/200)
The author occasionally suffers from a tendency to present established facts and speculation/uninformed opinion with equal weight and confidence in the rightness of what she is saying, blurring the line between them. This bugged me. That said, I found the book a pleasure to read, and some of the opinion stuff is brilliant and insightful. Really an excellent book, despite its flaws. I'd like to read more of Ms. Grandin's work.
(183/200)
Chinese Cinderella, by Adeline Yen Mah
The bittersweet YA memoir of Yen Mah's youth as an unwanted child whose only allies within her family were weak and relatively powerless. Touching without being maudlin. I really want to read the adult sequel, Falling Leaves, now.
(184/200)
Scooter, by Mick Foley
Kid grows up in the Bronx. There's a lot of talk about baseball. Various mythopoetic archetypes invoked. Quite violent. Despite short sentences, greatly enjoyed book. Am class-ambivalent and thus appreciate a writer who can write about blue-collar people without being condescending or overly noble. A little rough around the edges, but I don't mind that in a coming-of-age novel. Hurrah Mick Foley!
(185/200)
The Jane Austen Book Club, by Karen Joy Fowler, unabridged audiobook read by Kimberley Schraf
The narrator sucked sooooooooooooooooooooooo bad. I am going to avoid her diligently in the future. However, enough of the authorial voice still came through that I liked the book overall. I want to read more Karen Joy Fowler, unadulterated by the smug, smarmy-sounding Ms. Schraf (who also made all of her characters sound much too alike, even though they were written with nice delicate differentiation).
(186/200)
The Oxford Book of London, edited by Paul Bailey
This is a very neat anthology containing short snippets of London literature dating from the 12th century to the (almost) present day. I've been reading it to get in the mood for the trip I'm taking to the UK in January. It served its purpose well. My only quibble is that the anthologizer relied too heavily on a few major sources, taking snippet after snippet from the same few books. My feeling is that a) if I wanted to read 60 pages of the book, I'd just read the book; and b) if he must excerpt so copiously, he should put it all together so that it doesn't feel like he's trying to sneak under my radar. But I suppose most people wouldn't even notice something that nitpicky. Anyway, lots of yummy bits.
(187/200)
