Alexi's Reading 2014

[Anna Begins]

I'm just back now for a couple of days and then away again from the weekend for the rest of the month, so sorry for missing your post Gaia!

 

I'm taking 2 weeks in September to head to the US and I can't wait

Wooohooo!  Where you headed?

[Athena]

I'm just back now for a couple of days and then away again from the weekend for the rest of the month, so sorry for missing your post Gaia!

 

I'm taking 2 weeks in September to head to the US and I can't wait

Have fun, Alexi ! Where in the US are you going?

Edited July 26, 2014 by Athena

[Alexi]

New York, Connecticut and Boston SO EXCITED!

[Athena]

That's so exciting! What will you be doing, are you going to visit some buildings, museums, book shops..?

[julie]

Alexi

Hope you enjoy your trip ! It sounds like you'll be going to lots of fun places .

[Alexi]

That's so exciting! What will you be doing, are you going to visit some buildings, museums, book shops..?

 

 

Yes yes and yes We are visiting friends in Connecticut but I think in NY and Boston we will be being proper tourists. I have a challenge to take more than 1400 photos (the number my Dad made me sit through when he got back from South America )

 

 

Alexi

Hope you enjoy your trip ! It sounds like you'll be going to lots of fun places .

Thanks Julie! I'm counting the days

[pontalba]

God, I love New York!  You'll have a great time!

 

Go to Strand Books, by all means.

 

Edit:  And, be sure to stand in Times Square around midnight. Electric!

Edited July 27, 2014 by pontalba

[Anna Begins]

I can recommend the NY Museum of Modern Art.  And the Statue of Liberty is actually cool.  The ferry ride over to it is enjoyable as well (you can see Ellis Island).  If you want, you can even walk by the World Trade Center Memorial on the way to the ferry.

And I agree about Times Square at midnight- it is beautiful.

BTW- in Boston, is the real Cheers Bar.  (If you ever saw the show).  They have great dirty martini's (they make em on the rocks)

Edited July 27, 2014 by Anna Begins

[Athena]

Yes yes and yes We are visiting friends in Connecticut but I think in NY and Boston we will be being proper tourists. I have a challenge to take more than 1400 photos (the number my Dad made me sit through when he got back from South America )

Exciting!! I'm a little bit jaleous . I hope to visit the US someday (though I'm not sure it'd be New York since it's very busy there). 

 

Go to Strand Books, by all means.

 

Edit:  And, be sure to stand in Times Square around midnight. Electric!

Both those things sound amazing . 

 

I can recommend the NY Museum of Modern Art.  And the Statue of Liberty is actually cool.  The ferry ride over to it is enjoyable as well (you can see Ellis Island).  If you want, you can even walk by the World Trade Center Memorial on the way to the ferry.

And I agree about Times Square at midnight- it is beautiful.

This sounds nice too!

[Anna Begins]

Exciting!! I'm a little bit jaleous . I hope to visit the US someday (though I'm not sure it'd be New York since it's very busy there). 

 

Ya know, it's not that bad at all.  At least in my being there twice, most people were friendly and really nice in general.  I didn't think it was dirty (the subway is bad though) all that busy (I mean, it IS New York) or that you can't see the sky because of all the skyscrapers, etc all the things you hear.  The older buildings are gorgeous and 5th avenue is pretty.  We even went to Strawberry Fields to see John Lennon's memorial (another one for Alexi  ).

Edited July 28, 2014 by Anna Begins

[Athena]

That's good to hear! To be honest though it doesn't take a lot of people for me to find it 'busy' . My boyfriend and I decided Washington might be just as nice with its museums while being a bit less busy. I don't know if we ever go to the US but it would be nice, one day.

[Alexi]

Thanks for all the suggestions - you're all making me even more excited literally counting the days - I have an app that does it for me!

 

I'm about to book tickets to go and see the Lion King on. Broadway, and definitely want to go to a few museums and just spend time sitting in Central Park. I believe you need to book in advance to climb the statue so going to look into that now.

