Heather told me "read something light!" so I read this book.
I was also in need of something to read on the flight back from San Francisco, and Heather had this along.
First, some nuts and bolts. The story is 377 pages long and available in paperback. It is the 12th book featuring "Alex Cross" as a character. The same author wrote "Kiss the Girls".
Heather asked me what I thought of the book, and my gut response was "it's a bit sparse". What I meant by that was that it didn't have a lot of flowery words or fancy vocabulary, which means it is pretty readable, and the action moves quickly.
The book is a thriller, a police story, a detective story, a murder mystery, and it appears to carry the Alex Cross character forward in a compelling way. The bad guy is truly bad, in a memorable way. The author also moves back and forth between the bad guy and our hero, so that sometimes you know things the good guy doesn't, which adds tension to the story. I would say that the book is competently written, but not real heavy. I don't think there were any obvious gaffes in the book, so I didn't have any moments where I wanted to put it down.
I would recommend it when you have time to fill, or need a break from something heavier.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides
Heather, my wife, recommended this book after running across it at the bookstore. We happen to be thinking about a trip to Manila this summer, and so I read it in hopes of learning more about the history of the area, in particular the World War II history.
I figured it would be a dry history, and given that I'm not much interested in battle strategy and the like, I doubted I would finish it. Instead, I found it to be a real page turner, and a compelling read. I learned a lot about the war, and about the Filipino people. I was truly impressed by the suffering our soldiers went through, and the suffering of the Filipino people.
The author did a tremendous amount of research to make the story as accurate as possible. It's a thrilling book, and comes highly recommended. The only thing I can nit pick about the book is that I got a little confused by the setup in the beginning of the book. Just watch the dates on the sections when you read it. It's worth it to get that background - it makes the rest of the book even better.
The book left me wanting to visit the cemeteries and pay my respects when I'm in Manila this summer. It also left me wanting to read some of the other books about the period. A great read.
I figured it would be a dry history, and given that I'm not much interested in battle strategy and the like, I doubted I would finish it. Instead, I found it to be a real page turner, and a compelling read. I learned a lot about the war, and about the Filipino people. I was truly impressed by the suffering our soldiers went through, and the suffering of the Filipino people.
The author did a tremendous amount of research to make the story as accurate as possible. It's a thrilling book, and comes highly recommended. The only thing I can nit pick about the book is that I got a little confused by the setup in the beginning of the book. Just watch the dates on the sections when you read it. It's worth it to get that background - it makes the rest of the book even better.
The book left me wanting to visit the cemeteries and pay my respects when I'm in Manila this summer. It also left me wanting to read some of the other books about the period. A great read.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Job: A Comedy of Justice
Or, perhaps, I should call this "Job: Revisited".
This book is a retelling of the story of Job from the Bible. For those of you not familiar with the story, Job is an upright man of God, and God decides to put him to the test, to determine if he will keep his faith, under distress. God proceeds to cause, or allow to be caused, many calamaties to befall our poor hero, Job.
The author is Robert Heinlein, who is a master science fiction storyteller who has written many great works, with religion being a theme of many of his books, although not generally the primary theme.
Along the way, Robert often debunks popular myths, such as the popular interpretation of the commandment against lying. In this particular case, the popular understanding of the commandment is "Thou Shalt Not Lie". The protagonist is struggling with the dishonesty his struggles are putting him through - namely that if he admitted that he believes God is persecuting him, he would probably be labeled a crazy person and confined to an institution. So, he comforts himself by reminding himself that the commandment is actually "Thou Shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." (Exodus 20:16.)
When I say he debunks popular myths, I am referring to a strict interpretation of the ninth commandment, in the sense that no lie is ever acceptable. When I look around at the world, I see something quite different - it seems almost as if people lie all of the time, and it is merely a matter of degree - whether it is pretending you like someone just to be polite, or whether it is stating an opinion about a matter for which you have no knowledge, or simple white lies like "you look fine".
Heinlein's books often make me think, by scattering nuggets like the above throughout the text, often prompting me to do research later on what the Bible text says, and what other thinkers have to say about it.
