Book Reviews

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I avoided reading this for the longest time due to its likely appeal to Oprah. I ended up liking the book well enough, with the exception of the ending for Aibileen.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe

A pleasant read, far different from the usual TMI of tell-all autobiographies. Rob came across as funny, pleasant, and intelligent. After reading Melissa Gilbert's sordid details of her life with Rob, it was interesting that he mentioned her name a total of about three times.

Banished from Jehovah's Witnesses by Dwight A. Hayes

Interesting, self-published book written by a local man describing his life as a Jehovah's Witness, from his childhood through his years as an elder. After acknowledging Christ as his Savior, he was "disfellowshipped." The focus of the book was various JW techniques, beliefs and "teachings."

In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir by Dick Cheney

Okay, I like Dick Cheney. I liked him before, I like him as much, if not more, after reading his new book. I'd love for this man to hold the Executive Office in our country, but between his health and my belief that the idiots are running the asylum (referring to the voters), that's not going to happen.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

She's a popular author, and this book caught my attention at the library. I enjoyed the main part of the story, about two women who grew up at odds with their mother. After their father dies, the mother fulfills a promise to her husband to complete the fairy tale/bedtime story she's told the daughters since they were children. Several dozen pages are devoted to the telling of this fairy tale story throughout the book. BORING! The "fairy tale" is of course retelling events of the mother's previous life with her first husband and earlier children as they lived (and died) through the Siege of Leningrad in the early 1940s. You'd think I'd like this historical aspect, but it was stupid in the context of this book.

The daughters take the mom on a cruise to Alaska, the mom confesses her role in the "fairy tale," and they discover that the owner of a Russian restaurant who served them a meal is really the mother's long lost first daughter, who she thought died in the siege.

Stupid. A perfect example of why I shy from popular fiction.

I finished this book the morning that the clocks turned back. It's hard to complain about having an extra hour; at least I didn't waste one of the usual 24!

The Only Best Place and
All in One Place by Carolyne Aarsen

A mindless fictional story set on a ranch in Montana. Nothing stellar, but I read through both books in the storyline.

Outlier: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Outlier. A scientific term to describe things or phenomena that lie outside normal experience.

In this case, "outlier" refers to those who have achieved success far and above the expected norm. Gladwell explores various reasons why Bill Gates, the Beatles, and others have achieved success--they were in the right place at the right time, but other factors played heavily.

An absolutely brilliant book. I've already checked out his prior book Blink and can't wait to begin!

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield

Quirky reading. Who can imagine reading through an entire 356 paged narrative on type fonts? And that it was interesting enough to continue reading until the end?

Beyond the Blue by Leslie Gould

Christian fiction with parallel stories about an infertile Oregon couple drawn to adopt in Viet Nam, and a poverty-stricken, unwed mother who desperately wants a better life for her children. I enjoyed the historical aspect of the book (effects of the Viet Nam war), the cultural descriptions, and learning a bit more about the international adoption process.