[Athena]

I have seen The Lion King musical in the UK and absolutely loved it. I hope you do too .

[Anna Begins]

Thanks for all the suggestions - you're all making me even more excited literally counting the days - I have an app that does it for me!

 

I'm about to book tickets to go and see the Lion King on. Broadway, and definitely want to go to a few museums and just spend time sitting in Central Park. I believe you need to book in advance to climb the statue so going to look into that now.

You will LOVE The Lion King- I've not heard one single bad thing about it and my dad saw it with his wife and son and they all loved it too!  If you can't get Lion King, try for Wicked. It's is a good Broadway musical too- about the witches in Wizard of Oz. 

Central Park is beautiful (But I liked walking around Green Park in London more).  Across the street is the building where Lennon was shot and on the other side of Central Park is 5th Avenue.  There is the main David Yurman store, if you like his stuff  Tiffany's is there too and Ferragamo, etc. Dangerous lol but so fun to window shop or just go in for a peak.

I'm not sure about the Statue of Liberty steps, they just opened up not too many years back, but ya, you don't want to go all that way and not be able to get to the top (it was still closed when I went the first time, the second time we did not go to TSOL but I don't like heights anyway). 

Edited July 29, 2014 by Anna Begins

[Alexi]

I normally like to be quite free when we do holidays but we want to do so much I think I am going to have to book some of it so we aren't disappointed. Have already booked some sports stuff we want to do and planned when we move between NY, Connecticut and Boston so that's a good start I suppose!

 

Been getting some reading done but all of the "easy read" variety... have been enjoying them though.  

 

#36 I am Zlatan by Zlatan Ibrahimovic 

 

Read this a few weeks ago so a bit of a half assed review I am afraid... 

 

I used to read loads of footballer's autobiographies, then I realised most are idenitical and started cherry picking which ones to bother with. This one came highly recommended from a colleague so I picked it up cheap on kindle. 

 

Zlatan is a character, and this book does not disappoint. He's been viewed as difficult, and a renegade and the first half of this book describes his upbringing and goes someway towards explaining his explosive personality. He has also moved clubs much more often than the average "top" footballer, and he explains some of the tricks and machinations of the moves here. 

 

But mainly this book is about his personality, his character and the odd things he has said or done in the past. He's self critical, but really doesn't hold back on those around him including very successful people in the game, such as Guardiola and Messi. 

 

I admire him from a distance, and this book is hilarious and entertaining, but I think I'd find him exhausting face to face. He seems rather like an endearing overgrown teenager at times. 

 

Tails off in the second half, but still very good and the pick of the footballer autobios from recent years (excluding Ronald Reng, which was nominally a biography). 

 

4/5

[Alexi]

#37 The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

 

Synopsis: Pat Peoples knows that life doesn't always go according to plan, but he's determined to get his back on track. After a stint in a psychiatric hospital, Pat is staying with his parents and trying to live according to his new philosophy: get fit, be nice and always look for the silver lining. Most importantly, Pat is determined to be reconciled with his wife Nikki.

 

Pat's parents just want to protect him so he can get back on his feet, but when Pat befriends the mysterious Tiffany, the secrets they've been keeping from him threaten to come out . . .

 

Thoughts: Bit of an odd book this. I enjoyed it, but there are plenty of books I would say deserve the Hollywood treatment ahead of this - although I am probably glad they were left alone! I guess what I am saying is, what jumped out about this one for movie producers?

Pat has just been released from a mental institution into the care of his loving mother and aloof father - who only communicates with him when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing. 

We can see straight away something is wrong here - people keeping secrets from Pat, why doesn't he remember key events from the last few years such as his best friend having a child? Where is the mysterious Nikki and why exactly did they split up? 

Tiffany has also suffered from mental illness, and through a very odd friendship we start to discover exactly what happened to Pat and the way he is. 