In the Biblical story, along the way we discover many attitudes that are uncomfortable today, such as the concept that Job is finally rewarded for his faith by being given new wives and properties, and particularly that he is happy with these. In other words, wives and children are generic and interchangeable. He is not given his original wives back, but new ones, and he is well pleased by the quantity and quality of these new wives.
In the Heinlein story of Job, we find other ways to be uncomfortable. The hero in this story is one Alexander Hergensheimer, who has long been the successful fund raiser for an ecumenical brotherhood of Christians. Unfortunately, the works of this brotherhood are not the praiseworthy (in my mind) comforting of the sick, feeding of the hungry, and housing of the poor. This brotherhood works for political change and counts a long list of accomplishments, among them the outlawing of abortion, banning of birth control, censoring of books, and so forth. Future plans include the ghetto for black people, bans on Catholic churches, and similar ideas which would not currently be regarded as examples of Christian love.
However, Alexander proves that he is faithful to God, and refuses to curse Him, no matter how many trials he is put through. He continues to work for the salvation of others, and is in a perfect state of grace, kneeling penitent in prayer when the Trump and Shout occur, and he is taken bodily up to Heaven.
The book is excellent, thought provoking, and a great read. I recommend it highly. I'd love it if others would read it and post their comments.
This book is a retelling of the story of Job from the Bible. For those of you not familiar with the story, Job is an upright man of God, and God decides to put him to the test, to determine if he will keep his faith, under distress. God proceeds to cause, or allow to be caused, many calamaties to befall our poor hero, Job.
The author is Robert Heinlein, who is a master science fiction storyteller who has written many great works, with religion being a theme of many of his books, although not generally the primary theme.
Along the way, Robert often debunks popular myths, such as the popular interpretation of the commandment against lying. In this particular case, the popular understanding of the commandment is "Thou Shalt Not Lie". The protagonist is struggling with the dishonesty his struggles are putting him through - namely that if he admitted that he believes God is persecuting him, he would probably be labeled a crazy person and confined to an institution. So, he comforts himself by reminding himself that the commandment is actually "Thou Shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." (Exodus 20:16.)
When I say he debunks popular myths, I am referring to a strict interpretation of the ninth commandment, in the sense that no lie is ever acceptable. When I look around at the world, I see something quite different - it seems almost as if people lie all of the time, and it is merely a matter of degree - whether it is pretending you like someone just to be polite, or whether it is stating an opinion about a matter for which you have no knowledge, or simple white lies like "you look fine".
Heinlein's books often make me think, by scattering nuggets like the above throughout the text, often prompting me to do research later on what the Bible text says, and what other thinkers have to say about it.
In the Biblical story, along the way we discover many attitudes that are uncomfortable today, such as the concept that Job is finally rewarded for his faith by being given new wives and properties, and particularly that he is happy with these. In other words, wives and children are generic and interchangeable. He is not given his original wives back, but new ones, and he is well pleased by the quantity and quality of these new wives.
In the Heinlein story of Job, we find other ways to be uncomfortable. The hero in this story is one Alexander Hergensheimer, who has long been the successful fund raiser for an ecumenical brotherhood of Christians. Unfortunately, the works of this brotherhood are not the praiseworthy (in my mind) comforting of the sick, feeding of the hungry, and housing of the poor. This brotherhood works for political change and counts a long list of accomplishments, among them the outlawing of abortion, banning of birth control, censoring of books, and so forth. Future plans include the ghetto for black people, bans on Catholic churches, and similar ideas which would not currently be regarded as examples of Christian love.
However, Alexander proves that he is faithful to God, and refuses to curse Him, no matter how many trials he is put through. He continues to work for the salvation of others, and is in a perfect state of grace, kneeling penitent in prayer when the Trump and Shout occur, and he is taken bodily up to Heaven.
The book is excellent, thought provoking, and a great read. I recommend it highly. I'd love it if others would read it and post their comments.
Friday, May 09, 2008
The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt
Author of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"
Non-fiction.
This book is about Venice. But it is also about decay, moral and otherwise. It is a finely wrought story weaved out of the fabric of life in Venice. You will encounter unforgettable characters, both tragic and heroic. Most of us are not familiar with Venice, or Venetians, but after reading this story, you'll have a taste of them, or distaste for them.
