Good Reads Blog

by Tracy Kidder

review by M. Meyer

The an intimate glimpse of Paul Farmer, a U.S. doctor dedicated to curing infectious diseases and bringing a healthy, decent living to the poorest in the world even if it means using unorthodox methods and upsetting the established medical community. It is both a stark look at the cost of poverty and an inspiring look at one individual can do when he believes that “the only real nation is humanity.

by James Frey

review by E. Dowson

This novel and supposed memoir by James Frey had so much buzz and controversy surrounding it I had to give it a try. It follows the story of drug addict Frey through his experiences at a rehabilitation clinic. Whether or not it’s true, and no matter the pretenses under which it was published, this is still a good read.

If you can put aside the question of its authenticity and read it as a novel, you will enjoy this book. Frey’s struggles taught me a lot about drug abuse and recovery programs. The characters that James meets in the clinic ring true and each share their engaging, heartbreaking stories. My brother, who is a college student and never reads for fun, visited me while I was reading the book, picked it up, and read the entire thing in two days (almost 400 pages).

One problem I had with the book was the writing style. It is written in stream of consciousness -- it’s written exactly as Frey's thoughts. There are no quotation marks around spoken lines and limited punctuation, which can be distracting and confusing. Also, if you’re easily offended by vulgar language, look out. The dialogue can be very stark and offensive.

Despite the scandal associated with this book, it is an emotional, important book. Read it if someone you know has a drug problem and would relate to the book, or if have little knowledge of the drug world, read it and learn.

How the Gamer Generation Is Reshaping Business Forever

by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade

review by N. Sosulski

Those who come to this book hoping for the validation of their opinion that the gamer generation’s work ethic is as slack as the face staring into a console will be disappointed.

Beck and Wade address the impact that gaming has had on a generation of workers, pointing out that gaming is more universal than computer use, since games include web-based, arcade, and console games, as well as the handhelds toted by every child over 6. The authors make statements that a boomer finds ominous: gaming teaches that winning is everything; gaming is a formative experience which those who do not share it don’t—and can’t—get. Expecting dire portents to follow, the reader is reassured that the results of this are not bad—just different. Some surprises: according to the research, regular gamers

• report themselves as more people-oriented than their nongaming peers.

• are much less thrown by failure than the generations before them (thus the remarkably sanguine reactions of young Silicon Valley executives to the burst of the dot.com bubble).

• are more likely than nongaming colleagues to request remuneration that is closely linked to performance.

Beck and Wade do not simply offer up a sunny view of this new sector of the workforce, but make points that a manager or coworker would find useful in motivating or collaborating with people in this group. I found it insightful and an engaging and enjoyable read.

by Anita Shreve

review by J. Nuzzo

In Anita Shreve’s latest, seven once-close high school friends gather for a weekend reunion in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts after having their lives dramatically altered by tragedy twenty-seven years earlier. The occasion, the wedding of once-sweethearts Bill and Bridget, collides with the collective accumulation of personal disappointment and loss, set in relief against a post-September 11th backdrop, treacherously asking, “What if?”

Bridget’s illness creates a sense of urgency for the wedding that “should have been” years earlier, had it not been for a young Bill’s seemingly unforgivable transgression.

Harrison, still haunted by the tragedy at Kidd Academy, is forced to reflect on his own life and current feelings for Nora.

Nora, in turn, has begun a new life as a widow, running the inn where the friends gather, emancipated from marriage to a renowned poet.

Agnes privately bears the burden of her choice to remain in a relationship with a married man, finding solace in her personal writing of the tale of the Halifax explosion during World War I, a story interwoven with Shreve’s narrative, whose devastation parallels the events of September 11th.

Rob, a world-renowned concert pianist, surprises all by arriving with his lover, Josh.

Jerry, a successful Wall Street banker, turns the screws, forcing everyone on edge with his overbearing scrutiny.

In a weekend where friends stand on the precipice of catastrophe, regret, hope, forgiveness, and the perilous allure of second chance, a poignant story of personal loss and consequent gain is re-contextualized in an altered new world.

one man’s mission to fight terror and build nations – one school at a time

by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

review by L. Hower

You’d think it would be hard to change the world, especially the way it is today. As it turns out it is not as hard as climbing K2, as the mountain climbing/ER nurse demonstrates in this special book. It just took determination, a lot of it. I first saw Greg Mortenson interviewed on a television program this year. I was impressed by his quiet yet intense manner and his obvious dedication to improving life in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mortenson was born in the US, raised in Africa by his missionary parents until he returned to a much different world back in the States He discovered his passion for rock climbing and here is where the story really begins as he sets out to climb one of the highest mountains in the world - K2. In his failed attempt and subsequent rescue, he learned much about the impoverished yet culturally rich way of life of the Himalayans who have saved so many mountain climbers yet lacked health care and education themselves. Mortenson set out to improve their quality of life. In the process he learned what one person can do beginning with little else but determination and a dream to build a school. Best of all he found a way to understand their real needs and help them to help themselves. This is a thrilling, inspiring important story of a unique individual who has risked everything for larger purpose and is continuing to change part of the world through peace and goodwill.

Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs

edited by Kimberly Witherspoon and Andrew Friedman Bloomsbury

review by N. Sosulski

Misery loves company. If you are one of us who has had the sauce you made a dozen times break when your boss is coming to dinner, you will enjoy this collection of stories of kitchen disasters from the celebrity chefs that you hear about on the Cooking Channel and the Epicurious website.

Since most of these occur in restaurants that seat dozens, if not hundreds, most mishaps are on an epic scale.

A lobster dinner scheduled for 2500—and the lobster goes off. The fish delivery (somehow there seem to be quite a few seafood calamities) of 500 pounds of live eels spills in the kitchen in the middle of lunch rush. And the chefs recover—or sometimes they don’t. The time that you had to run out to the bakery at the last minute to buy some cake to pour the chocolate dessert you were going to serve over (if it had only firmed up like it was supposed to) will fade into the past, leaving behind only your feeling of fellowship as a survivor of the epicurean wars.

by Bonnie Jo Campbell

review by M. Meyer

Q Road takes place in rural Western Michigan where Potawatomi Indians once built mound gardens until they were driven off by farmers who are now working fourteen hour days trying to save their farms from encroaching land developers. It is a story of the relationships within a neighborhood of quirky characters, including a sixth generation farmer and his rifle toting child bride, an evangelical bartender, a door- to-door window salesman who loves women of all ages, his young wife who dreams of killing him or moving into a more stylish house, and an asthmatic boy who yearns for the love of a father. It is the story of the loss of an integral landmark and scene of a crime and a mysterious disappearance never quite unraveled. But mostly, it is the story of three people fiercely devoted to the land and learning to be connected as a family.

Well.

After fiddling with blogger and my template for a large chunk of the afternoon, it was looking like we might not actually have a blog quite yet.

But I managed to get in my account, and so while here, I will post the innaugural review, and welcome the Portage District Library public to the Good Reads Blog, an ongoing internet publication dedicated to expressing the love people have for their books.

But first: for those that have clicked on this link and feel like the jargon of the information age is kicking you in the chops:

Blog: Short for weblog, an on-line web magazine or diary (usually with facilities for reader comments) made accessible through the World Wide Web.

The Jargon File. The Jargon File, 2006. Answers.com 25 May. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/blog

Here's how this Blog works: You click this link twice a week (at least) and I will post a book review written by one of your neighbors, or one of the PDL staff. Deal? Deal. If you want to tell everybody in the known universe about a really great book you've read, you email the library, care of lkapture@portagelibrary.info

Please read the sidebar for all the information about how to submit to the blog.