I really liked the character of Pat, but I found Tiffany very difficult to warm to and root for. I think if you aren't a sports fan the constant description of games and plays would probably annoy you (I think if it had been golf I would have probably snoozed off) and I had to suspend disbelief at times of the bahaviour of several people - not least the episode between Pat, his best friend Ronnie and his wife Veronica when Pat isn't trusted with the couples small daughter. Where were the repercussions from that? Everyone seemed to blow past it like nothing happened. 

I enjoyed this, it's a slightly quirky little read but the character of Pat is what drags this up into enjoyable territory for me rather than the story per se. 

3/5

[Alexi]

#38 The Kindness of Strangers by Mike McIntyre

 

Synopsis: Stuck in a job he no longer found fulfilling, journalist Mike McIntyre felt his life was quickly passing him by. So one day he hit the road to trek from one end of the country to the other with little more than the clothes on his back and without a single penny in his pocket. Through his travels, he found varying degrees of kindness in strangers from all walks of life--and discovered more about people and values and life on the road in America than he'd ever thought possible. The gifts of food and shelter he received along the way were outweighed only by the touching gifts of the heart--the willingness of many he met to welcome a lonely stranger into their homes...and the discovery that sometimes those who give the most are the ones with the least to spare.

 

Thoughts: I just finished reading this and much to my surprise, found myself thoroughly enjoying it. I picked this up as a quick read I could dip in and out of while travelling with work, but I kept wanting to read on. 

 

Mike leaves San Francisco and hitchhikes across America, going from small town to small town and avoiding the big cities. He leaves all money behind and refuses to touch any of it, only accepting rides, shelter and food from the many strangers he meets. 

 

They all have interesting stories to tell and about 80% of them are tragic. I wonder how much editing this had, to take out the uninteresting ones but I don't think much, the uninteresting rides are skimmed over but they are there, and the majority of the strangers we meet talk about themselves and how they have ended up in the place they have. 

 

What struck me is how poor most of the small town mid west was when Mike wrote the book (mid 1990s iirc). Plenty had been raised poor and stayed poor, with jobs scarce and money scarcer. Many were raising or had been raised by relatives who were not their parents, many had lots of children, had them young or suffered from alcoholism (whether personally or the consequences of a relative suffering it). 

 

I think when we are shown America, you often see the LAs, Miamis, New Yorks etc with people well off and the good ship capitalism and the American Dream working well. or you see the other extreme, gangs and crime. What Mike exposes us to is the poor who are poor and remain so, but haven't turned to crime and retain their good humour and human kindness. As the blurb says, those with the least often give the most. 

 

A lot of Mike's strangers are Christians, as he find churches receptive to him and his journey, but he is a religion sceptic himself, so it doesn't feel preachy (even though we meet others who are). I found the "Mike going on personal journey" cringy, until I realised I was having the same realisations about the USA and its people. Small town America seems pretty darn great to me. 

 

4/5

[Athena]

Great reviews ! I have The Silver Linings Playbook on my TBR. I think the sports descriptions will annoy me too but am hoping to like the rest of the book.

[Alexi]

I was watching a TV quiz show the other day that spoilt the ending of Rebecca for me. When I calmed my rage I remembered this is what annoyed me about the Silver Linings novel - it spoils 3 or 4 classic novels by having the protagonist describe his thoughts on the endings.

 

When I realised what was going on I rather glossed over those paragraphs and have forgotten most of it but I really shouldn't have to do that.

 

Anyway.

 

Friends, the time has come to try my first Austen. Pride and Prejudice is go. Wish me luck!

[Athena]

That's not nice . I don't like it when a TV show or a book spoils other things.

 

Good luck with Pride and Prejudice! I hope you enjoy it . I've never read an Austen before either, I really should.

[karen.d]

I was watching a TV quiz show the other day that spoilt the ending of Rebecca for me. When I calmed my rage I remembered this is what annoyed me about the Silver Linings novel - it spoils 3 or 4 classic novels by having the protagonist describe his thoughts on the endings.

 

When I realised what was going on I rather glossed over those paragraphs and have forgotten most of it but I really shouldn't have to do that.