Heather and I are planning a trip to Venice for later this year, hopefully when fewer tourists are present. The book refers to the huge flow of tourists almost as a plague or scourge. The great popularity of Venice as a tourist destination certainly has distorted its economy and damaged its beauty.
I think that I recognized people I know in the book, even though all of it is nonfiction about the real world Venice. I think the themes and characteristics of people that John Berendt discovers in Venice are like people everywhere else, even if on the face of it they seem unique to Venice.
I didn't expect to like this book, but once I got to the third chapter, I found that I could not put it down, and the hours of my trip passed quickly.
There is a lot of history here, and the prose is engaging and very readable. It may not be an important book, but it is a good book, and one that I think will stand up well to the test of time.
One piece of advice from the author is one I'm glad we're already planning to follow, even without knowing it ahead of time - we are going for several days, not just a day to say we've been to Venice, but several days - to have a hope of getting to know the city and its people.
But perhaps I already do.
Non-fiction.
This book is about Venice. But it is also about decay, moral and otherwise. It is a finely wrought story weaved out of the fabric of life in Venice. You will encounter unforgettable characters, both tragic and heroic. Most of us are not familiar with Venice, or Venetians, but after reading this story, you'll have a taste of them, or distaste for them.
Heather and I are planning a trip to Venice for later this year, hopefully when fewer tourists are present. The book refers to the huge flow of tourists almost as a plague or scourge. The great popularity of Venice as a tourist destination certainly has distorted its economy and damaged its beauty.
I think that I recognized people I know in the book, even though all of it is nonfiction about the real world Venice. I think the themes and characteristics of people that John Berendt discovers in Venice are like people everywhere else, even if on the face of it they seem unique to Venice.
I didn't expect to like this book, but once I got to the third chapter, I found that I could not put it down, and the hours of my trip passed quickly.
There is a lot of history here, and the prose is engaging and very readable. It may not be an important book, but it is a good book, and one that I think will stand up well to the test of time.
One piece of advice from the author is one I'm glad we're already planning to follow, even without knowing it ahead of time - we are going for several days, not just a day to say we've been to Venice, but several days - to have a hope of getting to know the city and its people.
But perhaps I already do.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Start Late, Finish Rich - By David Bach
A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age
By David Bach
I picked up this book because I felt like it was too late for me to have a comfortable retirement. I filed bankruptcy several years ago, and basically started over from scratch. With only a few thousand in a new 401(K) plan, I thought it was going to be a pretty tight budget in my retirement years. With the ideas presented in this book, I can see that if I make good financial decisions, I can still have a comfortable retirement.
The book itself is an easy read - nothing too complicated. And, where the ideas are a bit complicated, or hard for the average person to believe, Mr. Bach has charts and examples. In a lot of ways, the author is your "financial cheerleader".
A lot of the material here can be found elsewhere, as Mr. Bach points out, but the difference is that in this book you are actually given some motivation to believe that you really can do it. Mr. Bach includes a number of success stories to help motivate you and help you believe that success is within your grasp, if you'll take the steps that he tells you about.
Further, he covers some common financial pitfalls that keep people from succeeding - such as the myth that you have to pay off your debt before you start saving. He advocates a 50/50 approach - make some cuts in your lifestyle to free up money, then divide that money between debt reduction and savings. Heather and I have decided to reduce our eating out to one meal a week. It will be a nice one (after all, we're just doing it once!) but even a $50 meal will be cheaper than eating a $20 meal three times. Heather and I have also realized that eating out often is our least healthy meal of the week, if only because it's a big one. Mr. Bach's point is that by doing a 50/50 split, you'll see yourself making progress on both goals - which is motivational. If you don't make progress in both places, then the awareness that you're failing in one of them leads to discouragement, and discouragement leads to giving up on the plan.
Some of the things Mr. Bach talks about are things I already knew, and was doing. Both Heather and I participated in 401(K) plans where available, and Mr. Bach strongly encourages you to participate to the maximum allowed by law, and by your company. I participate to the maximum allowed at the company I work for, although not from the start. I increased it this past January.