 

No way, that's terrible! I saw a quiz show the other week and one of the questions was 'Who dies at the end of 'Moby Dick'?  That's a massive spoiler for anyone who hasn't read this book...like myself!

Edited August 7, 2014 by karen.d

[Janet]

I found P&P a bit of a slog to start with (it was the first of hers I read too) but I persevered and ended up thoroughly enjoying it.   I hadn't seen it on TV before I read it but as soon as I finished it I watched the excellent BBC adaptation!  I hope you enjoy it. 

[Alexi]

I found P&P a bit of a slog to start with (it was the first of hers I read too) but I persevered and ended up thoroughly enjoying it.   I hadn't seen it on TV before I read it but as soon as I finished it I watched the excellent BBC adaptation!  I hope you enjoy it. 

Thanks Janet, I shall bear that in mind if I start struggling a bit. I''m only 6% in so far so a bit too soon to assess! I really WANT to enjoy it though, which I don't think helps if you know what I mean... which probably makes no sense. 

 

I am also plodding along with my World Challenge. Now up to 35 books read out of 224 (sob) with my latest read counting for South Korea...

 

#39 Please Look After Mother by Kyung-Sook Shin

 

Synopsis: PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOTHER is the story of So-nyo, a wife and mother, who has lived a life of sacrifice and compromise. In the past she suffered a stroke, leaving her vulnerable and often confused. Now, travelling from the Korean countryside to the Seoul of her grown-up children, So-nyo is separated from her husband when the doors close on a packed train.

 

As her children and husband search the streets, they recall So-nyo's life, and all they have left unsaid. Through their piercing voices, we begin to discover the desires, heartaches, and secrets she harboured within. And as the mystery of her disappearance unravels, we uncover a larger mystery, that of all mothers and children: how affection, exasperation, hope and guilt add up to love. Compassionate, redemptive and beautifully written, PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOTHER will reconnect you to the story of your own family, and to the forgotten sacrifices that lie at its heart. (Amazon)

 

Thoughts: This book started brilliantly and tailed off I felt. I thought it did give a good sense of South Korean culture (both modern and more traditional) which was excellent for the challenge. However, when a bird who proclaims to be a person who once lived among this family and is observing them from a nearby tree branch I did get a little frustrated, because things like that in a novel rooted in this world do dry me out of that world because I have to suspend so much disbelief. 

 

Anyway. 

 

As the synopsis suggests, So-Nyo's children and husband really did not appreciate her and the many, many sacrifices she made for them all. Unable to read or write and married at 17 (before her first period we are rather unnecessarily informed!), her life is shaped almost entirely by the war - young women had to be married off ASAP to protect them from North Korean soldiers who came down from the mountains and dragged them off. 

 

We learn about her through the many snapshots of her life remembered by the rest of her family. I definitely wanted to slap her husband - who treated her deplorably throughout their marriage it seems, and came close to accusing her of killing a relative. Her children are largely selfish, and if this book does teach us anything it is to appreciate those around us! 

 

It's an interesting style to learn about the main character through the memories of others before we actually hear from Mother herself in the final part, and while it does work because we piece together the history and character of this remarkable woman gradually, it does get a bit confusing because the second person "you" is used for more than one character at a time, and the book jumps around in time between memories with little warning. 

 

However, I did enjoy this read. It's stylistically interesting and while some of the memories are dull examples of every day life, we learn about a woman with courage and vivacity in spite of everything. It's a slow read and isn't a page turner, but it's very beautifully written and thought-provoking.

 

3.5/5

[Janet]

Thanks Janet, I shall bear that in mind if I start struggling a bit. I''m only 6% in so far so a bit too soon to assess! I really WANT to enjoy it though, which I don't think helps if you know what I mean... which probably makes no sense.

It makes perfect sense - that's exactly how I felt about it.

 

Well done with your World Challenge. Mine has somewhat stalled this year. Oh well!

[Alexi]

Thanks J. I go in fits and starts with the World Challenge - I've read three this year so far but got a few on the TBR!