He also talks a lot about real estate, and why you should own instead of rent. There is a great section in there about how to be successful in real estate. Heather has always owned, which is great. I have owned as well. Recent tax law changes make it even more attractive.
There are two other sections to the book - making more money, and living more. The making money section has a good coverage of direct selling, franchising, and eBay, among others. The final section has some great ideas about how to teach your children these ideas. We've made some money on eBay, and I've had success through side businesses before. I've also experienced businesses that failed, and learned from that as well.
This book really helped me see that it's not too late for me, and gave me concrete ideas to make a difference in my own financial outcome. We are making decisions every day that can make a long term difference in our efforts to "finish rich". But he also talks about living well, and how you shouldn't wait until retirement to live well. Heather and I are taking some trips this year. We are being as careful as possible about the costs, but also making sure that we make the most of the trips we are taking - by planning ahead, reading, discussing, and then making sure we enjoy it when we go - and not waste time or energy worrying or complaining.
My final observation is that the only remaining obstacle to financial success would be regret about the past. I made mistakes, some of them big ones. But the biggest mistake would be in letting past mistakes keep me from saving money, making money, and finishing rich!
By David Bach
I picked up this book because I felt like it was too late for me to have a comfortable retirement. I filed bankruptcy several years ago, and basically started over from scratch. With only a few thousand in a new 401(K) plan, I thought it was going to be a pretty tight budget in my retirement years. With the ideas presented in this book, I can see that if I make good financial decisions, I can still have a comfortable retirement.
The book itself is an easy read - nothing too complicated. And, where the ideas are a bit complicated, or hard for the average person to believe, Mr. Bach has charts and examples. In a lot of ways, the author is your "financial cheerleader".
A lot of the material here can be found elsewhere, as Mr. Bach points out, but the difference is that in this book you are actually given some motivation to believe that you really can do it. Mr. Bach includes a number of success stories to help motivate you and help you believe that success is within your grasp, if you'll take the steps that he tells you about.
Further, he covers some common financial pitfalls that keep people from succeeding - such as the myth that you have to pay off your debt before you start saving. He advocates a 50/50 approach - make some cuts in your lifestyle to free up money, then divide that money between debt reduction and savings. Heather and I have decided to reduce our eating out to one meal a week. It will be a nice one (after all, we're just doing it once!) but even a $50 meal will be cheaper than eating a $20 meal three times. Heather and I have also realized that eating out often is our least healthy meal of the week, if only because it's a big one. Mr. Bach's point is that by doing a 50/50 split, you'll see yourself making progress on both goals - which is motivational. If you don't make progress in both places, then the awareness that you're failing in one of them leads to discouragement, and discouragement leads to giving up on the plan.
Some of the things Mr. Bach talks about are things I already knew, and was doing. Both Heather and I participated in 401(K) plans where available, and Mr. Bach strongly encourages you to participate to the maximum allowed by law, and by your company. I participate to the maximum allowed at the company I work for, although not from the start. I increased it this past January.
He also talks a lot about real estate, and why you should own instead of rent. There is a great section in there about how to be successful in real estate. Heather has always owned, which is great. I have owned as well. Recent tax law changes make it even more attractive.
There are two other sections to the book - making more money, and living more. The making money section has a good coverage of direct selling, franchising, and eBay, among others. The final section has some great ideas about how to teach your children these ideas. We've made some money on eBay, and I've had success through side businesses before. I've also experienced businesses that failed, and learned from that as well.
This book really helped me see that it's not too late for me, and gave me concrete ideas to make a difference in my own financial outcome. We are making decisions every day that can make a long term difference in our efforts to "finish rich". But he also talks about living well, and how you shouldn't wait until retirement to live well. Heather and I are taking some trips this year. We are being as careful as possible about the costs, but also making sure that we make the most of the trips we are taking - by planning ahead, reading, discussing, and then making sure we enjoy it when we go - and not waste time or energy worrying or complaining.
My final observation is that the only remaining obstacle to financial success would be regret about the past. I made mistakes, some of them big ones. But the biggest mistake would be in letting past mistakes keep me from saving money, making money, and finishing rich!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)